Atlas of China
Xining to Lanzhou 西宁 – 兰州
Door to door, the high-speed train comes out ahead: about 1 hour, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. A standard-class seat is ¥58. The stations are in or near the city centres, which is what tips it.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed trainXining 西宁 → Lanzhou West 兰州西 | 54 minD2750, fastest | 1 hour | ¥58standard class | 6707:00–22:40 |
| By road219 km | 3 h 10 min | 3 hours |
By train
67 direct high-speed trains a day run from Xining to Lanzhou West, between 07:00 and 22:40. The fastest, D2750, takes 54 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥58. Coming back, 71 trains a day, the fastest 56 min (D2743, 05:27 to 21:35).
Xining: Starting point of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway to Lhasa (conventional trains). Lanzhou: Zhongchuan Airport is about 70 km north of the city.
By air
No nonstop flights.
By road
219 km by road, about 3 h 10 min of driving: routed on OpenStreetMap, with speeds calibrated on measured trips.
At the other end
Around Xining: Kumbum Monastery.
On the map
Open either city on the illustrated map, or put both in a trip and let the planner lay out the days and the legs between them, with the same tables these numbers come from.
Book
About Xining · About Lanzhou · All routes
Trains are every direct train on 2026-10-28 or 2026-11-11 in the 12306 timetable, with standard-class fares; one weekday, so weekend and holiday services differ, and the fastest train may not run every day. Flights are the airlines' schedules for 2026-10-28, plus routes Wikipedia lists for small airports. Drives are routed on OpenStreetMap roads (extract of 2026-10-21) where the pair was routed, else estimated from the distance. Door-to-door times add about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time to a flight. How to book is in the guide to trains and 12306; the rail times are open data on the data page.