By Air

Huanghua International Airport (CSX) is inconveniently located 25 kilometers (about 15.5 miles) away to the east of the city center. Currently, the airport has international links with adjacent South East Asian cities including Bangkok, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Nagoy and Fukuoka. Direct flights by CAAC connect the city with Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Kunming, and Chongqing and over 40 other major cities in China. There is no direct flight from Changsha to the Tibetan and Inner Mongolian areas at present.

Enquiry: 0731- 4449540

Airport transport

Airport shuttle buses ply the main roads between the airport and the city center and a single trip takes about one hour. You can take the shuttles from the front of the Civil Aviation Hotel (Minhang Jiudian) at No. 75, Wuyi Dong Lu at 10 Yuan per person. The first bus leaves at 6:30 a.m. and the last one serves the final flight arrival each day. The fare is 10 - 15 Yuan. An alternative is to take Bus 114 from the railway station to the airport between 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. The single trip takes around one hour.

A taxi ride from the airport to the city center takes 100-120 Yuan.

Ticket Offices

CAAC ticket office: 0731-4119821

CAAC ticket office: 0731-4112222

 

By train

As an important hub of the national Jingguang Railway (Beijing-Guangzhou), Changsha benefits from rail connections to almost every major city in China. The railway station is located in the east end of the city at Chezhan Lu. Bus 108, 110, 113 from the city center will take you there.

 

The trip from Changsha to Beijing, Shanghai, Guiyang and Kunming takes about 16 hours while journeys to Guangzhou and Shenzhen take about eight to ten hours. A trip to the scenic city of Zhangjiajie lasts about five hours.

 

In the very west end of Hunan Province, is Feng Huang Cheng (Phoenix Town), which claims to be the most beautiful town in China. For backpackers who want to go there, take Bus 114 to the railway station and board a train to Jishou. The trip from the airport to the railway station takes about fifty minutes to one hour.

Changsha Railway Station

Address: Chezhan Lu

Train Info Enquiry1: 0731-2637122 (operator)

Train Info Enquiry1: 0731-2634567 (auto-respond)

Station Enquiry: 0731-2296421

Ticket Office

You can only book your tickets up to five days in advance of your travel date. However, it should be appreciated that sometimes this ticket pre-sell period may be adjusted when demand is heavy.

The following table shows the locations of the various agencies so you can find the one nearest to where you intend to stay.

 

Ticket Agency	Address	Area	Telephone
South Railway Station Agency	No. 2, Shuyuan Lu	Central Area	0731-5825507
China Youth Travel Agency	No. 46, Zhanlanguan Lu	Central Area	0731-2232215
Renmin Lu Agency	No.158, Renmin Lu	Central Area	0731-5505702
Jiefang Lu Agency	No.48, Jiefang Lu	Central Area	0731-4436130
Hunan Normal University Agency	Tourist School of Hunan Normal University	Western Bank	0731-8872486
Tiantian Agency	1st Floor, Zhongshan Hotel, Wuyi Zhonglu	Central Area	0731-2222278/222
Agency in Jingxin Hotel	No. 478, Fenglin Erlu	Western Bank	0731-8868882
Wuyi Xilu Agency	No.143, Wuyi Xilu	Central Area	0731-4403212
Deya Lu Agency	No.88, Deya Lu	Northern Area	0731-4556641
Tianxi Agency	No.68, Chengnan Lu, Tianxin District	Southern Central	0731-5155796
Wenyilu Agency	No.4, Jiefang Donglu	Central Area	0731-2227544
Dongtang Agency	No.482, Shaoshan Lu	Central Area	0731-5513747
Fenglin Agency	East end of Fengxiang Building, Hexi	Western Bank	0731-8861120
Ping'an Building	1st floor, Ping'an Building, Furong Zhonglu	Central Area	0731-4410936

 

 By road

Changsha is the hub of three inter-province freeways including Freeway 107 (Beijing–Shenzhen), Freeway 391 (Chengdu–Xiamen) and Freeway 106. A well developed highway network connects Changsha with many major Chinese cities and buses leaving from the three Long Distance Passenger Bus Stations in Changsha serve most of the eastern part of the country. Although it is impossible to list all the destinations that can be reached from the three passenger stations; we have listed a selection of the main and most popular ones for reference.

