Atlas of China
Beijing to Guangzhou 北京 – 广州
Door to door, the flight comes out ahead: about 6 hours against about 7½ hours by high-speed train, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. Fares run about ¥1070 against ¥1033.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed trainBeijing West 北京西 → Guangzhou South 广州南 | 7 h 17 minG381, fastest | 7½ hours | ¥1033standard class | 1205:19–23:06 |
| FlightBeijing Daxing (PKX) → Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) | 3 h 25 minin the air | 6 hours | about ¥1070varies by day | 4407:00–21:30 |
By train
12 direct high-speed trains a day run from Beijing West to Guangzhou South, between 05:19 and 23:06. The fastest, G381, takes 7 h 17 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥1033. Coming back, 12 trains a day, the fastest 7 h 17 min (G382, 06:30 to 17:08).
Beijing: Several main stations: South (Shanghai), West (Xi'an, Wuhan), Chaoyang (north-east) and North or Qinghe (Datong, Hohhot); flights use Capital (PEK) or Daxing (PKX).
By air
44 nonstop flights a day from Beijing Daxing (PKX) to Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN), 3 h 25 min in the air, 07:00 to 21:30, with Air China, China Southern Airlines and Hainan Airlines. 45 fly back. Door to door, with the airports at each end, count about 6 hours; fares vary by day and are typically about ¥1070.
Stops on the way
Cities between the two with direct trains from Beijing and on to Guangzhou, so the trip can be broken there.
- Wuhan 武汉 1050 km from Beijing · 3 h 48 min there, 3 h 18 min on
At the other end
Featured places around Guangzhou.
-
Canton Tower & Pearl River 广州塔
A slim-waisted tower glowing over the Pearl River in China's Cantonese food capital
Around Beijing: Forbidden City, Ming Tombs, Summer Palace, Fragrant Hills Park, Universal Beijing Resort.
On the map
Open either city on the illustrated map, or put both in a trip and let the planner lay out the days and the legs between them, with the same tables these numbers come from.
Book
About Beijing · About Guangzhou · Where Beijing reaches in a day · Where Guangzhou reaches in a day · All routes
Trains are every direct train on 2026-10-28 or 2026-11-11 in the 12306 timetable, with standard-class fares; one weekday, so weekend and holiday services differ, and the fastest train may not run every day. Flights are the airlines' schedules for 2026-10-28, plus routes Wikipedia lists for small airports. Drives are routed on OpenStreetMap roads (extract of 2026-10-21) where the pair was routed, else estimated from the distance. Door-to-door times add about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time to a flight. How to book is in the guide to trains and 12306; the rail times are open data on the data page.