The Main and as far as well can tell only Bus Terminal in Zhongwei is situated in the east of Town, at quite some distance from the city center represented by the Drum Tower (Gulou) and its roundabout. Although not situated in the city center, the Bus Station is easily located as it stands exactly due east from the Drum Tower at a few blocks distance and on the intersection of Gulou East Street (S201 Provincial Road) and the other main road in town, the S202 road leading southward down to the Zhongwei Yellow River Bridge.
Get your bearings easily by traveling from Drum Tower (Gulou) eastward along Gulou East Street (S201 Provincial Road) and look for the large modern complex on the south side of the road.
This page was last updated on: July 12, 2017
The Zhongwei Report
Transportation in Zhongwei (中卫 ; ﺟْﻮ وِ)
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MAIN TRAIN STATION OF ZHONGWEI (ZHONGWEI ZHAN):
Zhongwei
Zhongwei has a Railroad Station as well as a Regional Airport. Inconveniently, Airport, Station and Main Bus Terminal of the Town are located in different sections of town. Train Station in the North, Bus Station in the East and Airport in a rural section on the north-west rim of Town.
A Full Google Earth Supported Map of Zhongwei Prefecture in Ningxia AR by AsiaReport.com.
ROAD CONNECTIONS IN ZHONGWEI (TOWN):
Tongxin
Luanying
Xintongxia
Sanggin Dala
Beidachi
Otog Qianchi
Pingliang
Longde
Kongtong Shan
Pingchuan
Yingyuan
Dingxi
Gantang
Lingwu
Dingbian
Yanchi
Shizuishan
Yinchuan
Wuzhong
Shizilu
Zhongning
Zhongwei
Yellow River
Qingshui River
Xintongxia
Reservoir
Guyuan
Tengger
Desert
Ordos
Desert
Bayan Hot
Schematic Map of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region with the locations of Main Cities + Towns and sites of Interest.
S201 Provincial Road:
The main road connecting Zhongwei to its villages and the outside world is the historically the S201 Provincial Road. Traditionally this is the only road on the northern bank of the Yellow River and it the past it led trading caravan's and local farmers directly up to the City Drum Tower (Gulou). Today the S201 Provincial road cuts from east to west through the Town of Zhongwei and for a long time formed its main traffic artery. It is still an important thoroughfare of town today.
In the east S201 Provincial Road connects with the S109 Provincial Road, which cuts southward heading across its Yellow River Bridge. In the center of Zhongwei Town S201 connects with S202 Provincial road which leads southward forming the most direct connection between Zhongwei Town and the southern bank of the Yellow River. On the south bank S202 connects with S101 and a few hundred meters further on with the G70 Danla Expressway, which today is the main traffic artery connecting Yinchuan and Zhongwei in Ningxia with Lanzhou in Gansu Province.
In the west S202 Provincial Road leads away to eventually connect to the Expressway, which at that point is designated as G2012 Dingwu Expressway.
S202 Provincial Road:
The S202 Provincial Road is a newer road which starts in the north as an intersection of S201 Road. Heading southward from there it is the S202 Provincial Road that leads directly down to the Zhongwei Huanghe Highway Bridge and across to the southern bank of the river and the bulk of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. On the south bank S202 intersects with the main G2012 Dingwu Expressway between Yinchuan in the north and Lanzhou in the south west. Beyond the Expressway, S202 continues southward crossing with G6 Danla expressway
Zhongwei Airport is known under 2 different names. Opened as Zhongwei Xiangshan Airport, since August of 2008 the airport is officially known as Zhongwei Shapotou Airport (中卫沙坡头机场), reflecting its purpose of serving easy access to the two main tourist sites in Zhongwei Prefecture.
The Airport is situated due north-west of Town Center at some 15 minutes (or less) travel by Taxi, Car or Bus. Find the airport in Dongyuan District, north of the main train track (Baolan Line) and the Station.
Clearest and most direct route to the Airport leads from Gao Miao Temple and Monastery along S201 Provincial road westward. Follow S201 until reaching the local waterway (river is too much said) on the west end of urban Zhongwei. Turn up north, either following the road on the east bank (named: Shayao Line) to reach the village of Yaotan and reach the airport, or cross the river and turn up north on the next available road which leads through the fields to the same location (Shayao Village) from where it is but a short walk to the Airport and main Terminal.
