Atlas of China
Taiyuan to Tianjin 太原 – 天津
Door to door, the high-speed train comes out ahead: about 3½ hours against about 3½ hours by flight, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. Fares run ¥217 against about ¥400. The stations are in or near the city centres, which is what tips it.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed trainTaiyuan 太原 → Tianjin West 天津西 | 3 h 3 minG2620, fastest | 3½ hours | ¥217standard class | 1005:25–21:55 |
| FlightTaiyuan Wusu (TYN) → Tianjin Binhai (TSN) | 1 h 5 minin the air | 3½ hours | about ¥400varies by day | 121:50 |
By train
10 direct high-speed trains a day run from Taiyuan to Tianjin West, between 05:25 and 21:55. The fastest, G2620, takes 3 h 3 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥217. Coming back, 10 trains a day, the fastest 2 h 54 min (G2601, 06:45 to 22:57).
Tianjin: Intercity trains from Beijing South reach Tianjin station in about 30 minutes.
By air
One nonstop flight a day from Taiyuan Wusu (TYN) to Tianjin Binhai (TSN), 1 h 5 min in the air, at 21:50, with Air China. One flies back. Door to door, with the airports at each end, count about 3½ hours; fares vary by day and are typically about ¥400.
Stops on the way
Cities between the two with direct trains from Taiyuan and on to Tianjin, so the trip can be broken there.
- Shijiazhuang 石家庄 170 km from Taiyuan · 1 h 15 min there, 1 h 22 min on
- Baoding 保定 280 km from Taiyuan · 1 h 56 min there, 54 min on
At the other end
Featured places around Tianjin.
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Five Great Avenues 五大道
Leafy lanes of century-old villas from Tianjin's treaty-port days
Around Taiyuan: Jinci Temple, Qiao Family Compound, Shanxi Museum.
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 Taiyuan · About Tianjin · Where Tianjin 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.