In short
Start with the distance, because it shapes everything: Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport sits in Qinwangchuan, in Lanzhou New Area, roughly 70 km north of the city centre, which makes it one of the furthest provincial-capital airports from its own downtown in China. Do not plan around a twenty-minute express link. There are three ways in. The first, and the one we would point most travellers to, is the intercity railway: Zhongchuan Airport East station lies directly beneath the Terminal 3 transport hub, with its concourse on B1 and platforms on B2, so a lift from the arrivals level drops you into the station, and the airport quotes ten minutes for the whole air-to-rail transfer. You board with your passport, no paper ticket needed. On 1 November 2026 the 12306 schedule showed 20 departures that day towards Lanzhou West, the fastest being C9834 at 38 minutes, with second-class fares of ¥16–28 and the cheapest train, C612, at ¥16 for 40 minutes; the first departure is C612 at 07:02 and the last C9836 at 22:14. Towards Lanzhou station there were nine departures, the fastest 53 minutes, second class ¥16–23, last train 21:09. Lanzhou West is in Qilihe district, still a few kilometres west of the centre, so from there you continue by taxi or city transport; Lanzhou station is already inside Chengguan, the real centre. The second way is the airport coach: line 1 costs ¥30 and takes about 70 minutes to the Lanzhou Railway Station area via Wanda Crossing and the Dongfang Hotel, running on the airport side whenever a flight lands, roughly every 20 minutes; line 2 costs ¥40 and runs 10:00 to 21:00 to the south end of Zhongshan Bridge and the New Victory Hotel at Xiguan; line 5 costs ¥50 and serves the Yantan district between 10:00 and 21:00, with no journey time published. All three board at doors 10 and 11 on level 1 of Terminal 3. The third is a taxi or a ride-hailing car, door to door but by far the most expensive: the airport’s own transfer guide quotes about ¥150 and roughly 1.5 hours, while third-party travel sites quote ¥180–220 including the expressway toll. Neither is an official price, because Lanzhou publishes only the tariff formula — ¥10 for the first 3 km, ¥1.4 per km thereafter, plus a deadheading charge beyond 10 km — and never an airport-to-city fare.
- Airport to the city centre
- About 70 km, in Qinwangchuan, Lanzhou New Area
- Railway station at the airport
- Zhongchuan Airport East (ZRJ), B1/B2 beneath T3
- Intercity to Lanzhou West
- From 38 min, ¥16–28 second class, 20 trains a day
- Intercity to Lanzhou station
- From 53 min, ¥16–23, last train 21:09
- First and last intercity train
- First 07:02 (C612), last 22:14 (C9836)
- Airport coach fares
- Line 1 ¥30, line 2 ¥40, line 5 ¥50
- Coach line 1
- About 70 min to Lanzhou station, first landing to last
- Coach boarding point
- Doors 10 and 11, level 1 of Terminal 3
- Taxi flag fall
- ¥10 for the first 3 km, then ¥1.4 per km
- Taxi reference range
- About ¥150 / 1.5 h per the airport, ¥180–220 third-party — neither official
How to take each option
Recommended: the intercity train beneath Terminal 3
Time 38 min to Lanzhou West, 53 to Lanzhou stationFare ¥16–28 to Lanzhou West, ¥16–23 to Lanzhou stationFirst 07:02Last 22:14
- After baggage claim do not head outdoors: look for the transport hub or railway signs in the Terminal 3 arrivals hall and take the lift or escalator down to B2, where the platforms of Zhongchuan Airport East station sit, with the concourse one level up on B1.
- Read the departure screens carefully: trains to Lanzhou West and to Lanzhou station run in different directions with different gates, so check which one you are boarding.
- Buy your ticket through 12306, at the station windows or from the machines, or simply scan the ID document you booked with at the gate, since no paper ticket is required.
- Lanzhou West takes from 38 minutes at ¥16–28, while Lanzhou station takes about 53 minutes at ¥16–23. For the centre, Chengguan district, buy to Lanzhou station, which is cheaper and puts you in town; if you are continuing west or south by high-speed rail, get off at Lanzhou West.
- Lanzhou West is not the centre: it stands in Qilihe district, a few kilometres west, so from there take a taxi or a city bus further east.
