Atlas of China
Chongqing to Dali 重庆 – 大理
Door to door, the flight comes out ahead: about 4½ hours against about 7½ hours by high-speed train, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. Fares run about ¥470 against ¥531.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed trainChongqing West 重庆西 → Dali 大理 | 7 h 16 minG2849, fastest | 7½ hours | ¥531standard class | 206:41–13:30 |
| FlightChongqing Jiangbei (CKG) → Dali Fengyi (DLU) | 1 h 45 minin the air | 4½ hours | about ¥470varies by day | 406:40–17:50 |
By train
2 direct high-speed trains a day run from Chongqing West to Dali, between 06:41 and 13:30. The fastest, G2849, takes 7 h 16 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥531. Coming back, 2 trains a day, the fastest 7 h 13 min (G2842, 09:56 to 16:00).
Chongqing: Chongqing North is the busiest station; many trains to Guizhou, Yunnan and Yibin use Chongqing West, and Chongqing East opened in 2025. Dali: The station is in Xiaguan; the old town is 20–30 minutes north by taxi.
By air
4 nonstop flights a day from Chongqing Jiangbei (CKG) to Dali Fengyi (DLU), 1 h 45 min in the air, 06:40 to 17:50, with West Air, Tibet Airlines and Air China. 4 fly back. Door to door, with the airports at each end, count about 4½ hours; fares vary by day and are typically about ¥470.
Stops on the way
Cities between the two with direct trains from Chongqing and on to Dali, so the trip can be broken there.
- Yibin 宜宾 210 km from Chongqing · 56 min there, 6 h 54 min on
At the other end
Featured places around Dali.
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Dali Old Town & Erhai Lake 大理古城与洱海
Bai courtyards, old stone gates and lakeside bike rides beneath the Cangshan peaks
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Weishan Ancient Town 巍山古城
An unhurried Ming grid town south of Dali, where the Nanzhao kingdom was born
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 Chongqing · About Dali · Where Chongqing 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.