Atlas of China
Dali to Jianshui 大理 – 建水
Door to door, the high-speed train to Kunming, then a high-speed train comes out ahead: about 5 hours, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. A standard-class seat is ¥170.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Train, one changeat Kunming | 4 h 39 minC354 + C566 | 5 hours | about ¥170 |
By train
No direct train runs. The quickest rail route changes at Kunming: C354 from Dali to Kunming (2 h 10 min), then C566 on to Jianshui (1 h 55 min), 4 h 39 min in all with the wait, about ¥170 in standard class.
Dali: The station is in Xiaguan; the old town is 20–30 minutes north by taxi. Jianshui: No G or D trains: C-series trains from Kunming and Kunming South take about 1¾–2 hours.
By air
No nonstop flights.
At the other end
Featured places around Jianshui in Honghe.
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Yuanyang Rice Terraces 元阳梯田
Thousands of flooded paddies mirroring the sunrise across southern Yunnan's hills
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Jianshui Ancient Town 建水古城
A Ming gate tower, a great Confucian temple and grilled tofu on the way to Yuanyang
Around Dali: Dali Old Town & Erhai Lake, Weishan Ancient Town.
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 Dali · Honghe, with Jianshui · 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.