This is the best option at the airport: from ¥16, 38 minutes, and completely unaffected by traffic on the airport expressway. Two caveats: the first train is at 07:02 and the last at 22:14 towards Lanzhou West and 21:09 towards Lanzhou station, so very early or very late arrivals miss out; and the daily count is limited, 20 towards Lanzhou West and nine towards Lanzhou station, so check that day’s times on 12306 before you fly.
Airport coach line 1: ¥30 direct to Lanzhou Railway Station
Time About 70 minFare ¥30
- Follow the coach signs to the departure point at doors 10 and 11 on level 1 of Terminal 3; you can also come down from the level-2 corridor of the transport hub to the same kerb.
- Buy your ticket on board at the flat fare of ¥30; departures run roughly every 20 minutes and leave early once full.
- The route calls at Wanda Crossing and the Dongfang Hotel by Lanzhou University before finishing at Lanzhou Railway Station and the Civil Aviation Building, right in Chengguan, from where city transport or a short walk reaches most hotels.
This is the only line that follows the flights: on the airport side it runs whenever a flight lands, with no fixed last departure, so late arrivals can almost always find a coach. Towards the airport it runs 04:30 to 23:30.
Coach lines 2 and 5: pick by where you are staying
Fare ¥40 / ¥50
- Line 2 costs ¥40 and runs 10:00 to 21:00, roughly hourly, via Evergrande Oasis and Dashaping to the south end of Zhongshan Bridge and the New Victory Hotel at Xiguan. Choose it if you are staying in the old centre south of the Yellow River.
- Line 5 costs ¥50 and departs on the hour between 10:00 and 21:00, finishing at Yantan, the Haihong Holiday Hotel, and dropping passengers in sequence within about 3 km of it, which is close to a door-to-door service.
- Both board at doors 10 and 11 on level 1 of Terminal 3 and finish at 21:00, after which line 1, line 3 or a taxi are the remaining options.
Line 2 is officially quoted at about 70 minutes, while no journey time is published for line 5, so this page quotes none. Fares and times come from the Lanzhou New Area announcement of 20 March 2025, so confirm on the day at the airport or through the airport coach WeChat account.
Taxi or ride-hailing
Time About 1.5 hours (airport figure)Fare Metered, plus the expressway toll
- Taxis queue at the ground-level passenger pick-up zone of Terminal 3, on the first and second kerbs outside the terminal; the airport also describes it as the second kerb outside Exit 11 of the international arrivals hall.
- Show the driver your hotel name and address in Chinese, say clearly that you want the meter rather than a negotiated price, and keep the receipt with the cab number. In October 2026 the Lanzhou New Area authorities were running an enforcement drive against refusal to carry, fare haggling, refusing the meter and forced ride-sharing.
- Ride-hailing does not use the taxi rank: walk to zone A on level P5 of the car park, the P5A passenger pick-up point, where the airport keeps 400 dedicated waiting bays.
- Pay what the meter shows and expect to cover the airport expressway toll yourself, which third-party route estimates put at roughly ¥14–23, so it is worth asking before you set off.
No official airport-to-city fare exists: the airport itself quotes about ¥150 and 1.5 hours, third-party travel sites quote ¥180–220, and both are reference ranges rather than prices. Complaints go to 0931-8254855, the Lanzhou New Area transport enforcement line, or 12328, the national transport service hotline.
Once you are at Lanzhou West or Lanzhou station
- Lanzhou station sits in the middle of Chengguan: step out and you are in the centre, and most hotels around Panxuan Road or Xiguan are a short, cheap ride away.
- Lanzhou West, in Qilihe district, is Gansu’s high-speed hub, sending trains west to Xining, Zhangye, Jiayuguan, Dunhuang and Urumqi and east to Xi’an and Tianshui.
- If you are continuing by rail, pick one of the links at the foot of this page to see times and fares, and book there.
Do not confuse the two stations: Lanzhou station, code LZJ, is the old main-line station in the centre, while Lanzhou West, code LAJ, is the high-speed hub in Qilihe. Intercity trains from the airport serve both.
Late-night and early-morning arrivals
Late arrivals need to watch the last intercity departures: towards Lanzhou West the final train is C9836 at 22:14, arriving 22:55, and towards Lanzhou station it is C610 at 21:09, arriving 22:05. After those, two options remain: coach line 1, which runs whenever a flight lands and therefore has no fixed last departure, and line 3 to Lanzhou West, which runs through to about 01:00. Lines 2 and 5 finish at 21:00. Beyond that there are only taxis and ride-hailing, which work as long as aircraft arrive; between 22:00 and 06:00 the night tariff applies, ¥10 for the first 3 km, ¥1.6 per km from 3 to 10 km and ¥2.3 per km one-way beyond 10 km, making the run noticeably dearer than by day.
