Guangzhou to Shanghai: High-Speed Train vs Flight

Should I take the train or fly from Guangzhou to Shanghai?

For most visitors, the train is the simpler choice, and the flight is the choice if your hotel is nearer the airport. The table sets out what we can source. It gives no flight fares and no door-to-door totals, because neither has an official source we can cite.

Both cities are in mainland China, so there is no border or immigration check. You do not need a visa for the trip itself, only the right to be in China. See the 30-day visa-free entry guide for entry rules.

Going on to Beijing as well? See Guangzhou to Beijing.

Which trains run from Guangzhou South to Shanghai Hongqiao?

Three day trains ran on every date in the query. We ran a China Railway 12306 left-ticket and price query on October 22, 2026, for travel dates between October 23 and November 5. The times below do not change between dates. The fares are second class for travel on October 30, 2026 (a Friday).

A fourth day train, G1302 (13:19 to 21:47, 8 h 28 min, ¥892 on October 23), appeared on October 23 and 25 but not as a buyable train for later dates in the query. Timetables change, so treat the list as a sample, not a full timetable.

Fares are not fixed. On the same query G254 cost ¥854 for November 3 against ¥902 for October 30, and G246 was ¥949 on both dates. First class on October 30 was ¥1,443 to ¥1,520 on the three day trains.

What are the overnight D trains?

They are 动车 (D, “EMU”) trains with sleeping berths. The 12306 price data for D937 lists a second-class seat at ¥599 and a sleeper berth (动卧) at ¥800. They arrive in the early morning, between 06:42 and 06:52.

They did not run on every date. The query listed them on October 23, October 25, October 30 and November 1, and not on October 28, November 3 or November 5. On October 25, 12306 showed D937 as sold out. Check your date before you plan around one.

Other Guangzhou stations

The same query returns trains from other stations. Some are slower, and a few are not. Choose by the station that is nearest to you:

• Guangzhou East 广州东站: G3078 at 14:15 reaches Hongqiao in 8 h 11 min (¥854), and G248 at 12:02 takes 7 h 23 min (¥902). See Guangzhou East Railway Station.
• Guangzhou Baiyun 广州白云站 and Guangzhou North 广州北站: G252 (from Zhanjiang North) calls at Baiyun at 16:14 and at Guangzhou North at 16:32 and reaches Hongqiao at 22:43, in 6 h 29 min and 6 h 11 min (12306, trains on October 30, 2026). D100 (18:13) and D170 (20:30) are slow overnight trains from Baiyun to Shanghai South, 16 h 11 min and 15 h 17 min, with second-class seats at ¥301 and ¥246.

Some trains end at Shanghai South 上海南站, not Hongqiao. The station name is on your ticket and in the 12306 result, so check it before you pay.

How do I book a train ticket?

Book on 12306 or on Trip.com. Our train ticket guide has the steps, the payment options and the refund rules, and the no Chinese phone number guide covers sign-up problems.

1. Check the date. Tickets generally go on sale 15 days ahead, according to Travel China. In the query run on October 22, 2026, results appeared up to November 5 and not for November 6.
2. Search from Guangzhou South 广州南 to Shanghai Hongqiao 上海虹桥.
3. Enter your name and passport number exactly as in your passport.
4. Pay, and keep the booking. Your passport is your ticket.
5. On the day, arrive at least 30 minutes before departure. Gates usually close 3 to 5 minutes before the train leaves (Travel China).

Show your original passport at the manual inspection channel, or scan the ride code in the 12306 app (see our train ticket guide).

How do I get to Guangzhou South?

Guangzhou Metro Lines 2, 7 and 22 stop at Guangzhou South, according to the Guangzhou government (May 24, 2024). Pay at the gates with a foreign contactless card; see the metro payment guide. For a taxi, show the driver 广州南站. The Guangzhou South station guide has the rest.

How do I fly from Guangzhou to Shanghai?

Fly from Baiyun Airport (CAN). The airport’s airline list, checked on October 18, 2026, puts China Southern in Terminal 2 and Air China, China Eastern, Shanghai Airlines, Hainan, Shenzhen Airlines, Juneyao and Spring Airlines in Terminal 3. Check which of them fly your date on the airline’s own timetable. Airlines move between terminals, so trust the terminal on your ticket.

iPhoto: Sun8908 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Details

This guide does not list fares, flight times or the Shanghai terminal, because we found no official source for them. Use the airline’s own site or app, which shows the Shanghai airport for your date. Read the Baiyun Airport terminal guide for check-in and the way between T2 and T3.

To reach the airport, see Baiyun Airport to the city, which covers the same routes in reverse. In short, T2 has a metro station, Airport North 机场北, on Line 3. T3 does not: the Guangzhou government’s guide says to change at Gaozeng 高增 (Line 3 or 9), leave by Exit B and take the ¥2 Airport Line 2 branch bus, about 15 minutes.

Which is better: the train or the plane?

Choose from the pieces below, then add your own transfer time. We give no total, because the pieces depend on where you stay.

The train suits you if you want a fixed price and a station in the city. The flight suits you if your hotel is near Baiyun or the Shanghai airport. The overnight D train saves a hotel night, but check the date, as it does not run every day.

Going the other way: Shanghai to Guangzhou

The same query for October 30, 2026 listed trains from Shanghai Hongqiao to Guangzhou South, including G245 (08:00 to 14:38, 6 h 38 min, ¥911), G384 (08:47 to 16:56, 8 h 9 min, ¥902) and G253 (16:00 to 22:27, 6 h 27 min). The overnight D941, D931 and D935 left at 19:55 to 20:05 and arrived at 06:53 to 07:11, taking about 11 hours. For Hong Kong or Shenzhen onward, see Guangzhou to Hong Kong and Guangzhou to Shenzhen.