Guangyuan travel guide

Guangyuan (simplified Chinese: 广元; traditional Chinese: 廣元; pinyin: Guǎngyuán; Wade–Giles: Kuang-yüan) is a prefecture-level city in Sichuan Province, China, bordering the provinces of Shaanxi to the northeast and Gansu to the northwest.

Guangyuan is one of the important birthplaces of the Ba Shu civilization and created the Neutronic Fine Stoneware Culture more than 7000 years ago. It has a history of more than 2,300 years since the founding of the city, and is the centralized exhibition place of the pre-Qin ancient palisade culture and Shu Road culture, and the core corridor of the Three Kingdoms' history and culture. It is the birthplace of Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history.

Getting in

The Chengdu to Xi'an high-speed rail has a stop in Guangyuan. The standard sleeper trains also stop here. The long distance bus stop is underneath the plaza directly in front of the train station. Same-day tickets are available to regional centers.

Getting around

Guangyuan is a compact and relatively easy city to navigate, and most daily travel can be done by public bus, taxi, shared bike, or on foot. The city center is concentrated around Lizhou District and the Jialing River area, so moving between major commercial streets, riverside areas, and residential neighborhoods usually does not take long. For destinations outside the urban core, such as nearby scenic or rural areas, taxis or long-distance buses are usually needed.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.