Questions travellers ask
How far is Lanzhou airport from the city centre?
About 70 km: the airport sits in Qinwangchuan, in Lanzhou New Area, north of the city, which makes it one of the furthest provincial-capital airports from its own downtown. Plan for a real journey rather than a twenty-minute hop. The intercity train reaches Lanzhou West in 38 minutes, the coach takes about 70, and the airport puts a taxi at roughly 1.5 hours.
What is the fastest and cheapest way into Lanzhou?
Both questions have the same answer: the intercity train beneath Terminal 3. It reaches Lanzhou West in as little as 38 minutes for ¥16–28 in second class, and Lanzhou station in 53 minutes for ¥16–23, with the latter already in the centre. It is immune to expressway traffic and an order of magnitude cheaper than a cab.
Is there a metro at Lanzhou airport?
No metro reaches the airport itself, but something more direct does: Zhongchuan Airport East sits beneath the Terminal 3 transport hub, with its concourse on B1 and platforms on B2, and a lift from arrivals puts you inside the station, the airport quoting ten minutes for the transfer. Lanzhou city does have a metro network, covered on our Lanzhou metro page.
How much is the airport bus and how long does it take?
Line 1 costs ¥30 and takes about 70 minutes to Lanzhou Railway Station, line 2 costs ¥40 and about 70 minutes to Xiguan and the south end of Zhongshan Bridge, and line 5 costs ¥50 to Yantan with no published journey time. All three board at doors 10 and 11 on level 1 of Terminal 3. The minute figures for lines 1, 2 and 3 come from the Gansu transport department page, which predates Terminal 3 and may be out of date.
What time does the last airport bus leave?
Line 1 has no fixed last departure: on the airport side it runs whenever a flight lands. Line 3 to Lanzhou West runs through to about 01:00, and lines 2 and 5 finish at 21:00. Towards the airport, line 1 runs 04:30 to 23:30 from the city.
How much is a taxi from Lanzhou airport to the city centre?
That figure is never published officially. The airport’s own transfer guide quotes about ¥150 and 1.5 hours, third-party travel sites quote ¥180–220 including tolls, and both are reference ranges rather than prices. What you can check is the tariff: ¥10 for the first 3 km, ¥1.4 per km, plus a ¥0.7 per km deadheading charge beyond 10 km on one-way trips, taking the rate to ¥2.1, with the expressway toll paid on top.
Can I pay for a Lanzhou taxi with Alipay or WeChat Pay?
The airport publishes no dedicated payment page. In practice cash and Alipay or WeChat QR payment all work while foreign cards generally do not, so carry some cash or link an international card to Alipay or WeChat Pay before flying. Ride-hailing is priced by the platform and should be settled inside the app.
Is there public transport if I land late at night?
Yes, but watch the clock: the last intercity train leaves at 22:14 towards Lanzhou West and 21:09 towards Lanzhou station, while coach line 1 follows the flights with no fixed last run and line 3 continues to about 01:00. Miss all of them and a taxi or ride-hailing car is all that is left, with the night tariff between 22:00 and 06:00 costing noticeably more than a daytime ride.
Should I buy a ticket to Lanzhou station or Lanzhou West?
It depends where you are going. Lanzhou station, code LZJ, is in the middle of Chengguan and puts you straight into the centre, so it suits anyone staying in the old town, while Lanzhou West, code LAJ, is Gansu’s high-speed hub in Qilihe and suits anyone continuing west or south by rail. Intercity trains from the airport serve both, from ¥16.
Which option suits heavy luggage?
A taxi or ride-hailing car door to door is the easiest, from the Terminal 3 ground-level rank or the P5A car-park point, but it is the most expensive and must be metered. The intercity train is friendly too: a lift from arrivals takes you down to B2 with no long interchange corridors, though you still need a cab for the last leg. On the coaches you load your own bags into the hold.
How early should I leave the airport for the city?
The intercity train takes as little as 38 minutes to Lanzhou West, but allow time to walk down to the B2 platform and clear security, so budget an hour into the centre. The coach takes about 70 minutes with intermediate stops, so 90 minutes is safer, and the airport puts a taxi at roughly 1.5 hours, longer at evening peak.