One of the cheapest ways to get to China is by land through Kazakhstan. So, let's talk about how to get to China by land cheaply.
The given prices for travel and timetables are subject to change - check the information at bus stations and train stations or on their websites.
To China via Semipalatinsk (Semey)
Perhaps the easiest and most popular route among Russians to China via Kazakhstan is through the city. Families... Until 2007, this city was called Semipalatinsk, but even now the former name is often used, especially in Russia (for example, at bus stations, tickets are sold to Semipalatinsk, and not to Semey). Therefore, you need to keep both names in your head.
To Semipalatinsk by bus
- You can get to Semipalatinsk by minibus from Omsk (via Pavlodar): distance - about 700 km, travel time - about 12 hours, fare - 1100 rubles.
- You can also get to Semipalatinsk from Tomsk: a ticket costs 1980 rubles, departure on Fridays and Sundays at 13:40, arrival at 08:00 (more than 18 hours on the way), distance - 953 km.
- The third option is to go to Semey from Novosibirsk. A ticket for the night bus will cost 1100 rubles, departure at 19:20 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, arrival at 10:20.
- The fourth possible option: bus Barnaul-Semipalatinsk. The fare is 600-800 rubles. Departure time: 11:05 or 20:20, respectively, for day and night flights. Also, transit buses go along this route: Novosibirsk-Tashkent (departure from Barnaul at 19:52), Novokuznetsk-Bishkek (19:52), Novosibirsk-Altamy (23:14). The distance between the cities is almost 500 km, the travel time is nine and a half hours.
Buses from Russia arrive at the Semipalatinsk International Bus Station. From it, buses leave for China to the city of Urumqi - these are comfortable buses with bunk beds instead of seats. Everything would be fine, but the picture is spoiled by strong shaking along the way - take this minus into account. A ticket for the Semey-Urumqi bus costs 1800 rubles, the travel time is about 30 hours, the distance is about 1200 km. By the way, Urumqi is the largest city in the world located from the sea coast.
To Semipalatinsk by train
Getting to Semey by train will be somewhat more expensive. For example, a trip in a reserved seat carriage by train # 325N from Novosibirsk to Semipalatinsk costs 1600 rubles (+/- depending on the season and time of purchase). Please note that travel on the 369th train costs twice as much!
To China via Astana by train
The route of our independent and budget travel to China can be built through the capital of Kazakhstan. It is easy to get from Russia to Astana by train from a variety of cities. Here is an example of a train trip to Astana from Perm:
From the capital of Kazakhstan you can get to China by train # 054C, which leaves only on Saturdays at 17:15 and arrives in Urumqi every other day and two nights at 09:50. The cost of a ticket for this train has remained a mystery - it is not indicated on the website of Kazakh railways (no date you put it - they write that there are no seats), and other sites publish very different information with a range of prices from 1,800 to 9,600 rubles per ticket. Maybe you will be able to solve this mystery - if you can, then share in the comments.
Before the trip, read the information about visas to China for Russians - tourist and transit, as well as the opportunity to get to China without a visa.
To China via Alma-Ata
You can get to Almaty from different cities of Russia. For example, you can get from Novosibirsk on the 301st train, a ticket for it will cost about 3000 rubles (reserved seat), and the travel time will be 40 hours.
You can get to China from Almaty by train # 014TS (runs on Tuesdays) or # 014T (runs on Sundays). Another option is by bus. The price of tickets is also not fully clear: people call different numbers from $ 60 to 22,000 tenge, and the site of Kazakh railways, as usual, is silent. It turns out that the cost of train tickets is somewhere in the range from 2200 to 4400 rubles. The bus fare is about 2,000 rubles.
There is another way to get to Urumqi from Almaty: first you need to take a bus to Zharkent (about 300 rubles per ticket), then take a special bus across the border of Kazakhstan and China through the Khorgos point, take another bus or minibus to the city Inin (100-200 rubles), and from Inin go by train to Urumqi (a ticket to a reserved seat will cost about 500 rubles, if you go in a carriage without seats, it will be almost half the price). It turns out that this way to get to China from Kazakhstan is the cheapest, but at the same time it is the most labor-intensive.
Train Urumqi-Beijing
Well, here's how to get to Urumqi, we figured it out. What's next? You can spend some time in Urumqi - after all, it is a large and interesting city, but, most likely, any traveler will want to go further, because Eastern China is far from the most important part of the country.
The cost of a ticket in the hard sleeper class (an analogue of Russian reserved seat cars) will be about 3,500 rubles. Of course, it’s cheaper to travel in a sit-down carriage, but then it’s not easy - it’s still almost a day and a half to go. It is convenient to look for information on tickets on Chinese railways here - travelchinaguide.com.
Getting to China by air
All of the above ways to get to China via Kazakhstan by land are not suitable for everyone: these options will save money and will be convenient only for residents of Russian regions bordering Kazakhstan and residents of Kazakhstan itself. But for Muscovites and all residents of the European part of Russia, it is much easier to get to China by air. Flights to China with a flight from Moscow are not that expensive: quite often you can find options for 16-18 thousand (round trip), and if you are lucky enough to get on a promotion or a large sale, which is not uncommon, you can buy tickets for 12 -14 thousand rubles. As a rule, the best prices are offered for flights to Beijing. We write about all the profitable special offers of airlines in the heading "Cheap tickets".
The best way to find cheap flights is with the Aviasales metasearch and Skyscanner, which compare prices among hundreds of airlines and find the best deals.
If some information has become irrelevant or you know of other ways get to China via Kazakhstan, it will be great if you share information in the comments!
