Atlas of China
Beijing to Pingyao 北京 – 平遥
Door to door, the high-speed train comes out ahead: about 4 hours, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. A standard-class seat is ¥251. The stations are in or near the city centres, which is what tips it.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed trainBeijing Fengtai 北京丰台 → Pingyao Gucheng 平遥古城 | 3 h 35 minG625, fastest | 4 hours | ¥251standard class | 607:12–23:45 |
By train
6 direct high-speed trains a day run from Beijing Fengtai to Pingyao Gucheng, between 07:12 and 23:45. The fastest, G625, takes 3 h 35 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥251. Coming back, 6 trains a day, the fastest 3 h 51 min (G792, 07:12 to 20:00).
Beijing: Several main stations: South (Shanghai), West (Xi'an, Wuhan), Chaoyang (north-east) and North or Qinghe (Datong, Hohhot); flights use Capital (PEK) or Daxing (PKX). Pingyao: No airport: Taiyuan South is under an hour away by high-speed train.
By air
No nonstop flights.
Stops on the way
Cities between the two with direct trains from Beijing and on to Pingyao, so the trip can be broken there.
At the other end
Featured places around Pingyao in Jinzhong.
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Pingyao Ancient City 平遥古城
An intact Ming walled town of courtyard inns, where China's first draft banks were born
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Qiao Family Compound 乔家大院
Walled courtyards of a Qing merchant-banking family, the set for Raise the Red Lantern
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Mount Mian 绵山
Cliff temples, plank walkways and gorges on the mountain of the Cold Food legend
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Wang Family Compound 王家大院
Fortified courtyard 'castles' of a Qing merchant and official clan on a loess hillside
Around Beijing: Forbidden City, Ming Tombs, Summer Palace, Fragrant Hills Park, Universal Beijing Resort.
On the map
Open either city on the illustrated map, or put both in a trip and let the planner lay out the days and the legs between them, with the same tables these numbers come from.
Book
About Beijing · Jinzhong, with Pingyao · Where Beijing reaches in a day · All routes
Trains are every direct train on 2026-10-28 or 2026-11-11 in the 12306 timetable, with standard-class fares; one weekday, so weekend and holiday services differ, and the fastest train may not run every day. Flights are the airlines' schedules for 2026-10-28, plus routes Wikipedia lists for small airports. Drives are routed on OpenStreetMap roads (extract of 2026-10-21) where the pair was routed, else estimated from the distance. Door-to-door times add about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time to a flight. How to book is in the guide to trains and 12306; the rail times are open data on the data page.