Guangzhou Train Stations Explained: South, East, Baiyun

Dotted underline: only secondhand sources report it so far. Tap or hover it for why, and check before you go.

Which Guangzhou station do I need?

Use the station named on your ticket. It is the one that counts. To plan the day:

1. Read the Chinese station name on your ticket, for example 广州南站 (Guangzhou South).
2. Find it in the table below.
3. Route your metro or taxi to that station, not to “Guangzhou” in general.

How do the stations compare?

Destinations come from the Guangzhou government’s February 4, 2026 summary and its January 2026 timetable notices. Check 12306 for today’s trains.

Guangzhou South (广州南站): the hub for Hong Kong

Guangzhou South is in Panyu. Guangzhou Metro Lines 2, 7 and 22 and Foshan Metro Line 2 meet here. The Foshan Line 2 transfer is about 500 m, or about 7 minutes (Guangzhou government, January 21, 2024). The Panyu intercity station (番禺) is inside the Guangzhou South complex, underground (Guangzhou government, May 24, 2024), and signs for it were added in the metro station (Guangzhou government, May 25, 2024).

Chimelong is in Panyu. In Chimelong’s guide, Guangzhou South has the shortest metro ride of the three stations it lists: about 10 minutes on Line 7, against about 24 minutes from Guangzhou East and about 34 minutes from Guangzhou Station (ride times only, without walking or transfers). The guide says to walk about 5 minutes from the rail station to the metro station first. See Chimelong Safari Park.

iPhoto: Tim Wu · CC BY-SA 4.0 Details

Metro routes, trains to Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Zhuhai and the airport route are in the Guangzhou South guide.

Guangzhou East (广州东站): Tianhe and intercity trains

Guangzhou East is in Tianhe, on Metro Lines 1, 3 and 11. Line 11 joined this station on September 29, 2025 (Guangzhou Daily, September 28, 2025; details in our Guangzhou East guide). No conventional trains start or end here. The Guangzhou government groups it with Guangzhou Station as a high-speed and intercity station (February 4, 2026).

For Hong Kong from East, a one-day 12306 sample (trains on November 5, 2026) shows 13 trains taking 95 to 115 minutes. South is quicker.

Guangzhou Baiyun (广州白云站): slow trains

Guangzhou Baiyun Station opened on December 26, 2023, on the site of the old Tangxi station. It is in Baiyun District, about 5 km north of Guangzhou Station and about 20 km south of Baiyun Airport (Guangzhou government, December 26, 2023). It is not at the airport.

iPhoto: 中少 (User:中少) · CC BY-SA 4.0 Details

Since January 26, 2026 it is the station for conventional trains, plus Guangzhou to Zhanjiang high-speed trains. Chongqing, Zhengzhou, Wuchang, Changsha and Zhanjiang are named destinations (Guangzhou government, February 4, 2026).

By metro, Line 12’s “Guangzhou Baiyun Station” is about 5 minutes’ walk away. From the rail exit, metro exits F, G and H lead in without a second security check (Guangzhou government, June 30, 2025). Line 8’s Shitan station was linked at opening in 2023. For the airport, see Baiyun Airport to the city.

Guangzhou Station (广州站): central, high-speed and intercity

Guangzhou Station is in Yuexiu, on Huanshi Xi Road (环市西路), No. 159 (12306 station list, undated). It is an interchange of Metro Lines 2 and 5, and metro exit B is about 30 m from the rail entrance, per the Yuexiu District account on February 13, 2026.

Since January 26, 2026 it no longer starts or ends conventional trains. It runs 208 high-speed trains a day on the Beijing–Guangzhou, Meizhou–Longchuan, Guiyang–Guangzhou and Guangzhou–Shantou lines (Guangzhou government, January 26, 2026); the January 16 notice also names Nanning–Guangzhou. Xinhua quoted the station as saying a few conventional trains still stop here. Zhanjiang North was added from February 2, 2026 (Guangzhou government, January 26, 2026).

It is not near Chimelong. Chimelong’s guide gives Line 5 for about 16 minutes, then Line 3 for about 18 minutes, plus a walk of about 5 minutes, from Guangzhou Station metro. From Guangzhou South it is one metro line.

iPhoto: Jonashtand · CC BY-SA 4.0 Details

Guangzhou North (广州北站): Huadu

Guangzhou North is in Huadu District, where Baiyun Airport is also located. Metro Line 9 stops at “Guangzhou North Station”; take exit C and the lift to the west plaza. Intercity tickets must enter at the west plaza, called Huadu station (Huadu District Transport Bureau, February 2, 2024).

A direct Hong Kong West Kowloon to Guangzhou North high-speed service started on July 1, 2026 (Guangzhou government, July 2, 2026). We give no train numbers or times here. Check 12306.

How do I move between stations?

Metro Line 2 links Guangzhou Station and Guangzhou South, per the Yuexiu District account on February 13, 2026. For other pairs, such as East to South, use the Guangzhou Metro route planner or Amap. We found no official transfer times, so we give none.

A rail link from Guangzhou Station to Guangzhou South, called the Guangnan link, was expected to be built by mid-2027. It is not open (Guangzhou government, May 15, 2026).

What should I do next?

1. Buy the ticket: train tickets for foreigners.
2. Going to Hong Kong: read Guangzhou to Hong Kong.
3. Pay for the metro: Guangzhou metro payment guide.
4. Show a taxi driver the Chinese name with the Show your driver cards.