Kunming to Xishuangbanna by train: the short answer
Take a C or D train and plan on 3 to just over 4 hours. On the 12306 English result for 14 October 2026 (read on 6 October 2026), there were 25 different trains: 19 C, 5 D and 1 Y. All 25 arrived at the station 12306 prints as Xishuangbanna (西双版纳). That station is in Gasa town beside the airport, not in the middle of Jinghong city. Trains, times and fares change by date, so every timetable and price below is that one search and nothing more.
How long does the Kunming to Xishuangbanna train take, and how many trains are there?
On that 14 October 2026 result, the C and D trains took 3h8m to 4h3m. The quickest were three trains at 3h8m from Kunming South: C381 at 08:31, C285 at 17:36 and C399 at 17:51.
The first C or D train was C292, leaving Kunming Railway Station at 06:57. It is the same train as C289, which leaves Kunming South at 07:20. Both arrive at 10:42. The last was C9521 at 19:22 from Kunming South, arriving 22:48. It is the same train as C9524, which leaves Kunming Railway Station at 18:58.
The one Y train is the slow option. Y768 leaves Kunming Railway Station at 05:50 and Y765 leaves Kunming South at 06:17. It is one train, arriving at 12:00 after 6h10m or 5h43m. It sells sleeper berths.
Four more rows (C296 from Kunming Railway Station; C293, C303 and C317 from Kunming South) showed no times, only the note “Ticketing service is temporarily closed due to train timetable adjustment”. They are left out of every count here.
Count trains, not rows
On 14 October 2026, 12306 listed 18 of the 25 trains twice, once for each Kunming station, under two different train numbers. The two rows arrive at the same time. If you add the rows up you will count some trains twice. We have no count for any other date.
Kunming Railway Station or Kunming South: which station should you leave from?
The English site prints the city-centre Kunming Railway Station as Kunming (昆明) and Kunming South as Kunmingnan (昆明南). On 14 October 2026 the two compared like this. On the 12306 results page most of these fares carried a discount label (from 3% to 25% off), so the full fare for that seat is higher, and fares vary by train and date. The second class row below gives fares with and without a label.
| On 14 Oct 2026 | Kunming Railway Station (昆明) | Kunming South (昆明南) |
|---|---|---|
| Trains you can board | 18 | 25 (18 of them are also in the left column) |
| Trains only at this station | 0 | 7: C301, D87, C305, C311, C315, C399, C365 |
| Departures | 05:50 to 18:58 | 06:17 to 19:22 |
| C and D travel time | 3h31m to 4h3m | 3h8m to 3h46m |
| Second class | 207 to 240 with a discount label; 249 without | 178 to 231 with a discount label; 239 without |
For the 18 trains that serve both stations, the Kunming Railway Station row leaves 23 to 28 minutes earlier and arrives at the same time. You get a longer ride on the same train, not a slower train. Example: C384 leaves Kunming Railway Station at 08:08 and C381 leaves Kunming South at 08:31. Both arrive at 11:39, after 3h31m and 3h8m.
Don't turn this into a rule. Another date can look different. Read the station name on your own ticket before you travel. For which Kunming station is which, see our Kunming railway stations guide, and for the city itself the Kunming travel guide.
How much is a Kunming to Xishuangbanna train ticket?
These are the fares the 12306 page showed for 14 October 2026, in yuan, split by whether the page printed a discount label next to the fare. A labelled fare is a discounted fare, so the full fare for that seat is higher:
| Seat | From Kunming Railway Station | From Kunming South |
|---|---|---|
| Second class | 207 to 240 with a label; 249 without | 178 to 231 with a label; 239 without |
| First class | 330 to 383 with a label; 398 without | 284 to 368 with a label; 381 without |
| Business class | 705 to 818, all with a label | 607 to 790, all with a label |
| Y train sleepers | 123 to 130 (no label noted) | 115.5 to 122.5 (no label noted) |
Across both stations, 38 of the 41 second class fares carried a label (3% to 25% off), as did 38 of the 41 first class fares and all 26 business class fares (2% to 25% off). These counts are fares as printed on the page, not trains. Business class is listed on some trains only. On the C trains a standing ticket cost the same as second class. On the same train, the fare from Kunming Railway Station was higher than from Kunming South: C292 was 207 yuan (16% off) and C289 was 198 yuan (17% off), both second class.
