Getting Around China Between Cities: Trains, Flights, Buses and Ferries

For most trips between Chinese cities, take the high-speed train (高铁, gāotiě, "high-speed rail"). Up to about five hours of train time it is usually the simplest choice and often the quickest door to door, because the stations are in or near the city and you board with nothing more than your passport. Fly when the train ride turns into most of a day: Yunnan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Hainan, or a Beijing–Guangzhou or Chengdu–Shanghai sort of distance. Long-distance buses cover places the railway doesn't reach, such as water towns and mountain county towns, and ferries matter for Hainan, a couple of sea crossings in the north, and the water links around Hong Kong and Macau. Trains, flights, intercity buses and most ferries are all sold against your passport, so keep it on you on every travel day.

The network is big enough that most cities you will want to visit are on it. China had 165,000 km of railway at the end of 2025, and 50,400 km of that was high-speed line. For the places rail serves badly, there are plenty of airports: 270 certified passenger airports were open at the end of 2025, and airlines carried about 770 million passengers that year.

Train, plane, bus or boat: how to choose

Start with the train and only switch when there is a reason to. Here is the quick version:

Real journey times make the choice clearer. On one sample travel day, 12 November 2026, 12306 lists 109 trains from Shanghai Hongqiao to Hangzhou East, the fastest taking 45 minutes. Xi'an North to Chengdu East has 68 trains that day, the fastest in 3 h 05 min. Beijing South to Shanghai Hongqiao has 38 trains, the fastest in 4 h 18 min, and half of them take between 4 h 37 min and 6 h 07 min. All three are clear train trips. Compare Chengdu East to Shanghai Hongqiao: on an earlier sample day, 29 October 2026, the fastest train takes 10 h 06 min and the typical one about 13 hours. That is a route to fly.

A simple rule of thumb: if the fastest train is under about five hours, take it. Beyond about five hours, compare it with a flight; the train can still win if you treat it as a travel day or take an overnight sleeper.

High-speed rail: the default for most routes

Trains win on the routes most visitors take because they run often, leave from stations inside the city, and need no check-in. On busy corridors there is a train at almost any time of day: Guangzhou South to Shenzhen North has 159 trains on the sample day, the fastest in 29 minutes, and a second-class seat costs 74.5 yuan.

What typical trips look like

• Beijing to Shanghai. Second class costs 598–692 yuan on the sample day, depending on the train. Pick by the number of stops: 14 of the 38 trains take under five hours, the rest mostly 5.5–6 hours, and the faster ones cost a little more.
• Beijing to Shanghai overnight. Sleeper high-speed trains (动卧, dòngwò, "high-speed sleeper") leave Beijing in the evening and take about 12 hours, with a second-class berth at 440–510 yuan. You save a hotel night and arrive in the morning.
• Shanghai to Hangzhou. Second class costs 57–87 yuan from Hongqiao, so this is an easy day trip or a short hop between hotels.
• Xi'an to Chengdu. Second class costs 285–316 yuan, and the G and D trains on this line are priced almost the same.
• Hong Kong to Shenzhen. Hong Kong West Kowloon to Futian takes 14 minutes on almost every train, with 52 departures and second class at 68 yuan. This trip crosses the border: you clear both Hong Kong and mainland immigration inside West Kowloon station before boarding, so bring your passport. Those checks stop 30 minutes before departure, and the station suggests allowing more time on weekends and holidays.

The full corridor tables, with stations, number of trains and fares by class, are in our guide to China's top train routes.

The letter at the front of the train number (G, D, C and so on) doesn't tell you how long the trip takes. Every Beijing South–Shanghai Hongqiao train is a G train, yet G25 stops only at Nanjing South and takes 4 h 18 min, while G547 makes 11 stops and takes 5 h 53 min. Look at the journey time and the number of stops on the timetable instead. Our complete high-speed train guide explains train types and seat classes.

Booking: passport, timing, station

Train tickets are real-name: each ticket is bought with the passenger's ID, and staff check that the ticket, the person and the document match at the station. A foreign passport is one of the accepted documents on the official 12306 website and app, and the 12306 English site accepts foreign passports only. Tickets go on sale 15 days ahead, counting the travel day, and each station sets its own release time rather than one national time.

How far ahead to book depends on the date more than the route. For weekends, school holidays and national holidays, book the day sales open. On an ordinary weekday, the big corridors usually have seats a few days out, but the fastest trains at popular times go first. Our step-by-step guide to booking China train tickets with a foreign passport covers 12306 registration, passport verification and refunds.

