Xinjiang Transportation

Because of its location as well as the vast territory so that the transportation there may not so convenient as other provinces in China. But the transportation conditions there could support the needs and development. Xinjiang has the most airports in China. And from the capital city Urumqi to places around can be supported by all sorts of vehicles.

Highway

Xinjiang is located in the northwestern frontiers of China, with vast territory so that transportation has long been one of the bottleneck of the economic development. Through more than 50 years of construction, a transportation system that takes highway as base, railway as the backbone, aviation and the oil and gas pipeline as auxiliaries. Inside, they connect areas around (prefectures, counties and cities); outside, they connect Xinjiang with western, eastern and central parts of China as well as counties neighboring Xinjiang. By the end of 2005, the xinjiang highway traffic total mileage reached 89,500 kilometers during which highway are 541 kilometers and the first-class road amounted to 883 kilometers. The capital city, Urumqi, achieved to reach other parts at least by secondary connection of highway. 85 counties (cities) are available to asphalt roads. The whole railway mileage of Xinjiang reached 3,009 kilometers.

Nowadays, a highway network has formed in Xinjiang, which takes Urumqi as the center, national highways as the main lines, goes through the Junggar Basin and Tarim Basin, radiates prefectures, cities,counties, townships and farms, connects Gansu and Qinghai in east and Tibet in south, and reaches places of central Asia and west Asia.

Xinjiang makes the best of the advantages of its bordering with 8 countries and benefits of 17 road first-class national land opening ports.  Now, the middle channel, the thoroughfare of "Lianyungang Port - Helgas Port Highway” has worked and welcomes further exstension; the northern channel, the Xinjing Highway (G7) is built so that the second Xinjiang highway traffic artery is formed. The project of G7 (the part from Barkol to Mulei) has been signed and started to construct; the south channel, the part that connects Yitunbulake (依吞布拉克), Ruoqiang, Hotan, Kashgar and Khunjerab (红其拉甫) has seen first, second and third class highway; the northeastern and south channel, the highway that connects Turpan, Korla, Akau, Kashgar and Irkshtan Port has built. As the contract of G0711 highway from Urumqi to Yuli county is signed, a thoroughfare of northern and south is added.

Aviation

China Xinjiang Airlines was established in 1985. In 2002, it incorporated into China Southern Airlines. There are 22 the airports (including those under construction), namely the Urumqi Diwopu International Airport, Kashgar Airport, Hotan Airport, Yarkand Airport (new), Tumushuke Tangwangcheng Airport(new), Qiemo Airport, Loulan Airport, Tazhong Airport, Aksu Airport, Kuqa Airport, Korla Airport, Turpan Airport, Hami Airport, Shihezi Huayuan Airport, Karamay Airport, Yining Airport, Nalati Airport, Bole Airport, Tacheng Airport, Altay Airport, Kanas Airport, and Fuyun Airport. Xinjiang is the province (region) that has the most airports in China. Among all, Urumqi Diwopu International Airport has become China's fourth largest international airport.

From 2019, there will be 9 airports started to be built: Tashkurgan Airport, Zhaosu Airport, Yutian Airport, Wusu Civil and Military Airport, Hoboksar Airport, Bayingolin Airport, Zhundong (Qitai) Airport, Alear Airport and Barkol Airport.

The capital city, Urumqi, has been open to air traffic with 51 cities and 6 counties. There are 55 domestic flights to places like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Haikou, Harbin, Dalian, Qingdao, Jinan, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Wuhan, Xi 'an, Zhengzhou, Chengdu, Kunming, Zhangjiajie, Dunhuang, etc.

For the international flights, Urumqi opened up 7 international routes Almaty, Novosibirsk, Moscow, Islamabad, Tehran, Bishkek, and Yekaterinburg.

Until 2018, there are 21 airports in Xinjiang covering flights to 16 counties, 25 international (areas) cities and 79 domestic cities. In 2019, the region will speed up the extension and reconstruction of 6 feeder airports of Kashgar, Yining, Akau, Tacheng, Altay and Turpan and further boost the construction of the 9 newly built airports in places like Taxkorgan, Zhaosu, Yutian, etc. 

Railway

On November 16, 2014, the Lanxin high speed rail (south Urumqi - south Hami) are opened, which officially marked that Xinjiang stepped into the era of high-speed rail. For normal trains, most cities (prefectures) in Xinjiang all have railway stations.

On June 28, 2011, the railway from Kashgar to Hotan was official open, which ended the Hotan history without railway. On June 2, 2015, southern Xinjiang railway, the part from Turpan to Korla was successfully ran.

In December of 2018, Heqiang Railway (Hotan - Ruoqiang) was started to built. The railway is located in Hotan Prefecture and Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, and its is an important part for southern Xinjiang to reach other places in China. It starts at Hotan Railway Station and goes by 7 counties including Hotan, Luopu, Cele, Yutian, Minfeng, Qiemo, Ruoqiang and several divisions of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

Afuzhun Railwa, with a length of 427 kilometers, is planned to be ran in 2019. It goes by places like Altay, Fuyun county, Zhundong, etc. Keta Railway, which starts at Karamay city and ends at Tacheng, is planned to be ran in August of 2019. with a length of 308 kilometers, it departs at Baikouquan Railway of Karamay city and goes by Tiechanggou Town of Toli county (托里县铁厂沟镇), Emin county and Tacheng city, and ends at Buktu Port (巴克图口岸) of the border of China and Pakistan.  

There are 2 international railways in Xinjiang: Trans-Caspian Railway (中亚铁路) and China-Pakistan Railway. Trans-Caspian Railway is an international thoroughfare which is the exstension of Lanxin Railway to the border port of Khorgos, Kazakhstan, central Asian nations, Turkey, Russia and other European countries. China-Pakistan Railway starts at Kashgar city and reaches Pakistan, and it is under construction.

Subway

The first subway line was operated on 25th October, 2018, which makes Urumqi the second northwestern city that is available to subway. Until October of 2018, there is 1 subway line -- Line 1. and there are 2 lines under construction: southern part of Line 1 and the first part of Line 2. by 2030, there will be 10 subway lines in Urumqi, with a length of 340.2 kilometers.

Bus Rapid Transit

By 2017, there are 8 BRT lines: BRT No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 71.

Around-city Bus

It takes you 5 yuan each time. There are 25 buses total and the interval time before each bus starting is 6 to 7 minutes. Here are further information about the around-city bus.
K1 is not available for now.

K2:

  • Part 1: North Square of Urumqi Station, Liudui (六队), Military District General Hospital, Youhao Shopping Mall, Hotan Office, Xiaoximen, Physical Examination Center, Jijianchang, Changjiang Road, South Railway Station
  • Part 2:South Railway Station, Changjiang Road, Physical Examination Center, Xiaoximen, Hualin Group Flyover, Qiaotou, Sanzhidui, Yipingjiachunqiu (宜品家春秋), North Square of Urumqi Station

K3: Xiyuan Street, Xizhan Hospital, Development Area Motor Parts Town, Software City, Kuntaiyuan, Wanda Plaza, North Square of Urumqi Station, Dehui Wanda Plaza East, South Railway Station

K4: Xinjiang Institute of Engineering, New Campus of Urumqi Vocational University, Xinjiang Modern Vocational College, Xiaoxigou, Children’s Park, Xinyi Road, Normal University, Yinchuan Road

Omnibus

Each city (prefecture) of Xinjiang is equipped with buses and the price varies from 1 to 2 yuan.

Taxi

Taxi there is available for 24 hours and the starting price varies from place to place.