Long Distance Passenger Station

East Distant Passenger Station

Address: Shiyuanda Yi Lu

Destinations: Hefei, Nanchang, Xiamen, Nanjing and Shanghai

Enquiry: 0731- 4611731

South Distant Passenger Station

Address: 643, Shizhongyi Yi Lu

Destinations: Guilin, Xiamen, Nanjing and neighboring cities in Hunan Province

Enquiry: 0731-5630505

West Distant Passenger Station

Address: Xiaoxiang Beilu

Destinations: neighboring cities in Hubei and Hunan provinces

Enquiry: 0731-8816553

Intercity Commuters

These run between Changshan and Zhuzhou or Changshan and Xiangtan are available south of Apollo Square at the railway station. The buses leave every 15 to 20 minutes; fares being 15 or 16 Yuan per person.

Rail Links

In addition, south of Apollo Shopping Square, a busy shopping area in the northwestern corner of the railway station, there are regular buses that leave for Zhuzhou and Xiangtan, which are the cities where most travelers change trains from the north-south Jiangguang Railway to continue their journeys in either an easterly or westerly direction. Buses leave daily at intervals of fifteen or twenty minutes; fares are 16.5 Yuan and 15.5 Yuan.

Travel to neighboring destinations

There are several popular destinations in the neighborhood of Changsha, which can easily be reached by both bus and train. These include Zhangjiajie, (Zhangjiajie Scenic Spot), Hengyang (Mt. Hengshan), Yueyang (Yueyang Tower) and Jishou (Phoenix City). Buses leave daily for Shaoshan (Hometown of Chairman Mao), Mt. Hengshan and Zhangjiajie.

 

By Water

Dongting Hu, China's second-largest freshwater lake is located in Hunan Province and the waterways connecting it to Changsha provide access to the great Yangtze. Ships leaving Changsha carry passengers to Chongqing, Wuhan, Shanghai, Nanjing, Lianyungang and other ports of call along the Yangtze. The inland water navigation is highly developed and Changsha Passenger Port has regular shipping to many cities in the northern part of the province around the Dongting Lake including Yueyang, Yiyang, Xiangtan and Changde.

Enquiry: 0731-2222307

 

By Bus

Public Bus

Public bus routes serve all parts of the city and its suburbs and there is a choice of ordinary buses or those with air conditioning. Fares are one and two yuan.

The Hong Kong based Lishan Bus line operates a service between the railway station in the east of the city and Central South University via the famous Mount Yuelu but we would recommend that your best choice is the air conditioned vehicles as they are far more comfortable in the hot weather.

Bus route No 202 also provides a regular service between the railway station and the western bank area in the city.

Tourist Bus

Two special tourist bus routes operate in the city and a ticket priced at three yuan can be used for two journeys. These routes are as follows:

Tourist Bus No.1 [East–West Route]

Railway Station--->Martyr Park--->Hunan Provincial Museum--->Yuelu Park (Yuelu Academy)

Tourist Bus No.2 [North South Route]

Southern Suburb Park--->No. 1 Normal University--->Tianxin Pavilion---> Riverside Scenic Area --->Kaifu Temple

 

By Taxi

The basic taxi fare in Changsha is eight yuan plus 1.6 or 1.8 yuan for each kilometer traveled. For trips exceeding ten kilometers the rate per kilometer rises to 2.4 or 2.7 yuan. This extra charge is to cover the cost of the taxi's return to its starting point. Night time rates apply between 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. next day and these are generally 20% higher than the basic fares. It is always best to ask for a quotation of the total cost prior to commencing the journey.