In short
Yinchuan Hedong runs five coach routes in two fare bands: the three city lines and the extension cost ¥20 per person, while the Wuzhong city terminal line costs ¥35. Start with the city routes. Line 1 to the Xigang Aviation Hotel is the useful one: at 87 Shengli North Street in Xingqing district beside Nanmen Square and about a kilometre from Gulou, it runs non-stop in about 35 minutes; towards the airport it now starts at 05:30 following a change on 1 September 2026 that also dropped the former 07:00 run and finishes at 20:00, while towards the city it departs after arriving flights and keeps going until the last arrival of the day, with the final two runs labelled "last bus 1" and "last bus 2". Line 2 serves the Beijing Hualian shopping centre at Yuehai Xintiandi, whose south plaza sits at the junction of Zhengyuan North Street and Kangping Road in Jinfeng district, taking 45 to 50 minutes, running 08:00 to 18:00 towards the airport and 09:30 to 19:30 towards the city; it also has an extension reaching Yinchuan railway station in about 90 minutes because it calls at Yuehai Xintiandi, though its fixed timetable still rests on the 2019 Ningxia Daily launch report of seven runs from the station and six from the airport, nothing having been published since, so phone 0951-6912480 on the day. Line 3 reaches Youyuecheng, outside apartment block 5 on Lingshui Street in Jinfeng district, a journey of about 50 minutes but only two return trips a day: 08:00 and 14:00 from the city, 12:00 and 17:00 from the airport. The fifth is the Wuzhong city terminal line, finishing on the ground floor of the Jindu Hotel at 337 Mingzhu West Road in Litong district, opposite the new Wuzhong coach station, ¥35 and about 60 minutes, departing Wuzhong at 10:00 and 16:00 and the airport at 13:00 and 19:30; note the numbering trap, since some official and semi-official tables also call this service line 3, colliding with urban line 3 to Youyuecheng, so name your destination rather than a number when buying. Boarding and tickets: every route leaves from the coach bays on the Terminal 3 arrivals level, so read the board before you queue, and buy at the platform kiosk, from a self-service machine, or through the Yinchuan Airport Sai Shang Xing WeChat account and app. The three city lines cost ¥20 and children under 1.3 metres travel free, though the free ticket has to be collected at a staffed window. Three final points matter in practice: the airport’s own site at ningxia.cwag.com was returning a 502 error when this page was compiled on 31 October 2026, so every time and fare here was verified instead against the official Sai Shang Xing WeChat account as republished by CARNOC and the Yinchuan local portal, an airport traffic police press release and Ningxia Daily, with no cross-check possible; a Yanchi route at ¥40 sold by third-party sites is deliberately omitted because it appears only on crowdsourced encyclopedias and coach-ticket portals with nothing official or mainstream confirming it in three years; and all departures shift with the flight seasons, so ring ahead in winter on 0951-6912480 for coaches or 0951-96111 for the airport.
- Number of routes
- Five: three city lines, a station extension and the Wuzhong line
- City fare
- A flat ¥20 per person; under 1.3 metres free
- Intercity fare
- ¥35 per person to the Wuzhong city terminal
- Boarding point
- Coach bays on the Terminal 3 arrivals level
- Where to buy
- Platform kiosk, machines, or the Sai Shang Xing WeChat account and app
- The quickest route
- Line 1, about 35 min, running to the last arrival
- Numbering trap
- The Wuzhong line is also called line 3 in some tables, so name your destination
- Hotlines
- Coaches 0951-6912480, airport 0951-96111
- Official website
- Returning 502 on 31 Oct 2026, so no cross-check was possible
How to take each option
Finding the bays and buying your ticket
Fare ¥20 on city lines, ¥35 to Wuzhong
- After baggage claim follow the airport bus signs on the Terminal 3 arrivals level, where all five routes board from the same bays. Read the board on the front of each coach before you join any queue.
- Buy at the platform kiosk or from a self-service machine, or in advance through the Yinchuan Airport Sai Shang Xing WeChat account and app. The three city lines and the extension are ¥20 per person, the Wuzhong line ¥35.
