Sichuan Transportation

In China, there is an old saying: "It's harder to get into Sichuan than to get into the heaven", which indicates that traveling to Sichuan is very difficult in the old days. But now as the most developed province and the transport hub in southwestern China, it formed a modern transportation system of railway, highway, waterway and airlines. In the heart of Sichuan Province, Chengdu is the largest transportation junction in Sichuan and also in southwest of China.

  • Railway

    The railway is the main artery of sichuan transportation. The sichuan railway network consists of five railway lines including Baoji-Chengdu railway, eight railway branches and four local railways.

    Major railways in Sichuan include the Baoji–Chengdu, Chengdu–Chongqing, Chengdu–Kunming, Neijiang–Kunming, Suining-Chongqing and Chengdu–Dazhou Railways.

  • Airports

    There are ten airports in Sichuan Province. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is the 4th-busiest airport in mainland China in terms of the number of flights and passengers carried. Chengdu airport also is the hub of Sichuan Airlines, Chengdu Airlines, and Air China.

    The other nine airports are domestic and located in Luzhou City, Yibin City, Dazhou City, Xichang City, Nanchong City, Mianyang City, Panzhihua City, Jiuzhaogou and Guangyuan City.

  • Expressways

    With a total length of 6,016 kilometers, Sichuan expressway ranks the first in the west and the third in China. In Sichuan, almost all the provincial expressways take Chengdu as the hub: Dujiangyan-Chengdu, Mianyang-Chengdu, Chengdu - Leshan - Mt. Emei, Chengdu - Ya'an, Sui-Yu, as well as Neijiang - Zigong - Yibin, the main scenic spots are well covered along the expressways. So, expressways are the best way to travel in Sichuan. Besides, the expressways communicate well with the neighboring provinces and cities: Sichuan-Shanxi, Chengdu-Chongqing, the Sichuan-Tibet.

  • Water

    Sichuan is one of the most developed waterways’ provinces and has the convenient inland-water communications. Yangtze River twists through the province and is the main arteries of water traffic, which constitute a natural water transport network with its main currents and 120 tributaries. All year round, steamboats can travel in the downstream section of the Yangtze from Xinshi Town, as well as the Minjiang River from Leshan City, and in the downstream section of the Jialingjiang River from Langzhong City. Leshan, Yibing, and Luzhou Cities are important river ports in the province. It may be a little slower by boat but extremely worthwhile as you can admire the beauty of the landscape from as you travel and absorb the true spirit of Sichuan.