Picture choosen by: Ms.Wendy W Transportation in Chengdu b>Bus
Connections in Chengdu are more comprehensive than in other parts of the southwest. High-speed expressways from Chengdu to Chongqing and Leshan have greatly cut down travel time. More are under construction.

Xinnanmen bus station in the southern part of town is the main bus station and has tickets to most places around Sichuan.

Train
To repeat though train tickets are a lot easier to land these days, don’t expect next-day middle-berth hard sleeper miracles for the most popular routes. Almost all the hostels can book tickets for trains (with a fee of around Y20) but read that note about miracles again. To wit: expect everyone and their dog to be trying to get on the Chengdu–Lhasa train.

Daily departures include Kunming (Y248, 18 hours), Emei (Y22, two hours), Chongqing (Y91, 11 hours; express Y118, five hours), Beijing(Y405, 26 hours) and Xi'an (Y122, 18 hours). A high-speed train line has recently started between Chengdu and Mianyang; another to Leshan was close to finished at the time of writing. The express to Chongqing that started in 2006 is nearly as fast as the bus.

Air
Flights internally go everywhere, virtually all the time. Whatever you do, shop around; outside of highest periods posted rates should mean little. Internal destinations include Beijing (Y1440, 2¼hr), Chongqing (Y440, 45 minutes), Shanghai (Y1660, two hours and 20 minutes), Guangzhou (Y1300, one hour and 50 minutes), Lijiang (Y880, one hour), Kunming (Y700, one hour) and Xi’an (Y630, one hour and 20 minutes).

Within Sichuan there are four flights a day to Jiuhuang Airport (Y700, 40 minutes), the new air link for Jiuzhaigou and Songpan in northern Sichuan.

International destinations include Hong Kong (Y2200, 2½hr), Tokyo (Y3000, 6½hr), Singapore (Y1900, four hours and 20 minutes), Seoul, and Bangkok (Y1700, two hours and 55 minutes). Flights should operate between Amsterdam, Vienna, and Macau by the time you read this.

Airline offices in Chengdu include:
Air China (Zhongguo Minhang; 8666 1100; 41, Section 2, Renmin Nanlu 8am-7.30pm).
Sichuan Airlines (Sichuan Hangkong Gongsi; 8665 7163, 8665 4858; 31, Section 2, Renmin Nanlu)
Dragon Air (Ganglong Hangkong Gongsi; 8676 8828; Tianfu Lidu Xǐlaideng Fandian; Section 1, 15 Renmin Zhonglu). In the Sheraton Chengdu Lido Hotel.