How to get from Xi'an airport to the Bell Tower
Take Metro Line 14 to Xi'an North Railway Station (西安北站), change to Line 2, and get off at Bell Tower (钟楼). From either airport station the fare is ¥8 in the Xi'an Metro fare query of October 5, 2026.
- Find Line 14 at the airport and take the train toward Heshao (贺韶), which is the way into the city and toward Xi'an North.
- Ride to Xi'an North. By subtracting timetable times for the last train, we get about 32 minutes from Airport (T5) and about 36 minutes from Airport West. That is our arithmetic, not an official journey time.
- Change to Line 2 at Xi'an North and ride to Bell Tower. Line 2 first and last trains are on our Xi'an railway stations page.
Last trains
On the timetable in force from April 15, 2026, the last Line 14 train toward Heshao leaves Airport West (T1, T2, T3) at 22:20 and Airport (T5) at 22:24, and reaches Xi'an North at 22:56. The first trains toward Heshao leave at 06:00 and 06:04. Line 2 times are not on this page, so check them before you count on a late connection.
From Xi'an to the airport by metro
From Xi'an North, the first Line 14 train toward the airport leaves at 06:00 and the last at 22:52. The first arrives at Airport (T5) at 06:30 and at Airport West at 06:33. The last arrives at 23:23 and 23:26. If you need to be at the airport before about 06:30, the metro from Xi'an North cannot get you there in time.
Airport (T5) or Airport West (T1, T2, T3): which metro station?
Line 14 has two airport stations. Airport (T5) (机场（T5）) is beside Terminal 5. Airport West (T1, T2, T3) (机场西（T1、T2、T3）) serves the other terminals. Airport West is the end of the line, and trains from there to Heshao stop at Airport (T5) on the way.
The two fares differ a little. In the October 5, 2026 fare query, Airport West to Xi'an North is ¥7 and Airport (T5) to Xi'an North is ¥6. Both are ¥8 to Xi'an Railway Station (西安站) and ¥9 to Xiaozhai (小寨) and to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda (大雁塔). To Yongningmen (永宁门) it is ¥9 from Airport West and ¥8 from Airport (T5).
Getting between the terminals
The fare query shows ¥2 between the two airport stations. But Xinhua reported on February 20, 2025, citing Xi'an Rail Transit Group, that passengers transferring between the two stations, and passengers who got off at the wrong terminal, ride between them free during Line 14 hours. You show your flight information to the staff at the station ticket centre. That announcement is more than a year old, and the fare query does not mention it, so be ready to pay the ¥2 if staff say otherwise.
The Xixian New Area guide of February 2025 mentions one free shuttle: an on-demand service for passengers who went to the wrong terminal. Its assembly points are at the information desks inside gate 533 at T5, gate 323 at T3 and gate 222 at T2. That guide does not describe a general free bus between T5 and T1 to T3.
Which terminal do international flights use at Xi'an airport: T5 or T3?
Ahead of Terminal 5 opening at 00:00 on February 20, 2025, the airport company said that all international and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan flights would move to T5 from 05:00 that day. That statement was made on February 11, 2025 and reprinted by the Tongchuan Party-building website from Shaanxi Daily. That was the plan announced in February 2025, so check the terminal on your booking.
The February 2025 guide says T5 3F is the check-in and international departure level, and Xinhua says domestic and international passengers leave from the same floor. Two piers, North 3 and South 3, can switch between domestic and international use. In that guide the other piers were domestic only "in this phase".
Check the terminal on your ticket or in your airline app. Cut-off times are set per flight. The guide's line for flight questions is the airport customer service number, 029-96788.
From T5 arrivals to the metro, and paying with a foreign card
From the arrivals level, Xinhua's February 2025 description says to go east by escalator to the Airport (T5) station concourse, which is the unpaid area. You pass security, then buy a ticket. Xinhua and the Xixian New Area guide disagree on the floor, so follow the metro signs from the arrivals hall instead of looking for a level number.
