Tianshui Railway Station

Station name and what to look for

Match the Chinese characters on your ticket to the characters above. English translations of Chinese station names vary between booking sites, but the Chinese name is the same everywhere.

About the station

Tianshui is the gateway to the Maijishan Grottoes, one of China’s four great Buddhist cave complexes, carved into a cliff face about 45 km south-east of the city. The old station on the Longhai line serves the conventional network; Tianshui South (天水南) handles high-speed trains on the Xi’an–Lanzhou line.

The city is also the legendary birthplace of the Yellow Emperor and has a substantial Fuxi Temple in town, which is worth an hour if you are passing through.

The station is in the Beidao district, which is a separate urban area from the main Qincheng district across the river — a detail that surprises people who assume one city means one centre.

Getting to and from Tianshui

The two urban districts are connected by bus and taxi, and the ride takes a while because they are genuinely separate. Know which district your hotel is in.

For Maijishan, most visitors take a bus or arranged car from the city; the grottoes are not walkable from either station.

What catches travellers out here

• Tianshui station and Tianshui South are different buildings in different districts. This is the most common source of confusion here, more so than in most cities.
• Maijishan is a full half-day at minimum once you count the transfer. Do not schedule it against a tight train connection.

Other station guides in Gansu

Before you travel

Tickets are issued against your passport and there is no paper ticket to collect for most domestic services. Read the booking guide if this is your first Chinese train, or the seat class guide if you are choosing between a hard sleeper and a soft sleeper. For the station itself, the general station guide explains how gates and boarding work at any Chinese station.