At the station, passport holders use the staffed lane for the ID check and the ticket gates, because the automatic gates don't read passports. Allow extra time at large stations; navigating a Chinese train station walks through it step by step. Each adult can bring 20 kg of luggage free, and on high-speed trains each piece should be no more than 130 cm in length, width and height combined.

If you'd rather book through an English-language agency, Trip.com sells China train tickets against your passport details; any service fee shows on the checkout page before you pay.

Domestic flights: for the long hauls

Fly when the train would take most of a day, or when the rail line doesn't really go your way: Yunnan from the east coast, Xinjiang, Tibet, the northeast from the far south, or Hainan if you don't want the ferry. On the routes where trains are fast, a flight saves less time than the air time suggests. On Beijing–Shanghai the fastest train takes 4 h 18 min station to station, and the big stations sit inside the city; for a flight you add the ride out to the airport, the check-in cutoff, security, the walk to the gate and the ride in at the other end. For most people that evens out, and the train is easier.

What to know before you fly

• ID. Foreign travelers fly on their passport, and you must use the same document to book, check in and pass security. Enter your name exactly as it appears in the passport.
• Baggage. China has no single free baggage allowance; each airline sets its own and must show it for your flight when you buy. Air China gives economy passengers 20 kg on its domestic routes, while Spring Airlines' cheapest fare includes no checked bag at all. Read the baggage line on the fare before you pay.
• Check-in cutoff. Each airport sets its own, generally 20–45 minutes before departure; Hainan Airlines lists 40 minutes at Beijing Capital, Shanghai Pudong and Chengdu Tianfu, and 30 minutes at Shanghai Hongqiao. Even if you checked in online, you need your boarding pass before the cutoff.
• Delays. In 2025, 91.09% of China's passenger flights ran on time, and weather caused 56% of the irregular ones. Leave slack before a connecting train or an international flight.
• Liquids. Domestic flights don't allow liquids in hand luggage, except for toiletries in containers of 100 mL or less, one of each kind. Trains are far more relaxed, so this rule surprises people who switch modes.
• Power banks. They go in your hand luggage only, never in checked bags; up to 100 Wh is fine, and 100–160 Wh needs airline approval with a limit of two. Since 28 June 2025, a power bank without a clear CCC (3C) mark is not allowed on flights in China. Many power banks bought abroad don't carry this mark, so check yours before your first domestic flight.

To compare fares across airlines, a search on Skyscanner is a quick first step; then check the baggage allowance on the exact fare before you book. Whether a particular airline's own website accepts a foreign passport and a foreign card varies, and our domestic flights guide covers booking, delays and refunds in detail. For getting from the airport into town, see airport-to-city transfers, and for what you can pack on each mode, luggage rules in China.

Long-distance buses: for places the train doesn't reach

Most visitors only need a long-distance bus (长途汽车, chángtú qìchē) for the last leg to somewhere small: a water town, a mountain area, a county town without a station. For example, Xitang water town has direct buses from Shanghai's long-distance south bus station, from Hangzhou's Jiubao bus centre and from Suzhou's bus centre. Airports also run intercity coaches: from Beijing Capital Airport a bus to Langfang costs 50 yuan and one to Tianjin 120 yuan, and you need ID to buy the ticket. Where a train does exist, it is usually faster and more comfortable, so check rail first.

Bus tickets are real-name too. Routes that cross a province border or run between cities in the same province must sell and check tickets by name; you show the original ID when buying, and if you buy online or by phone you give the ID details and show the original when collecting the ticket. Passports are listed as accepted ID for both counter and online sales, so you buy with your passport where a Chinese traveler would use an ID card.

Buy at the bus station (汽车客运站, qìchē kèyùnzhàn, "passenger bus station") ticket hall unless your hotel can book it for you. Departure times and fares vary by route, so confirm both at the station or with your hotel the day before. One practical point: big cities often have several bus stations serving different directions, so check which one your bus leaves from.

Ferries and sea routes

Ferries are a small part of getting around China, but on a few routes they are the only surface option, or the most convenient one.

Mainland to Hainan: the Qiongzhou Strait

Most visitors fly to Haikou or Sanya. If you are traveling overland through Guangdong, the ferry across the Qiongzhou Strait links Xuwen and Hai'an on the mainland with Haikou. Tickets are real-name and a passport is accepted. Haikou has two ferry ports with separate tickets, so the ticket decides which port you go to. This is a big operation: on one peak day of the 2026 Spring Festival travel season, 30 January, 296 sailings carried 78,797 passengers.

The official booking channels are Chinese-language mini-programs. If one won't take your passport, ask at the port's service desk and confirm the current fare there. Around Chinese New Year and other holidays the crossing gets very busy, so book as early as sales allow and arrive early.