Travel Distance from Airport to own Center is 6.45 kilometers (4.01 Miles). Taxi Fairs are low if one haggles convincingly. Airline travelers are usually fair game for tricky Taxi Drivers looking for a good payday.
Zhongwei Xiangshan Airport covers an area of 2,745 mu, and is 4.6 kilometers long. Occupying a central location within north west China a flight from Zhongwei to most of the major cities in China will take less
The Main Railway Station of Zhongwei City, located due north of the Town Center of Zhongwei. It lies at a walking distance (a few blocks) from the town center. As the arrival point for many, the Main Station is home to a number of essential Services. The Trains provide easy connections daily to Yinchuan, the regional Capital up north and with Lanzhou to the south west along the Baolan Line.
The city of Zhongwei itself is situated in the western tip of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, a location where several historically important and new railroads converge. In total there are four main lines available; Traditionally, these are the Baolan Railroad, the Gan-Wu Railroad, and the Bao-Zhong Railroad. In 2011 another interesting connection was opened connecting Zhongwei to Taiyuan far to the east, traveling northwest via Yulin in northern Shaanxi Province.
The main railway line passing Zhongwei however is the Baotou to Lanzhou Railroad, which has a total length of 995 kilometers. Constructed with great efforts and sacrifice -among things due to the shifting sands of the deserts in the region- it was opened in 1958, just in time for the launching of what was to become known as the "Great Leap Forward". Ever since it has been a crucial economic artery of the region.
A legendary and historic railroad the Baolan line connects the cities along the Yellow River. From Baotou in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region this railway descends down from the north following the Yellow River upstream. After reaching Yinchuan it heads for Zhongwei Station and continues on for its last leg to Lanzhou city, the Capital of neighboring Gansu Province.
From Zhongwei one can either travel northward; via Yinchuan the Capital of Ningxia, to Wuhai, Linhe and finally Baotou. Southward the Baolan railroad travels from Zhongwei down to Baiyin in Gansu and on to Lanzhou.
In Lanzhou one can connect through to almost any other destination through the National Railway Network including the high speed train system. The new high speed railway line from Lanzhou to Urumqi in Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region will be available at the end of the year 2013 / spring of 2014 including stops at all famous Silk Road cities in the "neck" of Gansu Province (Jinchang, Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, Jiayuguan, Shulehe available - separate line to Dunhuang) and along the route in Xinjiang.
The Baolan Railway is the best way to travel from Zhongwei up to Yinchuan, the regional Capital at about 176 Kilometers distance. Travel time is 2 hours and 39 minutes.
VIEW A LISTING OF ALL TRAINS BETWEEN ZHONGWEI STATION AND YINCHUAN STATION (and Times) : Updated "ZHONGWEI-YINCHUAN TRAIN SCHEDULE", By TravelChinaGuide.com.
G2012 Dingwu Expressway:
The main highway connecting the regions is G2012 Dingwu Expressway which is situated south of Zhongwei Town on the opposite side of the Yellow River. To the west it travels to Wuzhong and on to Yinchuan, whereas to the west it travels to Baiyin City of adjacent Baiyin Prefecture in Gansu Province and beyond to Lanzhou City, the Capital of neighboring Gansu Province.
Tengger Els
Haiyuan
GANWU RAILROAD:
Because the Ganwu Line is an old railway line which is now incorporated in a modernized regional railroad system it is sometimes hard to find specific information about this line. This is especially locally the case, where mastery of the english language is still quite rare and no tourist information is dispensed in the english.
Generally speaking it should be explained that Ganwu stands for Gannan to Wuwei
Miniature schematic of neighboring Gansu Province showing the locations of Xiahe in Gannan Prefecture, Lanzhou, Wuwei and other silk road towns in the neck of Gansu Province.
Railroad, with Gannan being the administrative capital and garrison city of the (entirely nominally) Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Gansu Province due south-west of Lanzhou and Wuwei being a
desert town of the Great Wall of China due north by north-west of Lanzhou, both situated in neighboring Gansu Province.
The Ganwu line is however connected to the all important Baolan Line through the station of the city of Zhongwei and the small town of Gantang on the Ningxia-Gansu Border (see adjacent map overview of region).
