Harbin Transport - Best Way to Get to Harbin and Get Around
Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, has an advantage transport hub of flights, railways, taxis, and waterways. It lying in Northeastern China is a key international transport center between China and Russia, Korea, and Japan.
Airline
Harbin Taiping International Airport (HRB) is the second-largest airport in the Northeastern area of China. It is about 35 kilometers away from the city center. Totally, there are about 70 airlines in operation now including domestic airlines, regional airlines, and international airlines. There are about 50 domestic airlines such as the flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Taibei and the international flights to Seoul (the capital of South Korea), Osaka (Japan), Vladivostok (Russia), and Los Angeles (America).
It only takes about 2 hours from Beijing to Harbin by air.
Airport Shuttle buses
The whole journey between Harbin Taiping International Airport and the city center lasts about 45 to 60 minutes. The airport shuttle bus cost about 20 CNY per person. There are two places to take the airport shuttle bus in the downtown of Harbin: No.30 Xinyang Road and the Aviation Hall on No.99 Zhongshan Road.
There are only two shuttle buses to leave for the airport which depart at 10:30 and 12:00 in the morning on Xinyang Road. The Aviation Hall on Zhongshan Road has several shuttle buses to the airport. However, there is not a steady schedule there. The shuttle bus will only leave when it is filled with passengers. It will take a long time, so passengers need to go there 2 or 3 hours in advance. The last shuttle bus leaves for Harbin Taiping International Airport at 18:00 from the Aviation Hall.
The taxi from the city center of Harbin to the airport cost a little more than 100 CNY. It also lasts 45 minutes to one hour.
Railway
Harbin is the transportation hub in northeast China. There are three railway stations in Harbin, which are Harbin Railway Station, Harbin East Railway Station, and Harbin West Railway Station. Most trains passing by Harbin go through Harbin Railway Station, most trains starting from Harbin pass through Harbin East Railway Station, and all the trains starting from Harbin West Railway Station are high-speed trains.
The trains from Harbin can reach the major cities of China, including Beijing, Changchun, Shenyang, Dalian, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Jinan, Qingdao, Nanchang, Wuhan, Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Xian, Chongqing, Dezhou, Hangzhou, Wenzhou, and Baotou.
Harbin Railway Station
With 1,249 kilometers (776 miles) from Beijing Railway Station 935 kilometers (581 miles) from Manchurian Railway Station, Harbin is the jointing point of Harbin -Suifenhe Railway, Changchui -Harbin Railway, Harbin -Beian Railway and Harbin -Lafa Railway.
There are ordinary express trains leaving for Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Beijing, Taiyuan, Wuhan, Shijiazhuang, Shenyang, Jinan, Qingdao, Dalian, Xuzhou, and Manchuria from Harbin Railway Station each day, where the high-speed trains to Beijing, Tianjin, and Shenyang are also available.
It only takes about two hours from Harbin to Shenyang and three hours from Harbin to Dalian by high-speed train.
Location: No. 1, Tielu Avenue, Nangang District, Harbin
Tel: 0451- 95105688
Getting there: bus 6, 11, 13, 14, 16, 21, 32, 64, 74, 89, 101, 103, 108, 109 and 115
Opening time: all-day
Harbin East Railway Station
With 6 kilometers (4 miles) east of Harbin downtown, Harbin East Railway Station is also known as the Old Three Tree Railway Station, from which the trains mainly depart for Northeast China and Inner Mongolia, including Chifeng, Dandong, Heihe, Binjiang, Hulin, Wolitun, Maoershan, Wuyiling, Mishan, Fuyuan, Jixi, Manchuria and Kiamusze.
Location: Huochetou Avenue, Daowai District, Harbin
Tel: 0451- 82603838
Getting there: bus 27, 51, 52, 79, 89, 90 and 6
Opening time: all-day
Harbin West Railway Station
With 8 kilometers (5 miles) from Harbin Railway Station and 25kilometers (16 miles) from Harbin Taiping International Airport, Harbin West Railway Station is a transportation hub for high-speed trains departing southward, where the trains are mainly bound for Beijing, Tianjin, Shenyang, Qingdao, and Shanghai.
There are two squares (the West Square and the East Square) in front of Harbin West Railway Station, of which the East Square serves as a parking lot for buses, taxis, and private cars. Subway lines 4 and 5 will take passengers to Harbin city center from the station.
Location: Huochetou Avenue, Daowai District, Harbin
Tel: 0451- 86434597
Getting there: bus 96, 11 and 120
Opening time: all-day
Coach
Harbin’s coach system plays an important role in Northeast China. Harbin has 4 national highways and 3 provincial highways. There are coach routes to more than 20 cities in China such as Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Liaoning, Jilin, Xinjiang, Hebei, Henan, etc. The provincial coaches are convenient as well.
There are six coach stations in Harbin including the Nangang Coach Station, the Jiaohua Coach Station, the Jiaohua Coach Station, the Daowai Coach Station, the Daqiao Coach Station, and the Sankeshu Coach Station. The Nangang Coach Station and the Jiaohua Coach Station which are bigger than the others are near the Harbin Railway Station. There are a lot of buses to reach the coach stations including Bus 6, 11, 13, 14, 16, 21, 64, 74, 89, 101, 103, 108, 109,115.
There is an international coach from Harbin (in China) to Vladivostok (in Russia). The coach departs from Harbin at 07:00 every day with a ticket of 500 CNY. The total distance is over 750 kilometers which takes about 12 hours to arrive at Vladivostok. Passports are necessary to take the international coach leaving for Vladivostok. In order to pass the border from China to Russia, there might be a long time to stop. Sometimes it even stops for a few hours.
Tips: To avoid taking a coach in winter is recommended. The coaches lack heating during the extremely chill winter. And the coaches are not safer than trains when they run on slippery roads during a snow or ice day in winter. Compared with coaches, the trains will be safer, cheaper, and more comfortable in winter.
City Transport
Harbin provides passengers with a well-developed bus system. There are more than 100 bus routes traversing the whole city including two convenient tourist bus routes. The tourist buses go through some famous attractions in the downtown of Harbin. The ticket for a common bus is 1 CNY and 2 CNY is for an air-conditioned bus. Passengers need to prepare some small changes for a bus as there is no conducts to change money on a lot of buses.
There are a few kinds of taxis in Harbin, while there is not a big difference in the cost. The basic fee for the first 3 kilometers is about 8 or 9 CNY and an additional cost is less than 2 CNY for one kilometer. Taxi drivers in Harbin don’t have a good impression in China. Passengers need to make sure the driver is using the meter calculator or reach an agreement on a suitable price in advance. To prepare for some small changes or write the destinations on a card in Chinese is a wise thing to do in Harbin. Taxi drivers might also take other passengers on the way to the destination.
Metro is in construction now and it will be in operation in 2013 which will bring a more convenient city transport system to the public.
Waterway
The inland port-Harbin Port connects the Songhua River, Heilong River, Ussuri River, and Nen River and interlinks with the Russian ports. The ships departing from Harbin can reach Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and some parts of Southeast Asia. There is a port for the public located at Beiqi Street in Daowai District and a cargo port located at Sankeshu Road in Taiping District.
The ferryboats between the city center and Sun Island run from April 20 to November 10 based on the river situation. Passengers can go to Jiuzhan, Tongjiang Street, and Flood Control Monument to take a ferryboat to Sun Island. The ferryboats run from 05:00 to 17:00 every day and the journey lasts about half an hour. When the Songhua River is frozen over, the cable car takes the place of the ferryboats.