Atlas of China
Guangzhou to Nanning 广州 – 南宁
Door to door, the high-speed train comes out ahead: about 3 hours against about 4 hours by flight, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. Fares run ¥250 against about ¥400. The stations are in or near the city centres, which is what tips it.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed trainGuangzhou South 广州南 → Nanning East 南宁东 | 2 h 45 minD596, fastest | 3 hours | ¥250standard class | 6305:37–20:37 |
| FlightGuangzhou Baiyun (CAN) → Nanning Wuxu (NNG) | 1 h 40 minin the air | 4 hours | about ¥400varies by day | 209:50–20:50 |
By train
63 direct high-speed trains a day run from Guangzhou South to Nanning East, between 05:37 and 20:37. The fastest, D596, takes 2 h 45 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥250. Coming back, 63 trains a day, the fastest 2 h 43 min (D595, 06:49 to 21:32).
By air
2 nonstop flights a day from Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) to Nanning Wuxu (NNG), 1 h 40 min in the air, 09:50 to 20:50, with China Southern Airlines. 2 fly back. Door to door, with the airports at each end, count about 4 hours; fares vary by day and are typically about ¥400.
At the other end
Around Guangzhou: Canton Tower & Pearl River.
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 Guangzhou · About Nanning · 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.