Where does the train arrive, and how far is it from Jinghong?
Xishuangbanna station is in Mannuanlong village (曼暖龙村), Gasa town (嘎洒镇), Jinghong city, about 600 m from Xishuangbanna Gasa International Airport, according to the National Railway Group's station page. So it sits next to the airport, not in the city centre. That page has no date. It says one entrance and one exit are in use, and lists a business waiting room, a mother-and-baby room and a key-passenger waiting area.
Neither the station page nor the railway's 2021 opening item gives the distance from the station to central Jinghong, a taxi fare or a journey time, so we don't give one. The railway's 2 December 2021 item on the line's opening says only that, from Xishuangbanna station, Wild Elephant Valley (野象谷) and Ganlanba (橄榄坝) are within 1 hour by road.
How to get from Xishuangbanna station to Jinghong by bus or taxi
The Jinghong city bus route list (published 24 May 2024) names a stop called railway station (火车站). It never says Xishuangbanna station and never says the stop is at the station exit. On route 4 the list puts it straight after Gasa airport (嘎洒机场), which appears to fit a station 600 m from the airport. That is our reading of two pages, not something either page states.
| Route | What the list shows | Hours on the list |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Gasa airport, railway station, then on to the prefecture government (州政府) and 告庄西双景 (Gaozhuang Xishuangjing) and the line's end at 滨江俊园 | 06:30 to 22:00, every 10 to 15 minutes |
| K1 express | Railway station, Water-Splashing Square (泼水广场), 王府广场, 曼斗, 告庄 (星光夜市, the night market) | None given |
| 6 and 7 | Loops that start and end at the railway station | 06:30 to 22:00, every 10 to 15 minutes |
| Z66 | Calls at the railway station and Water-Splashing Square | 08:00 to 19:00, every 90 minutes |
| Z67, Z88 | Both call at the railway station; Z88 also calls at Water-Splashing Square | None given |
The list gives no fares and no ride times for any route, and it does not say at which stop the first and last bus times apply. Routes 4, Z66 and Z67 mark the railway station stop as a temporary stop (临时站台), so look at the signs outside the station. Three trains on the 14 October 2026 list arrive after 22:00 (22:26, 22:34 and 22:48), later than the 22:00 last bus on the list.
The bus list does not cover taxis, and neither does the station page, so ask your hotel how best to reach it by taxi.
How to buy a Kunming to Xishuangbanna train ticket with a passport
Foreign passengers can buy real-name tickets with a valid passport. On the 12306 English site only valid foreign passports are accepted. Both e-tickets and paper tickets are on sale, and you show the ID document you bought the ticket with to enter and leave the station and to board. The 12306 English FAQ says the site sells tickets from 05:00 to 01:00 the next day (05:00 to 23:30 on Tuesday).
For the steps, see how to buy 12306 train tickets and 12306 passport verification. If your plans change, read 12306 refund and change fees.
Is there a high-speed train, and is it the China-Laos Railway?
The fast trains on the 14 October 2026 list are the C and D trains, 24 of the 25. Xishuangbanna is one of the stations on the China-Laos Railway, and the line starts in Kunming. The National Railway Group's 2 December 2021 item says the line opened on 3 December 2021, is 1,035 km long, and runs from Kunming south through Yuxi, Pu'er and Xishuangbanna to the Mohan border crossing and into Laos. The 12306 search does not print which line each train uses.
When the line opened, Kunming to Mohan was “fastest 5 h 20 min”, with up to 17.5 pairs of EMU trains a day planned between Kunming and Mohan. Those are opening-day figures, not today's timetable.
One thing can confuse you. A train numbered D87 is on the 14 October list, leaving Kunming South at 08:08 and arriving at 11:24 (3h16m, second class 239 yuan, no discount label). A notice of 15 March 2024 names D87/88 as the Kunming South to Vientiane international trains: one train each way a day, morning departure and evening arrival, with a single-trip running time of 9 h 26 min. This search shows only the part to Xishuangbanna, so it does not tell you whether that D87 runs on to Laos. For the border crossing, see Kunming to Vientiane by train.
