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Ya'an
Prefecture-level city in Sichuan, People's Republic of China

Ya'an

Ya'an is a prefecture-level city in the western part of Sichuan province, China, located just below the Tibetan Plateau.

Plan a trip to Ya'an→From Chengdu (Shuangliu)

The city is home to Sichuan Agricultural University, the only 211 Project university and the largest regional comprehensive university in Ya'an. As of the 2020 Chinese census, Ya'an has a population of 1,434,603.

Get in

Getting to Ya'an

Fast buses from Chengdu’s Xinnanmen bus station (07:30-19:00, every 35 min, 2 hr, ¥46) leave throughout the day. Even though your ticket says Ya’an, there is a possibility you may be directed onto a bus bound for the inane Bifengxia Nature Park near Ya’an. If you are the discerning type and forgo the park's dancing tigers, the driver will drop you off at the first intersection inside Ya’an.

  1. 01
    Simon Motor Station
  2. 02
    Ya'an Bus Terminal
  3. 03
    Ya'an High-speed Railway Station
See

Worth seeing

There is a wall-size map in the bus station; this includes Labahe Nature Reserve.

  1. 01
    Menghuo Castle
  2. 02
    ShenMuLei

    It is called "the place where the immortals live".

  3. 03
    Mountain Jiaoding
  4. 04
    Dawagengza
  5. 05
    Erlangshan Horn River Scenic Area

    Rich in wildlife and known as "Noah's Ark of Quaternary Glacial Species", it is full of wildlife.

  6. 06
    Niubeishan

    Formerly known as Big Mine Mountain and Bison Mountain.

How locals move

Getting around Ya'an the local way

  • Get inFrom here you can flag down a Shangli-bound minivan or get a taxi to the Wangyu minivan depot.
  • Go nextShangli bound minivans (20 min, ¥6.5) can be flagged down on the main road outside the tourist bus station.
  • Go nextWangyu bound minivans (1 hr, ¥8.5) leave from a secret location known only to the local taxi drivers who park near the Tourist bus station (10 min, ¥5).
  • Go nextThe minivans leave when full but will continue to pick up passengers along the way.

From Wikivoyage: Ya'an, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.