How to get from Hong Kong to Guangzhou by high-speed train
Take a direct train from Hong Kong West Kowloon Station (香港西九龙) to Guangzhou. You clear Hong Kong and Mainland immigration inside West Kowloon, before you board. On the 12306 results for 14 October 2026, rides took 48 minutes to 1 hour 52 minutes, and second class cost 185 to 215 yuan to the three main Guangzhou stations. Buy with your passport, and be at the station well before the real-name cut-off, 30 minutes before departure.
The MTR says the first and last trains leave West Kowloon at around 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. every day, and that journey time varies with the number of intermediate stops (Destinations page, information effective from 27 September 2026).
Times and prices below are examples
The train times and prices below are what the 12306 English site showed for Wednesday 14 October 2026 (61 results, which were 50 trains). They are not a fixed timetable and they can change. The MTR publishes separate fare charts and short-haul timetables for trains departing before 11 October 2026 and from 11 October 2026, so check the timetable for your own date.
Which Guangzhou station does the train go to?
There are four: Guangzhou South (广州南, Guangzhounan), Guangzhou East (广州东, Guangzhoudong), Guangzhou Xintang (广州新塘, Guangzhouxintang) and Guangzhou North (广州北, Guangzhoubei). The MTR writes them in pinyin without spaces, so match the name on your ticket to this list. The MTR lists the first three among its short-haul stations and Guangzhou North under "Other stations".
12306 searches all Guangzhou stations at once, and a train that stops at two of them appears twice (G6566 shows once for Xintang and once for East). So the 61 listings were 50 trains: 11 trains appear twice, ten of them for Xintang and East, and G6080 for South and North. The split for 14 October 2026:
| Arrival station | Listings | Ride time | Second class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guangzhou South (广州南) | 37 | 48 min to 1 h 25 min | ¥215 |
| Guangzhou Xintang (广州新塘) | 10 | 1 h 15 min to 1 h 34 min | ¥185 |
| Guangzhou East (广州东) | 13 | 1 h 31 min to 1 h 52 min | ¥187 on one train (13% off), ¥215 on the rest |
| Guangzhou North (广州北) | 1 (G6080, 08:07) | 1 h 17 min | ¥241 |
G6566, for example, was listed to reach Xintang at 08:56 and East at 09:13. The last Xintang and East trains that day left at 21:02 (G6564). Guangzhou South had departures until 22:37.
Which one should you pick? The MTR and 12306 pages don't describe the four stations or their metro links. On 14 October Guangzhou South had the most departures and the shortest rides, and Xintang had the lowest second-class fare. Choose by where you are staying; our Guangzhou travel guide covers the city.
How much is a Hong Kong West Kowloon to Guangzhou ticket?
The second-class yuan prices are in the table above, as 12306 showed them for 14 October 2026. Other classes that day:
- First class: mostly ¥344 to Guangzhou South and East, and ¥296 to Xintang. Some rows are lower with a discount label, for example ¥323 to Guangzhou South (6% off).
- Business class: ¥645 on many Guangzhou South trains; some show ¥452 (29% off).
- Premium first class: ¥473 on a few Guangzhou South trains (G388, G908, G6114).
The MTR Fares page says fares are set by China State Railway Group in Renminbi. Published Fares are the original price and Implemented Fares are the actual selling price, never higher than Published. Child fares on high-speed trains are about half the adult Published Fare. Actual fares are set by the ticketing system when you buy.
For a Hong Kong dollar price, the MTR adjusts the HKD fare monthly with the exchange rate and announces it on the first day of every month. A ticket sold in HKD is priced at the current month's fare, which may differ from the fare on your travel date. The HKD fare chart on that page is a download, so we give no HKD price here.
How to buy the ticket and what ID you need
The MTR's Ticket Purchase page lists three channels: the 12306 online ticketing platform (website and mobile app), Designated Ticket Agents, and ticketing counters and ticket machines in stations. The channel list on that page doesn't say how many days ahead tickets go on sale, what documents the machines take, or the counter hours and payment methods.
The Real-name Policy page sets the ID rules:
- Show ID for every ticket purchase, for after-sales service, and when staff ask on the train.
- One valid document can buy only one ticket for the same train on the same date.
- Accepted documents include passports recognised by the PRC Government, the Home Return Permit, the Non-Chinese Citizens version of the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents, and the PRC Resident Identity Card.
- Use the same document for real-name checking, ticket verification and the boarding and exit gates.
- Children with an accompanying adult use the Staff Assistance Counters.
To change or cancel, see 12306 refund and ticket change fees.
How early to get to West Kowloon station, and when check-in stops
Use the passport (or other listed document) that you used to buy the ticket. Per the MTR departure process page, the procedures can start as early as 90 minutes before departure and normally take around 30 to 45 minutes. Allow extra time on the last departing train, on weekends, public holidays, festive seasons and summer holidays, at the traditional immigration counters, and if you hold a passport.
- Real-name check and ticket verification. Go to the Self-service Gate or the Staff Assistance Counter in the Ticketing Concourse (Level B1). These procedures stop 30 minutes before departure.
- Security check. Empty your pockets (phone, coins, keys) into your bag first, as the MTR advises.
- Immigration. Complete both Hong Kong and Mainland immigration at the Departure Concourse (Level B3).
- Boarding. Enter the boarding gate on Level B3 with your ID or QR code ticket. The gates open 15 minutes before departure and close in the last 5 minutes.
- Arrival. At the Mainland station, leave through the exit gate with your ID or QR code ticket.
The 30-minute cut-off applies to the first step. The whole sequence normally takes 30 to 45 minutes, so arriving at the cut-off leaves no time to spare.
West Kowloon immigration and station opening hours
These are two different sets of hours.
- Immigration clearance: the Hong Kong Immigration Department's control point list (page dated 26-06-2026) gives Express Rail Link West Kowloon as 6:30 am to 11:30 pm. Waiting is longer at peak hours, especially in peak travel seasons, on holidays and on weekends.
- Station service hours: the MTR's West Kowloon station page gives 6:00 am to 12:00 midnight.
What that means for the 14 October 2026 list: the 90-minute window for the 07:20 train would open at 05:50, before the station opens and before clearance starts at 6:30, so you cannot use all of it. For the 22:37 train, real-name checking stops at 22:07, which comes well before the 23:30 clearance close.
Can I show a 12306 QR code screenshot, and how much luggage can I take?
No, a screenshot is not accepted. The QR code is dynamic and applies only to registered users who completed facial verification on the 12306 mobile app. The function is only on the Chinese version of the app. After logging in, find it under "My ticket" in the booking record section. The gates also accept the ID you bought the ticket with.
The MTR baggage page gives the total permitted weight as Adult 20 kg and Child 10 kg, with each item no more than 130 cm in length + width + height. There is no baggage consignment service. Folding wheelchairs and mobility aids for elderly passengers, young children, sick passengers, disabled passengers and pregnant women, and folding strollers for accompanying infants, are carried free and are not subject to those baggage limits. A mobility aid and its user must weigh no more than 200 kg combined, and the aid must be no larger than 120 cm long by 70 cm wide.
That page doesn't list power bank, liquid or lighter rules. It refers you to the "Rules for Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High Speed Rail Cross-Boundary Passenger Transport" for prohibited and restricted items, and tells you to check the latest exit and entry rules on carry-on quantities.
Entry to the Mainland
Mainland entry rules are set by the Mainland authorities and are not covered here. See China arrival card 2026. Going on to Shenzhen instead? See Hong Kong Shenzhen border crossings and the Shenzhen travel guide.