Shandong to Dalian across the Bohai Sea

The Penglai–Lüshun ferry, which links the Shandong peninsula with Dalian's Lüshun district, restarted in March 2025 with two sailings a day toward Lüshun, one at 11 in the morning and one at 11 at night, taking about five hours. Confirm the current sailings with the port before you plan around them. Yantai and Weihai also have ferries to Dalian; check their timetables and fares with the port too. For most people the train or a short flight is simpler; the ferry is for those who want the sea route.

Hong Kong and Macau by water

From Shenzhen Airport you can take a ferry straight to Hong Kong International Airport in about 50 minutes, and check your bags in at the Shenzhen Airport pier if you are flying on from Hong Kong. From Hong Kong Airport, TurboJET runs ferries from SkyPier to Macau's Outer Harbour terminal; SkyPier is set up for passengers connecting from flights, so check with the operator whether you can use it if you have already entered Hong Kong. Between the two cities, Cotai Water Jet links the Hong Kong–Macau Ferry Terminal with Taipa in about an hour. There are also ferries from ports in Shenzhen and Zhuhai; check the operator's current timetable before you go. Our Hong Kong and Macau guide compares the ferry, the bridge buses and the train for each crossing.

Island trips

Some ferries are short tourist crossings. Gulangyu island in Xiamen, for example, uses real-name tickets that go on sale 15 days ahead through the official Yujian Xiamen (屿见厦门) mini-program or at the ferry terminals, and a valid passport is accepted as ID. If the mini-program won't verify your passport, buy at a ferry terminal ticket window with your passport. Details are in our Xiamen and Gulangyu guide.

Set up payment before you leave home

Trains, buses, ferries and almost everything you do in a city are easier with a mobile wallet. The central bank's payment guide lists Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Diners Club, Discover and UnionPay cards for Alipay, with no American Express; WeChat Pay also takes American Express. Link a card at home, where you can answer your bank's security checks. Our guide to Chinese payment systems covers setup, fees and the cash and card backups.

Once you're in a city

In the big cities the metro is the default: it avoids traffic, stops near most sights and has English signs. Taxis and DiDi ride-hailing cover door-to-door trips, late nights and luggage days, and city buses fill the gaps. Our guide to getting around Chinese cities explains which to use when and how to pay for each.

How your visa shapes your route

How you entered China can decide where you are allowed to go, so check this before you book onward tickets.

30-day visa-free entry. Ordinary passport holders from 50 countries can enter without a visa for up to 30 days for tourism, business, family visits, exchanges or transit. For 48 of those countries the policy runs until 31 December 2026; Russia's runs to 31 December 2027 and Brunei's has no end date. If a trip runs past the end of 2026, check the latest status before you book. Our guide to China's 30-day visa-free entry explains who qualifies.

240-hour visa-free transit. Citizens of 57 countries holding an ordinary passport and a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region can enter at any of 65 ports and stay up to 240 hours within the permitted areas. The clock starts at midnight after the day you arrive. You can travel between provinces, but only within the permitted areas of 24 provinces, regions and municipalities, and some provinces only allow certain cities. The National Immigration Administration publishes the current rules.

The limits that most often break a rail itinerary:

• Shanxi: only Taiyuan and Datong are in the permitted area, so Pingyao and Mount Wutai are off-limits on transit.
• The northeast: Liaoning is open province-wide and Heilongjiang only for Harbin, while Jilin is not included at all, which rules out Changbai Mountain and Yanji.
• Tibet: it is not part of the permitted area, and the UK and Canadian governments' travel advice says foreigners need a permit arranged through a licensed Chinese travel agency. See our Tibet permit guide and the Qinghai–Tibet Railway guide.

For transit purposes Hong Kong and Macau count as a separate region from the mainland, so you can arrive from one and leave to a third place: the MTR's own example is Canada → Hong Kong → Shenzhen → Thailand. Keep in mind that going from the mainland to Hong Kong or Macau counts as leaving mainland China, and coming back counts as a new entry. A visa allows a set number of entries, and a single- or double-entry visa stops working once those entries are used, even if its dates are still valid. If you hold one, count your entries before planning a Hong Kong or Macau side trip, and if you will run out, check whether you qualify for visa-free entry on the way back.

The full country list, port list and permitted areas are in our 240-hour visa-free transit guide. If your case is unusual, the immigration hotline +86-12367 answers in English around the clock.

Frequently asked questions

To sum up: set up a payment app and keep your passport handy, use high-speed rail for most legs, fly the long ones, and keep buses and ferries for the places trains can't reach. Next, pick your routes in China's top train routes and book them with our train ticket guide.

Last updated: October 2026