How long is the Chengdu to Xi'an train, and what does it cost?
The fastest Chengdu to Xi'an train takes 3 hours 9 minutes. In a 12306 search made on 8 October 2026 for travel on Thursday 15 October 2026, that was G322. It leaves Chengdu East (成都东站) at 06:56 and reaches Xi'an North (西安北站) at 10:05. Second class was ¥285 (9% off).
Most people will take a G or D train from Chengdu East. Second class on the fast G and D trains is listed at ¥263 to ¥303 with a discount label (5% to 19% off); a few fares have no label (¥263 on D966 and D968, ¥316 on three G trains). K and Z sleeper trains exist too, but they are slow and leave from a different station, Chengdu West (成都西站). Everything below about trains and fares is from that one sample day, so check your own date before you plan around it.
How long does the Chengdu to Xi'an high-speed train take?
For the sample day, fast G and D trains from Chengdu East were listed at 3h09m to 4h33m to reach Xi'an North. Of the 73 trains in the search, 37 were listed to reach their first Xi'an-area station within 4 hours. The fastest, G322, is listed to leave Chengdu East at 06:56.
Three slower D trains to Xi'an East take 7h47m to 8h08m (D166, D118 and D16). At the prices 12306 listed, they are cheaper, but the saving is small next to the extra hours.
Fast trains that go on to Xi'an East (西安东站) arrive later than at Xi'an North: on the ten trains listed to both stations, the Xi'an East arrival was 27 to 32 minutes after the Xi'an North one.
How much is a Chengdu to Xi'an train ticket?
Prices below are the ones 12306 showed for 15 October 2026, in a search made on 8 October 2026. A price with a discount label is already discounted, so the full fare is higher. All prices will move with the date and the train.
| Trains from Chengdu East | Journey | Second class | First class | Business class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G and D trains to Xi'an North | 3h09m to 4h33m | ¥263 to ¥300 with a discount label (5% to 16% off); with no label, ¥263 (D966, D968) and ¥316 (G3294, G1976, G2206) | ¥421 to ¥481 with a label (4% to 16% off); ¥506 with none (the same three G trains) | ¥789 to ¥995 with a label (10% to 28% off); ¥1105 with none (the same three G trains); not on every train |
| 10 trains listed to Xi'an North and Xi'an East | 4h to 5h05m to Xi'an East | ¥281 to ¥303 to Xi'an East, every fare with a discount label (12% to 19% off) | ¥450 to ¥484 to Xi'an East, every fare with a label (13% to 19% off) | ¥852 to ¥1005 on the five that sell it, every fare with a label (16% to 30% off) |
| 3 slow D trains to Xi'an East | 7h47m to 8h08m | D166: ¥241 (8% off); D118: ¥216 and D16: ¥211, with no label | D166 only: ¥388 (8% off) | None listed |
Not every train sells every class. D966 and D968, the two evening trains, sell second class only, at ¥263 with no discount label. For the same train, the price listed to Xi'an East was ¥16 to ¥19 higher in second class than the price listed to Xi'an North; both carried discount labels. To change or refund a ticket, see 12306 refund and change fees.
Which station: Chengdu East or West, Xi'an North or East?
Leave from Chengdu East for high-speed trains. All 67 G and D trains were listed to leave from there, and 6 slow K and Z trains were listed to leave from Chengdu West. No Chengdu South train appeared. For Xi'an, 64 of the 67 Chengdu East trains stop at Xi'an North. Thirteen are listed to Xi'an East: ten of them after Xi'an North, plus the three slow D trains. All six Chengdu West trains are listed to Xi'an East, some also to Xi'an station (西安), Yinzhen or Lintong.
These counts overlap. A train listed to two stations is counted at both, so the station numbers add up to more than the 73 trains. 12306's English site spells the stations Chengdudong, Chengduxi, Xianbei and Xiandong.
China Railway Group said on 2 July 2026 that Xi'an North now focuses on the northbound and eastbound trunk lines, while Xi'an East takes southbound and westbound traffic, links to southern Shaanxi, and conventional trains. Xi'an East opened on 30 June 2026, and Xi'an Metro Line 5 connects to it, about five minutes on foot from the exit to the metro entrance. For maps and exits, see the Chengdu railway stations guide and the Xi'an railway stations guide.
How many trains a day run from Chengdu to Xi'an, and what is the schedule?
The search, made on 8 October 2026, listed 73 trains for 15 October 2026: 38 G, 29 D, 5 K and 1 Z. Chengdu East had 67 of them. The first, D1998, is listed to leave at 06:09 and reach Xi'an North at 09:31. The last, D968, is listed to leave at 19:33 and reach Xi'an North at 23:00. Trains leave between those two times through the day. Chengdu West had 6, the earliest at 07:58 and the latest at 22:19.
These are trains, not result lines. The 12306 page shows one line for each train and station pair, so the same train can appear twice. The page does not say whether the timetable is the same every day.
Is there a sleeper train from Chengdu to Xi'an?
