Guide for foreigners in Guangzhou: Transportation

GZFAO Updated: March 11, 2022

Located in Huadu district, north of downtown Guangzhou, Baiyun International Airport is one of the three major hub airports in China. It boasts convenient transportation services. In addition to the airport expresses, it can be conveniently reached in various ways, including by car, taxi, Metro Line 3, and intercity rail transit.

Passengers can take the airport express buses from Baiyun Airport to the Guangzhou Baima Building and Huashi Hotel in Tianhe district, Rosedale Hotel & Suites in Haizhu district, Vanke Shangcheng Yufu in Guangzhou Development district in downtown Guangzhou. They can also take the express busses from Baiyun Airport to Guangzhou's Conghua, Zengcheng, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Zhongshan, Huizhou, Foshan, Zhaoqing, Dongguan, Jiangmen, Qingyuan, Yangjiang, Heyuan, Yunfu, and Shaoguan in the Pearl River Delta.

Likewise, passengers can take the buses from these places to Baiyun Airport. Tickets are available at local bus stops, city terminals, or self-service ticket vending machines and ticket offices at Baiyun Airport.

The Guangzhou-Qingyuan Intercity Railway (Huadu Station to Qingcheng Station) and the Guangzhou East Ring Intercity Railway (Huadu Station to Baiyun Airport North Station) offer great convenience to passengers traveling between Qingyuan, Huadu, and Baiyun Airport. These two intercity railways are connected through stops at Qingcheng, Huadu, and Baiyun Airport North.

From Qingcheng Station to Huadu Station, the trip can be as short as about 16 minutes if the train only stops at large stations, and is about 33 minutes if it stops at every station. From Huadu Station to Baiyun Airport North Station, the travel time is between about 14 to 21 minutes.

China Railway Guangzhou Group operates EMU (electric multiple units) trains and regular-speed passenger trains.

At present, Guangzhou has high-speed railways to Beijing, Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Changsha, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Hefei, Nanchang, Jinan, Xi'an, Nanning, Guiyang, Chengdu, Chongqing, Lanzhou, Yinchuan, Kunming, and Hong Kong. With the exception of Taiwan and Macao, there are regular-speed passenger trains to other provincial capital cities.

There are four railway stations in Guangzhou: Guangzhou Railway Station in Yuexiu district, Guangzhou East Railway Station in Tianhe district, Guangzhou South Railway Station in Panyu district, and Guangzhou North Railway Station in Huadu district.

Passenger trains from Guangzhou Station mainly go to cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guiyang, Lhasa, Urumqi, Nanning, Haikou, Xi'an, Yinchuan, and Ningbo. 

Those from Guangzhou East Station mainly go to cities like Hong Kong (Hung Hum), Shenzhen, Shantou, Meizhou, Xiamen, Harbin, and Changchun, with some going to cities in East China (the Beijing-Kowloon Railway) like Beijing, Shanghai, and other major cities.

Trains from Guangzhou South Railway Station are mainly high-speed EMU trains and Zhuhai Intercity EMU trains that reach their destinations within one day.

Passengers may log in to the China Railway Customer Service Center website or use the “Railway 12306" App to buy or endorse a ticket or get a refund. These services are also available offline at the ticket offices in the railway stations. 

Additionally, passengers may buy an e-ticket using the self-service vending machines in the stations or order a ticket by calling +86-95105105. E-tickets are available for sale at all sales agencies in Guangzhou.