- Children under 1.3 metres travel free, but that ticket has to be issued at a staffed window because the machines cannot produce one, so go straight to the kiosk if children are with you.
- Give your destination rather than a route number: the Wuzhong service also appears as line 3 in several tables, colliding with line 3 to Youyuecheng, and the main line 2 is easily confused with its own extension to the railway station.
- Confirm times on the day, since every route shifts with the flight seasons. The coach hotline is 0951-6912480 and the airport enquiry line 0951-96111.
The airport’s own site at ningxia.cwag.com was returning a 502 error when this page was compiled on 31 October 2026, so the fares, times and boarding points could not be cross-checked against its coach page and were verified instead through the official Sai Shang Xing WeChat account as republished by CARNOC and the Yinchuan local portal, alongside Ningxia Daily. Do re-check once the site is back.
In a hurry or arriving late: line 1 is the dependable one
First 05:30Last 20:00
- Line 1 is the shortest ride at about 35 minutes non-stop to the Xigang Aviation Hotel, close to Nanmen Square and Gulou.
- It is also the only route at the airport end that keeps going until the day’s last arrival: there is no fixed last departure towards the city, and the table writes the final two runs as "last bus 1" and "last bus 2".
- The other four wrap up early: line 2 at 19:30, its extension at 19:30, line 3 at 17:00, and the Wuzhong line running its last airport departure at 19:30. Miss even line 1 and you are down to taxis and ride-hailing, because Yinchuan has no metro to fall back on.
The 05:30 first departure towards the airport took effect on 1 September 2026 along with the withdrawal of the 07:00 run, so plan early flights around it. Since the airport site is down, this too rests only on republished WeChat material, so confirm it by phone before you travel.
When the coach does not fit: weighing trains and taxis instead
- For Yinchuan station the high-speed train wins outright: Hedong Airport station lies below ground west of Terminal 3, two to five minutes away, and the 20-minute ride costing ¥6 to ¥15 beats the extension’s 90 minutes by a wide margin.
- The same applies to Wuzhong and Zhongwei South: take a down-direction train from that same station, 16 to 18 minutes and ¥14 to ¥18 to Wuzhong, 65 to 77 minutes and ¥78 to Zhongwei South, both quicker than the ¥35 Wuzhong coach at about 60 minutes on two runs a day.
- Late at night, or when several people travel together and neither coach nor train fits, take a metered taxi instead: ¥9 covering the first 3 kilometres, with a third-party reference range of ¥50 to ¥90 and about 40 minutes to the People’s Square and Gulou area.
The latest Sai Shang Xing WeChat release governs fares and times for every route. The times quoted here come from three vintages — 2019 for the extension, 2025 for lines 1, 2 and 3, and 2026 for the line 1 change — and each is labelled with its year wherever versions appear side by side.
Late-night and early-morning arrivals
At night only one coach is still moving: line 1 has no fixed last departure towards the city and follows the day’s last arrival, with the final two runs written as "last bus 1" and "last bus 2" and the latest scheduled run in the 2025 table at 22:30. It finishes at the Xigang Aviation Hotel beside Nanmen Square, so you still solve the last few hundred metres yourself. The other four wrap up early: line 2 at 19:30, its extension at 19:30, line 3 at 17:00, and the Wuzhong line running its last airport departure at 19:30. After midnight, even if line 1 has gone, there is no metro fallback in Yinchuan, leaving only taxis and ride-hailing: taxis board from the point across the road about 50 metres to the left after leaving Terminal 3 through door 3, ride-hailing picks up over the footbridge in the transfer centre, and the 20 per cent night supplement starts at 23:00. There is also a possibly quicker route: if Yinchuan station is your destination, the last up-direction train leaves Hedong Airport station around 22:42 per third-party data, to be confirmed on 12306, which usually beats any coach.
Questions travellers ask
How many bus routes does Yinchuan Hedong Airport have?
Five, not the three usually quoted: the three city lines to Xigang, Yuehai Xintiandi and Youyuecheng plus the Yinchuan railway station extension all cost ¥20 per person, and there is also the Wuzhong city terminal line at ¥35. Some third-party tables list only three and re-number the Wuzhong route; this page follows the airport’s own scheme and shows Wuzhong separately.
