Long-Distance Buses in China
Rail took over almost everything, and buses still cover the gaps — mountain roads, small towns and the last leg to places the train does not reach. When to use one and what to expect.
For most of the last two decades, the answer to "should I take the bus in China" has been no. High-speed rail is faster, more comfortable, more reliable and often cheaper once you account for the time.
That is still the answer on any route with a train. The bus network has shrunk sharply as rail expanded, and several long-distance routes that existed ten years ago no longer run.
But buses still cover the places the railway does not, and on a trip that goes beyond the major cities you will end up on one. Lijiang to Shangri-La. Guilin to the Longji terraces. Kaili to the Miao villages. Xiamen to the tulou. Dali to Shaxi.
When a bus is the right answer
No rail on the route. The mountain roads of northwest Yunnan, western Sichuan, rural Guizhou, and the approaches to most national parks.
The last leg. The train gets you to a prefecture city; the bus gets you to the town you actually want.
Short hops where the train station is far out. Many high-speed stations are 15 to 30 km from the town centre. A direct bus that drops you in the middle can beat a train plus two transfers.
When rail is sold out. Buses rarely sell out and can usually be bought on the day.
Genuinely remote destinations where there is no other option.
When it is not
Any route with a high-speed train. Not close.
Long overnight hauls. Sleeper buses exist and are the least comfortable way to cross China. On a route with an overnight train, take the train.
Anything time-critical. Road journeys in mountainous areas are exposed to weather, landslides and roadworks in a way rail is not.
The types
Standard coach (大巴). Seated, air-conditioned, reasonably comfortable, with a toilet on longer services or a scheduled stop. This is what you will be on for most journeys.
Minibus (中巴 / 面包车). Smaller, fills up before leaving on some rural routes rather than running to a timetable, and used for the last leg to villages and park gates.
Sleeper bus (卧铺大巴). Three rows of bunk berths down the length of the coach. Cramped, and the berths are short for most Western adults. Legal restrictions have reduced their use. Avoid where an alternative exists.
Shared car (拼车). Not a bus, and often the practical option in mountain areas — a driver fills a car and leaves. Arranged through guesthouses. Faster than the bus and more expensive, and on routes like Lijiang to Shangri-La this is what most travellers actually take.
Buying tickets
At the bus station, on the day or the day before. Bring your passport — long-distance bus tickets are real-name in most of the country and you will need it both to buy and to pass the station security check.
Through your accommodation. In tourist towns — Yangshuo, Lijiang, Dali, Zhangjiajie — the guesthouse will book the bus or the shared car, often with a pickup. This is the easiest route and the small markup is worth it.
Online through Chinese platforms, in Chinese. Not generally practical for a visitor.
Cash and mobile payment are both accepted at ticket windows. Have Alipay working and some cash as backup.
Finding the right station
Chinese cities frequently have several bus stations, divided by direction — 汽车东站 (east), 西站 (west), 南站 (south), 北站 (north), plus a main long-distance station.
Buses to a given destination leave from a specific one. Turning up at the wrong station is the standard bus mistake and it costs you a couple of hours.
Check on Amap or Baidu Maps, which show which station serves which route. See the map apps guide.
Have the destination written in Chinese characters to show at the ticket window. See the phrases guide.
What the journey is like
Security screening at the station entrance — bags through a scanner, same as a railway station.
Departures are punctual from the station, and arrival times are estimates.
Luggage goes in the hold, usually free. Keep valuables, documents and your phone with you.
Toilet stops every two to three hours at service areas. Facilities are basic and squat toilets are standard — carry tissues. See the toilets guide.
Food at the service stops is variable. Bring your own.
Motion sickness is a genuine consideration on mountain routes. The Lijiang to Shangri-La road, the approaches to Zhangjiajie, and most of western Sichuan involve sustained switchbacks. Sit at the front, take medication before you board rather than after, and be aware that other passengers may be unwell.
Smoking is prohibited and the rule is generally observed.
Announcements are in Chinese only. Have the destination name in characters and show the driver or the conductor — they will tell you when to get off.
Warm layers. Air conditioning is aggressive in summer and heating is unreliable in winter.
Safety
Long-distance bus safety has improved substantially with mandatory seatbelts, speed limiters, GPS monitoring and driving-hours rules on registered services.
Use registered operators from official bus stations. Unlicensed long-distance services exist, particularly around railway stations and tourist areas, and they are the ones with the poor record. This overlaps with the tourist bus scam pattern — anyone approaching you outside a station offering a bus is not the bus you want.
Wear the seatbelt where fitted. Mountain roads are mountain roads.
Check the weather before committing to a mountain route in the rainy season or in winter. Landslides and snow close roads with little notice.
Routes where you will actually use one
Lijiang to Shangri-La — roughly three to three and a half hours, no rail alternative, and the shared car is the common choice. See the Yunnan itinerary.
Guilin to Longsheng and the Longji terraces — two to three hours each way, and the reason to stay overnight rather than day-trip.
Xiamen to the Fujian tulou — two to three hours inland. See the second trip guide.
Kaili to the Miao and Dong villages in Guizhou — local buses and shared cars, and the only way in.
Zhangjiajie city to the park gates — about 40 minutes, frequent. See the zones guide.
Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou — eight to ten hours by road, which is why most people fly.
Dali to Shaxi — two and a half hours to a preserved tea-horse road town.
Dunhuang's outlying sites — chartered car rather than bus, arranged locally. See the Silk Road itinerary.
What it costs
Cheap, and the saving against rail is usually smaller than the time cost.
Rough guide: short regional hops of one to three hours commonly run in the tens of yuan. Half-day journeys of four to six hours run in the region of ¥60 to ¥150. Long hauls of eight hours or more run higher, and at that point a flight or a sleeper train is usually the better purchase.
Shared cars on mountain routes cost several times the bus fare and are frequently worth it — faster, door to door, and you can stop for photographs. On Lijiang to Shangri-La, expect to pay a meaningful premium over the bus and to save an hour plus the transfers at both ends.
Chartered cars for a day — for the Zhangye Danxia circuit, the Dunhuang western sites, or the Kaiping diaolou — are the standard way to see scattered rural sites and are priced by the day. Arrange through your accommodation the evening before rather than negotiating at a kerbside in the morning.
Where the money actually goes wrong: unofficial "tourist buses" sold near railway stations, which are cheap because the operator is paid by the jade showroom you will be taken to. This is the same pattern as the fake bus 306 at Xi'an and the Deshengmen Great Wall buses. Buy at the official window.
Cross-border buses
Buses cross into Vietnam from Nanning and Kunming, into Laos from Kunming and Jinghong, and into Mongolia from Erenhot.
These involve getting off at the border, clearing both sides on foot, and reboarding. Have your documents accessible and read the land border guide first — the visa position at land crossings is the thing to check, not the bus.
The short version
Take the train where there is one. Take a shared car on mountain routes where the guesthouse can arrange it. Take the bus for the last leg to places neither reaches, buy the ticket at the official station with your passport, and check which of the city's several bus stations you actually need.
Official sources
- Ministry of Transport: http://en.mot.gov.cn/
- Amap and Baidu Maps for station and route information
Bus routes, frequencies and station assignments change frequently, and many long-distance routes have been withdrawn as rail expanded. Confirm locally.
Last reviewed: 30 July 2026.