Mianshan Mountains: How to get there

Rem Sapozhnikov / April 2014

It's hard to say how long it is necessary to stay in Mianshan Mountains to see all the attractions. Some companies even offer 5 and 7-day tours! But for one day you can see a lot, especially if you come to 9 am, but not as me - by noon.

I went to Mianshan Mountains from Pingyao, through a nearby to them Jiexiu city. The distance between the cities is about 30 km. There were a few options how to get to Jiexiu: by train, by taxi, by bus. In the morning, in the period from 8:47 to 10:16, four conventional trains run from Pingyao towards Jiexiu. It takes 25 minutes.

By the way, when I was there in April 2014, high-speed trains on the new railway line has not yet operated. But in July 2014 D-speed trains appeared in the schedule, including from Pingyao to Jiexiu. They make stops at the new stations located outside the cities. D train takes just 9 minutes. And if you go from Taiyuan, then about 40 minutes.

Chinese, you're driving me crazy by your pace of expressways construction!

You can also go to Mianshan Mountains by taxi. The driver offered to take me there and back with waiting for 120 yuan. I think that this is a very convenient and inexpensive option, especially for those who are traveling in a group of two or three persons.

As for me, for a trip to Jiexiu I chose a bus (9 yuan), and came back in Pingyao by train (also 9 yuan). The bus turned out to be exceptionally slow. Leaving at 09:15 a.m. from the bus station, the bus slowly drove 1 km to the train station and stood there for another 15 minutes. I only arrived to the bus station in Jiexiu at 10:35. But from Jiexiu you need another 20 km to go to the mountains.

Somehow, at the bus station there were no buses to the mountains, I learned at the ticket office. One of the taxi drivers was going after me and offered to take me to the Mianshan Mountains for 50 yuan. But I did not go with him, because I read somewhere that there were buses that go from the train station, which is approximately at a 10-minute walk from the bus station. A police officer in front of the railway station explained that the bus (or buses) are in the morning, it seems, at 9 o'clock. Therefore, there was nothing to do but go to the mountains by taxi. The clock already showed 11 a.m.