Lijiang Airport to the Old Town: the ¥20 Bus and Its 3 Stops
A ¥20 airport express bus runs from Lijiang Sanyi (LJG) to three stops around the old town in about 40–50 minutes, and it keeps running until the last flight of the night has landed. A taxi over the same 28 km costs around ¥80–120.
Taking the airport express
- Exit through Gate 3. The 机场快线 leaves from the domestic arrivals exit 3, outside the terminal — older guides still say Gate 2, so look for the bus and the ticket machines rather than the number.
- Pay ¥20. Tickets come from the machine by the gate, from staff, or by scanning with WeChat Pay or Alipay. The line also sells seats through its WeChat account and through Trip.com, which is worth doing if you land late and would rather not queue at a machine.
- Pick your stop. All three cost the same ¥20: Old Town South Gate (古城南门), the closest drop for the old town lanes and Zhongyi Market; Old Town North Gate (古城北门), by the Waterwheel and the North Gate market; and Lantian Hotel on Fuhui Road (蓝天宾馆), in the new town, which is the useful one for onward trips.
- Get on and wait for it to fill. Buses go every 30 minutes and leave early when full. Service starts 30 minutes after the first arrival and ends 30 minutes after the last one, so a 1 a.m. landing still finds a bus.
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Taxi, and where it actually drops you
Taxis queue outside arrivals. The published meter is ¥7 flag fall plus ¥1.8 per km, plus a ¥20 toll on the airport road, which is how a 28 km run works out near ¥80; drivers will quote ¥80–120, more after midnight. Agree the price before you get in and ignore anyone inside the hall offering a fixed "VIP" rate. Didi works from the car park pickup zone but needs mobile data.
No vehicle reaches your guesthouse door. The old town is pedestrian and stone-paved, so from either gate you walk your luggage in.
Getting back to the airport
Buses leave the South Gate every 30 minutes from 06:30 to 22:00, the North Gate from 08:00 to 21:30, and the Lantian Hotel from 06:00. The last departure varies between stops and with the winter schedule, so check your stop the day before. Allow two hours from the old town — the drive alone is 40–50 minutes.
Staying in Shuhe instead? A separate ¥20 line runs hourly, 05:45–21:45 toward the airport and from 08:00 in the other direction.
Last checked: 2026-11-01
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