Xian’s Yang Airport (XIY) is located around 30 miles north-west of the city and is an important transportation hub for central China. Listed as China’s fourth busiest airport, it services 68 domestic connections daily. Newer routes include flights connecting Xian with Jiuzhaigou, Lianyungang, Ningbo and Zhengzhou. International services connect Xian with Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. There are also airline routes connecting the US, Canada and Europe via transfers in Beijing or Shanghai.

The airport offers basic facilities and amenities, including duty-free shopping and a restaurant on the first floor and cafeteria on the second floor. Transportation between the airport and the city is offered by taxis and a number of shuttle buses, with a journey time of close to an hour by taxi, and quite a bit longer by bus. Although shuttle bus services are significantly less expensive than a taxi, there are many lines running to the city and it will be necessary to know the zone of your destination.

The centre of Xian is of greatest interest to tourists and is easy to negotiate on foot, as a number of important monuments and attractions are located in a relatively small and compact area. For other city attractions that are a bit farther afield, there are buses running frequently as well as smaller and more crowded minibuses. Taxis are plentiful in the centre, but it is important to be sure that the meter is switched on. Hiring a bicycle is also possibility, but you are advised that the traffic can be very heavy on the city’s busy streets.

Xian’s rail station is an important terminal for China’s domestic railway system, being the key junction between the south-west and the north-west and also between the east and the west of the country. The station is located in the northern part of the city, taking about a half hour by taxi to reach from the centre. There are buses that run to the station as well, which can be found on every main street. It’s recommended that you buy train tickets well in advance of travel, especially during the peak travel seasons and that you ask for assistance in making the booking, as this can be quite difficult if you don’t speak Chinese.