At the opening in February 2025, Xinhua reported that the station takes single-journey tickets, local and national transport cards, QR codes and face recognition. It also reported that the station added smart POS machines for foreign-issued bank cards, and that cash, QR-code and digital-yuan payment are all supported. The report does not name card brands. For payment in general, see Is cash accepted in China.
Xi'an airport to Xi'an North Railway Station
Take Line 14 toward Heshao. Xi'an North is on the same line, so there is no change. The fare is ¥7 from Airport West or ¥6 from Airport (T5), and the ride is about 36 or 32 minutes by our timetable arithmetic. The last train reaches Xi'an North at 22:56. For the Xi'an North to Bell Tower leg and Line 14 airport first and last trains, see Xi'an railway stations.
Airport bus to the Bell Tower, and at night
Yes, there are airport buses toward the Bell Tower area. We could not find a current official timetable or fare, so the times below are as published by the Xixian New Area government in February 2025. Ask at the airport bus counter or the airport's own channels for today's times and price.
- Bell Tower West line: 8:50 to 1:00 next day. It serves T2, T3 and T5, and stops at Bell Tower, a Line 2 and Line 6 interchange.
- Bell Tower North line: 9:20 to 00:40. In the daytime it picks up at T5 only. At night, from 22:20 to 00:40, it also serves T2 and T3. It passes Xi'an Railway Station south square (火车站南广场) and Bell Tower, and ends at Xi'an Hotel (西安宾馆).
- Night line (守航夜宵线): from 1:00 until the last flight ends. It serves T2, T3 and T5, passes Bell Tower, and ends at the Provincial Stadium (省体育场).
The same guide says the airport bus lines run until the last arriving flight lands. Going the other way, the Bell Tower pick-up for the airport is in the car park of Zhonglou Hotel (钟楼饭店), 110 Nanda Street. The Bell Tower West line from there goes direct to T5, T2 and T3.
Airport public buses also exist. The guide says two routes, Fu 1080 and 802, were extended in February 2025, and the T5 stop is at Terminal 5 1F exit 106.
Taxi and private car
We did not find an official taxi fare or taxi rank page, so there is no taxi price here. For a late arrival or heavy luggage, airport pick-up by private car is something we can arrange. For the rest, use the metro or bus above.
Is a 3.5-hour layover in Xi'an enough to leave the airport?
The Xixian New Area T5 travel guide and the Shaanxi government border-inspection press conference give no minimum connection time and no rule on leaving the airport during a layover. What exists is the 24-hour and 240-hour transit permits, handled in a service zone at the airport (see the 240-hour transit section below).
Here is our own way to think about it, using only the timetable. The ride to Xi'an North alone is about 32 to 36 minutes, and back to the airport about 31 to 34 minutes, so a round trip is about 63 to 70 minutes of riding. That is before Line 2 to the Bell Tower, border control, security and your check-in cut-off, and none of those are counted here. On these numbers, 3.5 hours leaves very little margin. We would stay at the airport unless your layover is much longer. If you do go out, plan around the last Line 14 trains in the earlier section.
Arriving on 240-hour visa-free transit: Xi'an airport is an approved port
Yes. In the National Immigration Administration's policy table, Xi'an Xianyang airport is the approved port for Shaanxi, and the permitted stay area is all of Shaanxi. For countries, dates, ticket rules and where else you can travel, see China's 240-hour visa-free transit by province.
At a Shaanxi government press conference on June 23, 2025, Shaanxi Border Inspection said Xi'an port has a temporary entry permit service zone. It handles 24-hour and 240-hour transit permits in one stop and has been running since May 1, 2025, with officers who speak English. The page does not say where in the terminal the zone is, so follow the border control signs. The same page says foreign visitors entering through Xi'an can fill in the arrival card online before they land, through the Shaanxi border-inspection system, also since May 1, 2025. If you apply for a 24-hour or 240-hour permit when checking in abroad, you or your airline can also submit your details through that system in advance. For the current arrival card, see China arrival card 2026.
After you land
The Terracotta Army is east of the city and is not on the airport route, so plan it as a separate day: how to book Terracotta Army tickets. For the city itself, see the Xi'an travel guide.
