Atlas of China
Kunming to Guilin 昆明 – 桂林
Door to door, the high-speed train comes out ahead: about 5 hours, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. A standard-class seat is ¥425. The stations are in or near the city centres, which is what tips it.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed trainKunming South 昆明南 → Guilin West 桂林西 | 4 h 28 minG2938, fastest | 5 hours | ¥425standard class | 808:24–20:37 |
By train
8 direct high-speed trains a day run from Kunming South to Guilin West, between 08:24 and 20:37. The fastest, G2938, takes 4 h 28 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥425. Coming back, 7 trains a day, the fastest 4 h 32 min (G908, 07:11 to 17:52).
Guilin: Guilin West and central Guilin station also have high-speed trains, so check which one your train uses.
By air
No nonstop flights. The planner's best way by air changes at Hengyang, about 7½ hours door to door.
At the other end
Featured places around Guilin.
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Li River & Yangshuo 漓江与阳朔
Limestone peaks, bamboo rafts and bike rides through rice paddies
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Longji Rice Terraces 龙脊梯田
Rice paddies stacked up the mountains like the scales on a dragon's back
Around Kunming: Chengjiang Fossil Site & Fuxian Lake, Green Lake Park, Western Hills & Dragon Gate.
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 Kunming · About Guilin · Where Kunming 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.