Overview: Airplane, regular railway,high-speed railway, bus transportion in Xian , Lanzhou , Zhangye , Jiayuguan , Dunhuang , Turpan , Urumuqi, Kashgar and more cities along the Silk Road of China. Transportation details of routes, airports, flights, trains schedule and booking offices are offered for each city.

The ancient trading route along silk road in China covers several major cities: Xian – Lanzhou-Zhangye -Jiayuguan - Dunhuang – Turpan -Urumqi - Kashgar.   

Air Links
Along the Silk Road, Xian, Lanzhou and Urumuqi are the top three entry cities for airplanes. Secondly they are Dunhuang and Kashgar. Frequency of flights can vary from several times each day to once a week. Airplanes are the most efficient, comfortable to all of open cities and areas in China.
 
Xi’an
As Xi'an is located in the heartland of China, it takes no more than 2 hoursfly from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (IATA: XIY) to  to most major Chinese cities. Located 40 km northwest of the city centre, the Xianyang airport is the largest one in the northwest of China and mainly used by Chang'an Airlines and China Eastern Airlines.
 
Domestic flights are available to Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dunhuang,Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Harbin, Hangzhou, Hohhot, Kunming, Lhasa, Lanzhou, Zhangye, Nanjing,Shanghai, Shenzhen, Urumqi, Wuhan, Xining and Zhangjiajie within China.International flights are available to Bangkok, Fukuoka, Tokyo, Hong Kong,Osaka, Pusan, Sapporo, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and more major cities in Asia. 

Urumqi
Urumqi International Airport is one of six major airports with flights to West Asian and European countries in China. Centered on Urumqi, domestic air routes radiate out to Lanzhou, Xi'an, Beijing and Shanghai. Closer to home, routes within Xinjiang itself serve Hami, Korla, Kuqa, Khotan, Kashgar, Aksu, Yining,Karamay, Fuyun and Altay.

Lanzhou
Flights from more than 20 cities depart and arrive at Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (IATA: LHW).
Daily flights to Beijing, Shanghai,Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dunhuang, Fuzhou,Guangzhou, Haikou, Hangzhou, Jiayuguan, Kunming, Nanjing, Qingdao, Shanghai,Shenyang, Shenzhen, Urumqi, Wenzhou, Wuhan, Xiamen, Xi'an and Zhengzhou.

Dunhuang
Dunhuang Airport (IATA: DNH) is located 12km in the east of Dunhuang city. Flights are available to Beijing, Lanzhou, Xi’an,Shanghai,Hangzhou,Chongqing,Chengdu and Guangzhou. The frequency of flights increases during summer and decreases during winter.

Kashgar
From Urumqi to Kashgar, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, and Hainan Airlines runs morning, afternoon and evening flights a day. Thefrequency of flights increases during summer and decreases during winter. The Kashgar Airport has an international two-weekly routine flights from Urumqi to Kashgar then to Islamabad, of Pakistan. 


Regular railway Connection
Regular railway along the Silk Road is connected with the Xian-Lanzhou Railway and Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway. The project that China's third drive to upgrade train speeds across the nation covers the two sections of railway. There are over 31 trains vary from 6 to 8 hours through Xian and Lanzhou.  

The Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway runs more than 2,000 kilometers from Lanzhou City in Gansu Province  in the east to Alataw Pass, the westernmost point ofthe Chinese section of the second Eurasian Link. This principal artery enables Lanzhou link to Zhangye, Jiayuguan, Dunhuang in Gansu and Urumqi, Turpan,Kashgar and other cities in Xinjiang; As well as Gansu, Xinjiang links to the rest of China.

A dual-track section of the Lanzhou-Urumqi railroad is already operational and construction of the Korla-Kashgar section of the Southern Xinjiang Railroad,also a major project, is in full swing. Works to the value of 2.4 billion yuanhave been completed in the westward extension of the Southern Xinjiang railroad and the northern section of Wusu-Ala Pass railway.

The Lanzhou-Urumqi rail line was completed in 1963, ending Xinjiang's economic isolation, with the completion of the railway between Urumqi and Kashgar made the train travel on the Silk Road more extended. So far train tickets are not possible to be booked or purchased outside of China. If you are in China you can purchase it easily directly from the main train station (be noticed that you may have to stay in a long line in high seasons. Alternatively, We can book it for you and make it available to you on your arrival. For which you have to payUS$ 5 as a service fee for per ticket.

There are several ticket options which are available :
1. Hard Seat - A bald seat, only slightly more expensive than a bus ticket,which is the most crowded, sometimes with unassigned seats unless you buy your ticket at the originating station.

2. Hard Sleeper - A hold sleeper, consisting of open compartments with six berths, is usually the most difficult to obtain, roughly the cost equals to the one fourth of the Airfare for the same distance.

3. Soft Sleeper - is an enclosed compartment containing four berths similar Eastern European coaches, The price is roughly equals half the price of the Airfare for the same distance.

High-Speed Railway Connection

From 2014 the high-speed trains are successively opened from Lanzhou to Urumuqi. Afterwards many high-speed trains run to Lanzhou from the eastern cities of China. Lanzhou can be the very important transfer point to further west of China.

Here are examples for running hours of high-speed trains to the main cities of the silk road.

Xi’an--Lanzhou (around 3hours);

Lanzhou--Zhangye (around 3 hoursand 20 minutes);

Zhangye--Jiayuguan (around 1hour and 20 minutes);

Jiayuguan--Dunhuang (around 2.5hours);

Zhangye--Dunhuang (around 3hours);

Dunhuang(Liuyuannan)--Turpan (around3hours and 20 minutes);

Turpan--Urumuqi (around 1 hour);

Lanzhou--Dunhuang (8 hours and20 minutes);

Lanzhou--Urumuqi (around10.5-11hours)

By Road
Buses, the most inexpensive way of transportation, tend to be slow moving,especially in Xinjiang, where they regularly depart one or two hours behind schedule, or the desert sucks the life out of everything which moves or attempts to do so the three-days' bus ride from Urumqi to Kashgar (with overnights in Korla and Aksu) is highly recommended for the hardy travellers, offering spectacular views of the only Mountains and interesting glimpses of the oasis towns along the northern rim of the Taklamakan Desert.
Another option is to hire a land cruiser or mini car, enabling you to visit sites far from cities or towns which would be inaccessible. Costs can be minimized if you are in a group. Prices should be based on the number days hired and kilometers travelled.

Urumqi to Turpan
It takes 3.5 hour by bus or nearly 2.5 hours by train from Urumqi to Turpan.

Turpan to Korla
It takes 5 hour by bus or nearly 10 hours by train from Turban to Korla.

Korla to Kuqa
It takes 4 hour by bus or nearly 5 hours by train from Korla to Kuqa.

Kuqa to Khotan
It takes 12 hour by bus or nearly 20 hours by train from Kuqa to Khotan.

Khotan to Kashgar
It takes 11 hour by bus or nearly 10 hours train from Khotan to Kaghgar.

Kashgar to Urumqi
It takes 1.5 hour by fly or at least 30 hours by train from Kashgar to Urumqi.