How much is the airport bus?
A flat ¥20 per person on the three city lines and the extension, with children under 1.3 metres travelling free if the ticket is issued at a staffed window rather than a machine, and ¥35 per person to the Wuzhong city terminal. Nothing official mentions distance-based fares or a luggage charge, so this page quotes no figure for either.
How long does it take to reach the city?
Published journey times are about 35 minutes on line 1, 45 to 50 on line 2, 50 on line 3 although the airport’s 2026 release says 60 and this page uses the earlier figure, about 90 minutes on the line 2 extension and about 60 minutes to Wuzhong. Treat these as running estimates: traffic peaks and bad weather will lengthen them.
Where do the coaches leave from?
All five board from the same coach-bay area on the Terminal 3 arrivals level, so read the board on the front of each vehicle before queueing. In the city, line 1 boards at the Xigang Aviation Hotel entrance at 87 Shengli North Street in Xingqing district, line 2 at the south plaza of Yuehai Xintiandi, line 3 outside apartment block 5 at Youyuecheng, the extension at block A of the high-speed service centre by Yinchuan railway station, and the Wuzhong line at the city terminal on the ground floor of the Jindu Hotel.
What time does the last bus leave?
Towards the airport: 20:00 on line 1, running from 05:30 since 1 September 2026, 18:00 on line 2, 17:20 on the extension, 14:00 on line 3 and 16:00 on the Wuzhong line. Towards the city, the only route with no fixed last departure is line 1, which follows the last arrival; the others finish at 19:30 on line 2, 19:30 on the extension, 17:00 on line 3 and a last Wuzhong departure at 19:30.
Can I get to Yinchuan railway station by coach?
Yes, but only on line 2 extension at ¥20 for about 90 minutes via Yuehai Xintiandi. Its fixed timetable still dates from 2019 with seven runs towards the station from 07:20 to 17:20 and nothing published since, so call 0951-6912480 on the day; if you are in a hurry, go downstairs instead and take the 20-minute train.
Is there a coach to Yanchi?
This page omits it. The Yanchi city terminal line at ¥40 per person appears only on crowdsourced encyclopedias and coach-ticket portals, with nothing from the airport or mainstream media in the past three years, so it is left out deliberately. For Yanchi, take the train or change at Yinchuan station or coach station instead.
Why do some sources say line 3 goes to Wuzhong?
Two numbering systems exist side by side. The airport’s own releases of May 2025 and August 2026 assign line 1 to Xigang, line 2 to Yuehai and line 3 to Youyuecheng, whereas crowdsourced encyclopedias and coach portals label line 3 as Wuzhong and line 4 as Yanchi. This page uses the official scheme and lists Wuzhong outside the numbered sequence. Always name your destination when buying.
Can I pay for the coach with a foreign card or buy online?
Tickets can be bought through the Yinchuan Airport Sai Shang Xing WeChat account and app, and at the platform from the staffed kiosk or a self-service machine. There is no dedicated payments page and nothing says the stops accept international cards, and foreign plastic generally does not work, so carry cash or set up Alipay and WeChat Pay beforehand.
Do the timetables change with the seasons?
They do. The airport states plainly that departures shift with each flight season and that its Sai Shang Xing channel carries the current table. The times here come from 2019, 2025 and 2026 versions, with the extension not having been refreshed since 2019, so ring the coach hotline on 0951-6912480 or the airport on 0951-96111 to confirm that day’s arrangements.
The airport website is down — how reliable is this data?
The airport site at ningxia.cwag.com was returning a 502 error when this page was compiled on 31 October 2026, so cross-checking was impossible. Instead this page relies on the official Sai Shang Xing WeChat account as republished by CARNOC and the Yinchuan local portal, a press release from the traffic police detachment of the Ningxia airport public security bureau, and Ningxia Daily, with fares taken from the official figures quoted by the local portal and CARNOC. That is the largest verification gap here, recorded in the gaps below, and a re-check is advisable once the site returns.