Xining Caojiabao (XNN): three coach lines and the connection to the Lhasa train
All three airport coach lines cost 21 yuan and take about an hour. The east line runs to Xining railway station, where the Tibet train leaves from.
- Three airport coach lines run, and all three cost 21 yuan.
- All three take about an hour.
- The east line runs to the Bayilu coach station and Xining railway station.
- That is the line that matters if you are catching the Qinghai to Tibet train, which leaves from Xining railway station.
- The east line runs at 05:30 and then hourly from 07:00 to 20:00.
- The downtown line runs to the Yinlong and Yile hotels, 08:00 to 18:00, hourly.
- The Haihu new district line runs to the Sofitel and a Jinjiang Inn, 08:00 to 18:00, every two hours.
- Reported fares elsewhere range from 20 to 25 yuan, so carry a little over.
- A taxi into the city runs 40 to 150 yuan depending on where you are going, about 30 minutes downtown.
- Xining sits at about 2,200 m. It is the usual place to acclimatise before Tibet, and that is why most people are here.
Three lines, one price
- All three airport coach lines charge 21 yuan and take about an hour. Other guides report 20 to 25, so the price is stable within a few yuan.
- East line: airport, Bayilu coach station, Xining railway station. 05:30, then hourly 07:00 to 20:00, with the pattern adjusting after 17:00.
- Downtown line: airport, Yinlong Hotel, Yile Hotel. 08:00 to 18:00, hourly.
- Haihu new district line: airport, Sofitel at Wanda Plaza and the Xinhualian shopping centre, Jinjiang Inn. 08:00 to 18:00, every two hours.
The line most people want
- Take the east line if you are heading for a train, and in Xining most visitors are.
- Xining railway station is where the Qinghai to Tibet railway starts. The Lhasa train is the reason a great many people pass through this airport at all.
- Its 05:30 first departure is the earliest of the three lines, which also makes it the one to know for a dawn flight out.
There is no airport station
- No railway station serves the airport itself. The coach to Xining railway station is the connection, and it takes an hour.
- Build that hour into any train booking, plus the usual margin for a Chinese station's security queue.
Altitude
- Xining is at roughly 2,200 m.
- It is the standard place to spend a night or two before going up to Lhasa, and arriving here already tired from a long flight is a poor start.
- Taxis run 40 to 150 yuan depending on distance, about 30 minutes to the centre.
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