Getting Your Bearings
Zhangye is a prefecture-level city in central Gansu Province, sitting in the middle of the Hexi Corridor with Inner Mongolia to the north and Qinghai to the south. For a visitor, though, the practical geography is simpler than that: the urban core is the Ganzhou district, built around the oasis formed by the Ruo (Hei) River, and most of what you will want to see is either in that core or well outside it.
That distinction shapes everything about getting around. The city itself is compact enough to cross by bus or taxi, but the headline attraction — Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, with its coloured rock formations — lies out in Linze and Sunan counties, beyond the reach of ordinary city transport. Plan your local movement and your day-trip movement separately.
Is There a Metro or Tram?
No. Zhangye has no metro and no tram system. Municipal buses are the principal form of public transit within the city limits, supplemented by taxis, ride-hailing, and your own two feet.
Buses
City buses are the workhorse of local transport. Routes link the city centre, residential districts, and Zhangye Railway Station, with the main intersections and the city centre acting as hubs where several lines converge — useful if you need to change routes.
- Fares: roughly ¥1–3 per ride depending on the route. Cash is accepted but exact change is required. WeChat Pay and Alipay QR code payment are increasingly accepted on board.
- Hours: service generally runs from around 6:00–7:00 in the morning until 8:00–9:00 in the evening, with buses typically every 10–30 minutes at peak. Frequency varies by route.
- Payment caveat for foreigners: as of 2026, registering a city bus card in Alipay requires a Chinese ID number, so foreign visitors are effectively limited to cash. Carry small notes and coins.
- Accessibility: buses typically have steps at the entrance and are not well suited to wheelchairs or travellers with mobility difficulties.
- Navigation: route maps at stops are usually in Chinese only. Baidu Maps gives real-time bus information, route planning, and arrival estimates; Google Maps may be inaccurate here.
For longer trips there are also intercity bus stations: Zhangye Bus Station (also called the West Bus Station) on West Ring Road, Zhangye East Bus Station on East Ring Road, and Zhangye South Bus Station on South Ring Road. The main bus station is also where you catch the tourist bus to Danxia.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Both metered taxis and DiDi, the dominant ride-hailing platform, are readily available, and taxis will likely be somewhat cheaper than DiDi. Licensed taxis are green or blue-and-white, with a roof sign and a meter. You can hail them on the street, pick them up at taxi stands at the train and bus stations and major hotels, or book through an app.
- Taxi fares: a starting fare of roughly ¥5–8 covering the first couple of kilometres, then about ¥1.5–2.5 per kilometre within the city, all metered. Cash in small denominations, WeChat Pay, and Alipay are accepted.
- DiDi: offers Express, Premier, and Taxi options, with driver tracking, driver details, emergency contact features, and transparent fares. Registration generally requires a Chinese phone number, and WeChat Pay or Alipay are the reliable payment methods.
- Safety: make sure the meter is running, avoid unofficial "black cabs," and have your destination written down in Mandarin to show the driver.
Private Cars and Rental
Foreigners generally cannot self-drive a rental car in China because of licensing requirements, and obtaining a temporary Chinese licence is rarely feasible for a short-term tourist. The practical alternative is hiring a private car with a local driver, which you can arrange through a travel agency or at the reception of most hotels. This is especially useful for touring sites outside the city, where public transport simply does not go.
Bicycle rentals are available in the city — for example near the Giant Buddha Temple, and for the perimeter of Danxia Geopark (not inside the main viewing areas). Bike-sharing apps such as Meituan Bike and Hello Bike may operate, but they require a Chinese phone number and mobile payment. Motorbike and scooter hire is uncommon and not recommended for tourists. There are no tuk-tuks, no cable cars or funiculars in the city, and no passenger boat transport — Zhangye is landlocked and the Hei River is not used for passengers.
Walking
Zhangye is laid out in the sprawling fashion typical of Chinese cities outside the south, so distances are deceptive: something that looks a few blocks away on a map may take nearly ten minutes to walk, because a single city block can be that long. Combined with extreme temperatures on many days, getting around entirely on foot can be quite arduous.
That said, the city centre is relatively flat and walkable, and the area around the Giant Buddha Temple and the central square is pleasant for strolling. Dedicated bicycle lanes are limited, so cyclists share the road with vehicles, and remote roads without streetlights are best avoided at night. Formal English-language walking tours are uncommon; self-guided walks are feasible with a map or navigation app.
Getting In: Airport and Rail Connections
Zhangye Ganzhou Airport (YZY) is a combined civilian-military airport that opened in 2011, located south of the city. It has no international flights and limited connections, primarily to Lanzhou and Xi'an, with some services to Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing, Urumqi and a few other domestic airports. Be aware that many of these flights make stops en route, operate only on specific days, and do not run over the winter.
- Airport shuttle: a shuttle bus runs to downtown stops at around ¥20 per person.
- Taxi: taxis are available at the airport; the drive into the city takes roughly half an hour.
- To Danxia: there is no bus from the airport to Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park; you would need a taxi or pre-arranged car.
For many visitors, the more convenient approach is to fly into Lanzhou or Xining — both have much larger airports — and continue by high-speed rail. Zhangye has frequent high-speed connections from Lanzhou via Xining.
Zhangye has two main railway stations, and which one you use matters:
- Zhangye West Railway Station is the high-speed station, on the southwest side of the city and closest to the centre. It handles D-train service to destinations including Urumqi, Xining, Lanzhou, and Xi'an.
- Zhangye Station is on the conventional Lanzhou–Xinjiang line, northeast of the city centre. Slower trains use it daily, reaching as far as Beijing, Chongqing, Chengdu, Urumqi, and Lanzhou.
Long-distance services to cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Wuhan are overnight conventional trains only, so the high-speed network through the Hexi Corridor is generally the better option for reaching Zhangye without flying.
Getting to Danxia and Other Outlying Sites
Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park sits well outside the city, and no public bus runs directly to the park entrance. Your options are:
- Tourist bus: departs from Zhangye Bus Station multiple times daily and runs to the park, roughly ¥20 round trip.
- Taxi: around ¥80 one way, or roughly ¥200–300 for a private taxi for the day — efficient if you want a full photography itinerary combining the Bingou Danxia area in the morning with the main geopark in the afternoon or at sunset.
- Organized tour buses: run to Zhangye Danxia and Mati Temple, often including a guide.
Once inside the geopark, transfer buses are mandatory for reaching the different viewing platforms, and the platforms themselves are connected by boardwalks and stairs. Accessibility infrastructure across Zhangye's attractions is limited — nearly all of them involve stairs and uneven terrain — so travellers with mobility challenges are best served by pre-arranged private transfers with a suitable vehicle.