Taxis are not metered. Taxi fares start at CNY 8. It costs around CNY 8 to travel to your destinations within the downtown area. However, it will cost more to go outside of this area.

Shangri La City Bus Route

Basic information: urban bus fare is 1 ‑ 2 yuan, no ticket is sold, and cash/Alipay bus code is supported.

Operating hours: 7:30-18:30 PM Summer Time; Winter 8:00-18:00, with an interval of about 15-20 minutes between trips, ends early, try not to catch the last bus.

There are no buses inside the ancient city, and buses stop at the outskirts of the city (Red Sun Square, Jiantang Police Station, Jinlong Street). Get off and walk into the ancient city.

 

Common core tourism routes

Route 1- Shangri La Station (High Speed Rail Station) ↔ urban area

Route 3- Jiantang Town Health Center ↔  Sōngzànlín Temple

Route 16- Jiantang Health Center ↔  Songzanlin Temple Scenic Area

Route 2 | Welcome White Pagoda ↔  Xiangde Road Intersection

Route 5 | Bailongtan ↔  Traffic Police Detachment

 

Practical tips

Some of the bus stop signs are old and there is no voice announcement on the bus. When getting on the bus, tell the driver where to get off and ask the driver to remind them to avoid passing by.

It gets dark early in winter, and after 18:00, public transportation in the city is basically suspended. It is recommended to take a taxi for evening travel.

 

Cars can be rented to visit the surrounding attractions. However, according to the law, international driving licenses and foreign driving licenses cannot be used in China. As such, all non-Chinese visitors will be required to hire a local driver.

Provided by local Tibetans, horses are one of the transportation options when you want to visit some attractions that cannot be reached by other means easily.