Taiyuan South as Your Shanxi Junction: Trains to Pingyao, Datong and Wutai Shan

Taiyuan South (太原南) is Shanxi's main high-speed junction. Pingyao Gucheng is about half an hour away, Datong South a little under an hour and a half, and Changzhi East about an hour. Wutai Shan has no direct high-speed train, so most people take a coach, or a train to Xinzhou West and a scenic bus. Metro line 1 links the airport to Taiyuan South in about 20 minutes.

Which Taiyuan station will you use?

• Taiyuan South (太原南) handles nearly all high-speed G and D trains: Beijing, Xi'an, Zhengzhou, Datong, Pingyao, Changzhi. If your ticket says "Taiyuan" on a fast train, it is probably this one. Check the ticket.
• Taiyuan Station (太原), in the city centre, handles conventional trains, including some slow trains to Pingyao and Wutai Shan.

The metro station for Taiyuan South is on the east square. The west square has buses but no metro.

How do you get to Pingyao?

This is the easiest trip in the province. Listings show the fastest trains from Taiyuan South to Pingyao Gucheng at about 31 minutes, with dozens a day. Pingyao Gucheng is outside the old town, so you finish by bus or taxi. Slower conventional trains from Taiyuan Station go to the older Pingyao Station, closer to the walls. Pingyao makes a day trip from Taiyuan, but most people sleep there at least one night.

How do you get to Datong?

The Datong–Taiyuan high-speed line put the two cities within easy reach. The fastest listed trains to Datong South take about 1 hour 23 minutes. From Datong you are in place for Yungang, the Hanging Temple and the Yingxian pagoda. If you plan a north-to-south route, start in Datong and come down through Taiyuan. See the Datong three-day plan.

How do you get to Wutai Shan?

The temples cluster around Taihuai town (台怀镇) high in the mountains, and no high-speed train goes there. Options checked in October 2026:

1. Direct coach from Taiyuan's east coach station (客运东站) or from Taiyuan South to the Wutai Shan visitor centre. Travel guides put the trip at roughly three to four hours. This is the simplest choice for most people.
2. High-speed train to Xinzhou West (忻州西), then a scenic-area direct bus. Faster on the rail leg, but you depend on the bus connection.
3. Conventional train to Wutaishan Station (五台山站) at Shahe in Fanshi county, then about an hour by bus into Taihuai. The station name misleads first-timers: it is well outside the scenic area.

The province's "山西文旅行" service also sells direct shuttles from Taiyuan to Wutai Shan. Book a day ahead in busy months.

What about Changzhi?

D and G trains run from Taiyuan South to Changzhi East in about an hour, many times a day. That is the link for the south-east and the Black Myth: Wukong temples. See getting to Changzhi.

How do you get in from the airport?

Taiyuan Wusu Airport is on the south-east side of the city, close to Taiyuan South. Metro line 1 runs from the airport terminals to Taiyuan South in about 20 minutes and continues into the centre. Airport bus line 3 also goes to the south station's west square, for 10 yuan. Late-arriving flights are covered by the airport bus after the metro stops. Check the last metro time on the day.

What should you check before booking?

Checked October 2026 (Asia/Shanghai). Train durations are the fastest listed services from Trip.com and similar resellers, not averages. China Railway's 12306 app and website win on times and fares, and the coach operators' own notices win for Wutai Shan. Foreign passport holders can book on 12306 or through agents and must show the same passport at the gates.

Cover photo: Baycrest / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5)