Plan your travel to Chongqing? As a junction of Southwestern Central China and a large city upstream on the Yangtze River, Chongqing is one of the most important transportion hubs to connect eastern and western China. The transportation system of Choqngqing has been developed very well in recent years and it can be easily reached by air, train or long-distance bus.
By Air
There are four airports in Chongqing, such as Jiangbei International Airport, Wanzhou Wuqiao Airport, Wulong Xiannvshan Airport and Qianjiang Wulingshan Airport.
Jiangbei International Airport is the busiest airport in Chongqing. This airport has both international and domestic flights available. It is roughly 21 kilometers to north of the downtown and is one of the largest aviation hubs in Southwest China. Flights from this airport reach 300 cities home and abroad, including all the provincial capital cities in China and international cities such as HK, Macau, Tokyo, Bangkok, Jeju, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sydney, Moscow, etc. The airport can be reached by an airport shuttle bus line and metro line 3 & line 10 from the city's downtown core.
Wulong Xiannvshan Airport is predicted to serve the public in 2020, which will be about 45 kilometers from Wulong District and about 5.5 kilometers from Xiannvshan Mountain National Forest Park. Wulong Airport will run domestic flights to/from major cities including Beijing, Guangzhou, Changsha, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Xian, Guiyang… In addition, Wulong Xianvshan Airport is a critical part to constitute the natural heritage and cultural heritage tourism air route of “Zhangjiajie – Wulong – Jiuzhaigou – Lijiang – Kunming”. And then it will take just 50 minutes flying to/from Zhangjiajie, 60 minutes to/from Jiuzhaigou, 1h and 20 minutes to/from Kunming and 40 minutes to/from Chengdu.
Wanzhou Wuqiao Airport is the second international airport in Chongqing, which brings great benefits to passengers who intend to visit Three Gorges Reservoir Region. It is about 5 kilometers from downtown. The airport runs domestic flights to/from more than 20 cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Changsha, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Zhuhai, Nanning, Huizhou, Guilin, Nanchang, Quanzhou, Xian, Xining, Chengdu, Kunming, Guiyang, Haikou, Lhasa… and international flights to/from Hong Kong, Macao, Chiang Rai and Siem Reap. Two airport shuttle buses are available.
Qianjiang Wulingshan Airport is about 3 kilometers away from downtown Qianjiang and 120 kilometers from Wuling Mountain National Forest Park, operating domestic flights to /from runs Chongqing, Chengdu, Wenzhou, Hangzhou, Changsha, Beijing, Kunming and Qingdao. You can take city bus line 305 travelling between airport and downtown Chongqing.
By Train
There are more than 140 scheduled trains pass through Choqngqing City daily. These trains can reach all the capital cities of China except Yinchuan. Train T222, starting from Chongqing North Railway Station to Lhasa, is a nice option to enter Tibet.
There are three main railway stations in the city, such as Chongqing Railway Station, Chongqing North Railway Station, Chongqing East Railway Station, and Chongqing West Railway Station. Visitors can get to Chongqing easily if taking trains from other cities of China.
By Long-distance Bus
Nowadays, there are 7 expressways connecting the city of Chongqing with other cities, thus long-distance buses are very important vehicles for the city. Major long-distance bus stations are distributed throughout the city's different districts making traveling convenient and fast.
The main long-distance bus stations in Chongqing: Chongqing Bus Station, North Bus Station, Sigongli Transportation Hub, Chenjiaping Bus Station, Shapingba Bus Station, Longtousi Bus Station and Chongqing Long-distance Bus Station.
By Ship
Because of the its ideal location on the Yangtze River, ships have easy access to the city. This city serves as the starting point of several luxury Yangtze River Cruises, travelers can choose one of the cruises to explore the splendid river and the grand Three Gorges Dam. Chaotianmen Dock operates frequent passenger ships to Yichang, spending 30-49 hours.
City Transport
Metro : Metro is the fastest transportation mode in Chongqing. At present, there are six metro lines in service, which are line 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 10. Among them, lines 2, 3 are light rail lines while lines 1, 5, 6 and 10 are metro lines. Travelers are able to reach Jiangbei International Airport, North Railway Station, Chongqing Railway Station, Chaotianmen Dock and most of the Long-distance Bus Stations by subway. The ticket fare is charged on the distance travelled. In addition to these lines, there are another 4 lines under construction, Line 4, Line 9, Line 18 and Circle Line. According to the long-term plan, 18 subway lines with a total length of 820 km will be constructed by 2050.
Bus : More than 660 city bus lines serve the city. Most of them are self-service buses, charging from CNY1 to 3.5 and for air-conditioned ones from CNY2 to 10 in general. Chongqing city bus ticket can be paid by cash or local transportation card.
Taxi : Passengers can take taxis to almost everywhere and even to go to the suburban areas. In day time, a taxi charges CNY10 for the first around 3 km and CNY2 for every additional 1 km. The peak time for taxis is from 07:00 to 09:30, 17:00 to 19:00 and 15:00 to 16:00, during which travelers are advised to book one in advance.
Cablecar & Escalator: Besides the conventional vehicles, Yangtze River Cable Car and escalators are another two distinctive vehicles in the city. The cable car is no longer used as a transportation vehicle, but for sightseeing instead. The Lianglukou Huangguan Escalator, linking Lianglukou and Chongqing Railway Station, is the other distinctive vehicle.