Yes. Six K and Z trains leave from Chengdu West, all listed to Xi'an East. They sell hard seats, hard sleepers and soft sleepers.
| Train | Leaves Chengdu West | Arrives Xi'an East | Time | Hard seat / hard sleeper / soft sleeper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| K546 | 07:58 | 22:48 | 14h50m | ¥128.5 / ¥222.5 / ¥348.5 |
| K386 | 12:58 | 00:04 next day | 11h06m | ¥133 / ¥238 / ¥367 |
| K292 | 17:42 | 08:39 next day | 14h57m | ¥128.5 / ¥222.5 / ¥348.5 |
| K998 | 19:27 | 06:58 next day | 11h31m | ¥133 / ¥238 / ¥367 |
| Z316 | 22:03 | 11:41 next day | 13h38m | ¥128.5 / ¥222.5 / ¥348.5 |
| K246 | 22:19 | 12:08 next day | 13h49m | ¥128.5 / ¥222.5 / ¥348.5 |
K292, K998, Z316 and K246 run through the night. K292 and K998 get in the next morning, Z316 and K246 around midday. K546 and K246 are also listed on to Xi'an station and K292 on to Lintong, where the fares are a little higher (¥135.5, ¥232.5 and ¥360.5 for hard seat, hard sleeper and soft sleeper). K292 and Z316 are also listed to Yinzhen, before Xi'an East, at the same fares as to Xi'an East.
Two bullet trains also sell berths: D118 (13:38) and D16 (15:37) from Chengdu East, both to Xi'an East. They have first-class sleepers (¥316 and ¥331) and second-class sleepers (¥248 and ¥263), but they arrive at 21:46 and 23:27 the same day, so they are not overnight trains.
Xi'an to Chengdu by train: is the return trip the same?
Almost. The same search for Thursday 15 October 2026 (also made on 8 October 2026) showed 75 trains from Xi'an: 39 G, 30 D, 5 K and 1 Z. Second class on fast trains is again ¥263 to ¥303 with a discount label (5% to 19% off), first class ¥421 to ¥484 (4% to 19% off) and business class ¥789 to ¥1005 (10% to 30% off). A few fares have no label: ¥263 in second class on D965 and D967, and ¥316, ¥506 and ¥1105 in second, first and business class on G2207, G1887 and G1975. The fastest is G321, leaving Xi'an North at 11:25 and reaching Chengdu East at 14:30, 3h05m, second class ¥300 (5% off).
Xi'an North had 66 of the 75 trains, with the first, D965, at 05:13 and the last, G3417, at 19:58. Xi'an East had 20, Xi'an station 3 and Yinzhen 1. These add up to 90, more than 75, because 15 trains can be boarded at two stations. For example, G3437 leaves Xi'an East at 07:01 and Xi'an North at 07:33, and reaches Chengdu East at 11:06. The fare is ¥281 (19% off) from Xi'an East (4h05m) and ¥263 (16% off) from Xi'an North (3h33m).
Xi'an East has some departures you will not find from Xi'an North. D117 leaves at 01:22 and D15 at 05:18, both with sleeper berths, reaching Chengdu East at 10:36 (9h14m) and 14:18 (9h). K385 is the overnight train: Xi'an East 21:03, Yinzhen 21:22, Chengdu West 08:08 the next day. For arrivals, 69 trains were listed to reach Chengdu East, 6 Chengdu West and 1 Chengdu South: D1709 at 13:02 from Xi'an North, to Chengdu East at 16:49 or Chengdu South at 17:02, so it counts at both.
Chengdu to Xi'an: train or plane?
This page has no flight times or fares, so it cannot rank them. For the train, the best case in the 12306 search made on 8 October 2026 for 15 October 2026 is 3h09m from Chengdu East to Xi'an North, with second class at ¥263 to ¥303 with a discount label (5% to 19% off), so full fares are higher. Those times are station to station, so add your own time to get to the station. Check flight times and fares with the airlines for your date and set them beside the train figures here. We can help you plan the day and tell you how to book the train.
About the Xi'an-Chengdu high-speed railway
The line is the Xi'an-Chengdu high-speed railway (西成高铁). It opened along its whole length on 6 December 2017 and is China's first high-speed railway through the Qinling Mountains. China Railway Group gives the length as about 658 km, and the operating speed of the new Xi'an North-Jiangyou section as 250 km/h. The Jiangyou-Chengdu section had opened earlier, on 20 December 2014. The new 506 km section from Xi'an North to Jiangyou has 14 stations: Xi'an North, Efang Palace (阿房宫), Huyi (鄠邑), Foping, Yangxian West, Chenggu North, Hanzhong, Ningqiang South, Chaotian, Guangyuan, Jianmenguan, Qingchuan, Jiangyou North and Jiangyou. From Jiangyou the line joins the Mianyang-Chengdu-Leshan line to Chengdu. The 12306 page does not show which stops a given train makes.
These are 2017 figures for comparison. At opening, the shortest Chengdu-Xi'an time was 4h07m. China Railway Group said it would fall to 3h27m after the year-end 2017 timetable change. Today's times are the 12306 ones above. For the cities themselves, see the Chengdu travel guide and the Xi'an travel guide.
