Atlas of China
Xi'an to Kunming 西安 – 昆明
Door to door, the flight comes out ahead: about 5 hours against about 11 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 ¥730 against ¥807.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed trainXi'an North 西安北 → Kunming South 昆明南 | 10 h 39 minG2851, fastest | 11 hours | ¥807standard class | 307:17–11:00 |
| FlightXi'an Xianyang (XIY) → Kunming Changshui (KMG) | 2 h 20 minin the air | 5 hours | about ¥730varies by day | 1706:30–22:40 |
By train
3 direct high-speed trains a day run from Xi'an North to Kunming South, between 07:17 and 11:00. The fastest, G2851, takes 10 h 39 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥807. Coming back, 3 trains a day, the fastest 10 h 22 min (G2852, 07:00 to 20:06).
Xi'an: Trains to Shiyan and on to Wuhan via the new line use Xi'an East, opened in June 2026.
By air
17 nonstop flights a day from Xi'an Xianyang (XIY) to Kunming Changshui (KMG), 2 h 20 min in the air, 06:30 to 22:40, with China Eastern Airlines, Kunming Airlines and Sichuan Airlines. 18 fly back. Door to door, with the airports at each end, count about 5 hours; fares vary by day and are typically about ¥730.
Stops on the way
Cities between the two with direct trains from Xi'an and on to Kunming, so the trip can be broken there.
At the other end
Featured places around Kunming.
-
Chengjiang Fossil Site & Fuxian Lake 澄江化石地与抚仙湖
Half-billion-year-old fossils of early animals beside one of China's deepest lakes
-
Green Lake Park 翠湖公园
Kunming's favourite park, where wintering gulls wheel over willow-lined causeways
-
Western Hills & Dragon Gate 西山龙门
Taoist grottoes and a single-file ledge path cut into a cliff high above Dianchi Lake
Around Xi'an: Terracotta Army, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Huaqing Palace, Xi'an City Wall, Han Yangling Mausoleum.
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 Xi'an · About Kunming · Where Xi'an reaches in a day · Where Kunming 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.