I am trying to figure out my itinerary for my upcoming trip to China. I am planning to be in Yunan in mid June, and afterwards I'd like to head westward to Xinjiang. Obviously I can fly, but in the interest of saving some money and seeing the countryside, I want to consider the possibility of traveling by train.

The line connecting Kunming to Urumqi goes through Chengdu/Sichuan. I know the recent earthquake damaged a lot of infrastructure in Sichuan. Does anyone know if the rail line through the province is currently open, or will be open by the end of June?

I havent seen anything that suggests it isnt. I have just had a quick search and couldnt find anything that said it was closed. It might be a bit slower than usually perhaps and with aftershocks who knows what next week will be like around Sichuan.

Remember, as you get closer to the olympics things will continue to heat up in that area of China. What happened in April is only the beginning....