In practice the rail connection from Zhongwei via Gantang town to the Ganwu railroad provides a crucial regional passage which helps avoid lenghty detours through more southern regions and the city of Lanzhou. Instead, one can bypass the city of Lanzhou entirely and take the train directly into the Hexi Corridor also known as the neck of Gansu.
Travel directly from Zhongwei in Ningxia westward to Gantang, then via the sands of the Tengger Desert to Binciaowan in Wuwei Prefecture and travel the last leg to Dajing Town where the railway meets the Great Wall of China again before reaching the city of Wuwei itself.
This journey should be easy to arrange, interesting, scenic and not to complicated or stressful. Please do mind: it is advisable to book tickets for seats up to a week in advance ! 3 Days should be considered a minimum in these regions where train transport is still the main means of getting around long distance.
For more information on train schedules, stations to travel to, and stations en route to regional landmarks, please refer to "Zhongwei Zhan - Main Train Station of Zhongwei".
BAO-ZHONG RAILWAY:
The third main railway line connecting to Zhongwei city is the Bao-Zhong Line which travels along an ancient transportation route between Baoji in Shaanxi Province and Zhongwei in Ningxia Hui (See above Map). Connecting from Baoji up northward it travels through mountainous terrain to Pingliang in the east of Gansu Province, and subsequently to Guyuan in the southern tip of Ningxia. Still flanked by mountains on both east and west side it then follows the route down the valley of the Qingshui River visiting the County Towns of Sanying and Tongxin before reaching the village of Changshantou in Zhongning County of Zhongwei Prefecture. After passing Changshantou the last leg of the railroad journey takes one across the Yellow River and into Zhongwei City proper.
The Fourth railway line connecting to Zhongwei, was opened as late as the year 2011. This is the Taiyuan-Zhongwei-Yichuan Railway (Chinese: 太中银铁路), a railway line leading north-east out of Zhongwei to connect eventually to Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province.
In effect, this new line makes use of the existing railroad tracks linking Zhongwei and Yinchuan, however at Yinchuan it splits off from the path of the Yellow River instead leading eastward through Yanchi County of Wuzhong Prefecture in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region across the border to Dingbian of Dingbian County in Yulin Prefecture of neighboring Shaanxi Province. Both Yanchi and Dingbian are famous remote locations of the Great Wall of China, which previously could only be reached by taking a lengthy road trip down from Yinchuan in the west or Yulin in the East. As a result, very few international travelers made it to these places. Those who did, no doubt, came with a clear purpose in mind.
Today however, the double-track electric railway, opened in 2011 finally unlocks these remote rural locations in far eastern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and adjacent northern Shaanxi Province.
Hop on the train from Zhongwei to Yinchuan. From Yinchuan Station it takes another 2 hours and 40 minutes to reach the town of Yanchi. Altogether travel time would amount to 5 hours and 20 minutes.
Best advice is to book a hotel stay in Yinchuan. Explore some of the regional Capital and maybe its outlying monuments before taking the next leap and traveling to the county Town of Yanchi which lies just before the border with Shaanxi Province.
VIEW A LISTING OF ALL TRAINS BETWEEN YINCHUAN STATION AND YANCHI STATION (and Times) : Updated "YINCHUAN-YANCHI TRAIN SCHEDULE", By TrainBy.com. Or Click through:
China Report - Map of the Great Wall during the Ming Dynasty
Satellite image of China and North-East Asia, with a super-imposed schematic Map of the location and Path of the Great Wall as constructed during the Reign of the Ming Dynasty. Included for reference are City names, geographical features of landscape, Names and locations of Passes on the Great Wall of China.
before reaching the town of Haiyuan, the center of the southernmost rural county of Zhongwei.
than three hours. The main phase of the airport construction was completed at the end of year 2008. Although currently air connections are modest with only 3 available routes Beijing, Xian and Chengdu) the local and provincial Governments have great ambitions for Zhongwei Airport. Additional flight routes are planned to reach from Zhongwei to Lanzhou, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Urumqi, and Xiamen and also regionally to Yinchuan (less than an hour drive away).
Not all of these plans may seem entirely economically feasible at this time.
The airport is expected to meet the requirements of handling 150,000 passengers and 400 tons of cargo, with regional aircraft such as Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s taking off and landing by 2015.
