Gansu · China
Tianshui travel guide
Tianshui is a city in Gansu, China, home to about 2,985,000 people.
- Best months
- May and June
- Nearest airport
- THQ12 km · Tianshui Maijishan Airport
- Currency
- CNYrenminbi
- Time zone
- Asia/Shanghai
- Language
- Chinese, Putonghua, Standard Chinese
About
About Tianshui
Tianshui is a prefecture-level city in Gansu province, China, and is the province's second-largest city (behind the provincial capital Lanzhou). Located in the southeast of the province, the city strides along the upper reaches of the Wei River and at the boundary of the Loess Plateau and the Qinling Mountains.
Tianshui consists of two main areas with an industrial area in between. The eastern area is called Maijishan District and the western area is called Qinzhou District. Longcheng Rd connects both sections which lie 18 km apart. In the Western area, the central point of the city is the Central Square (天水市龙城广场) along the Dazhongzhong Rd (大众中路) (the main commercial road of the city), next to Jiefang Rd (解放路). Tianshui, located in the southeast of Gansu Province, has a long history and is one of the famous historical and cultural cities in China.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Tianshui
See
- Tianshui City Museum
- Tianshui Ancient Town
- Tianshui Industry Museum
- Hushi Ancient Residence Construction
- Taizi mosque
- Fuxi Temple
- Yuquan Temple
- Nanguo Temple
- Confucius Temple
- Houjie Mosque
- Maijishan National Park
- Immortals' Cliffs
Do
- Maijishan Grottoes
- Maijishan Ski Resort
- Tianshui Qing Mountain Grass Skiing
- Tianshui Folk Culture Village
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Tianshui
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Tianshui are May and June. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 27 °C; July is the wettest, with about 94 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Tianshui: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Tianshui Maijishan Airport (THQ), about 12 km from the city centre in a straight line; Longnan Chengzhou Airport (LNL, 88 km) is also within reach.
Getting around
If you come from Tianshui South Railway Station, you can find Tourist Bus terminal on the ground floor, and the city bus on the B2 level. Most city buses cost ¥2-3 and can be paid in cash or by transit QR code. There is also a tram connecting the two parts of the city, which is much more comfortable than the bus, though it only runs as far as the airport on the Maijishan side as of 2025.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
THQ · Tianshui Maijishan Airport
LNL · Longnan Chengzhou Airport
Questions
Tianshui: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Tianshui?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Tianshui are May and June. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 27 °C; July is the wettest, with about 94 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Tianshui?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Tianshui Maijishan Airport (THQ), about 12 km from the city centre in a straight line; Longnan Chengzhou Airport (LNL, 88 km) is also within reach.
What currency is used in Tianshui?
renminbi (CNY).
Nearby
Destinations near Tianshui
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.