roddy Posted December 26, 2012 at 10:51 AM Report Share Posted December 26, 2012 at 10:51 AM Beijing to Guangzhou, 10 hours. Wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted December 26, 2012 at 11:39 AM Report Share Posted December 26, 2012 at 11:39 AM It's only 3 hours 15 minutes by plane, which is probably less expensive and less dangerous too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted December 26, 2012 at 11:43 AM Report Share Posted December 26, 2012 at 11:43 AM No sense of adventure, Imron... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icebear Posted December 26, 2012 at 01:48 PM Report Share Posted December 26, 2012 at 01:48 PM It's only 3 hours 15 minutes by plane, which is probably less expensive and less dangerous too. For trips as far as Guangzhou this matters less... but keep in mind that going to the airport, through security, etc adds at least 2 hours to your trip (maybe 3) since you are advised to "arrive 2 hours early". Meanwhile for trains its very flexible and generally the stations are better located within the city. Not to mentioned the frequency with which air travel is delayed in China these days (due to limited air space for civilian use and big "pile ups" in the available air lanes), while trains mostly run on schedule. I know a number of professionals who frequent go between Beijing and the Shanghai area and prefer to use train for these reasons - plus the fact that the have 3g the whole time, a spacious dining car to work in, etc. Not sure how the business crowd will take this longer route... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymoose Posted December 26, 2012 at 01:50 PM Report Share Posted December 26, 2012 at 01:50 PM In October I did Beijing to Shanghai. It took about 5h30 (there are faster trains that do it in about 4h30). It was very comfortable and more convenient than plane. Although the actual traveling time is longer, it think the overall journey probably took less time by train, given that there's no getting to/from the airport (the train stations are more central than the airports), one doesn't have to check in in advance, there's little waiting for security, and there's no hanging around at the gate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gato Posted December 26, 2012 at 02:05 PM Report Share Posted December 26, 2012 at 02:05 PM The article says that there 35 stations between Beijing and Guangzhou. This should be very good for the shorter journeys, like from Nanjing to Beijing, or Wuhan to Guangzhou, that would take longer if one went the airport route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhouhaochen Posted December 26, 2012 at 07:01 PM Report Share Posted December 26, 2012 at 07:01 PM when you add the 2 hours you spend at the airport and on the airport expressway in both cities, plus the most likely hours of delay (a felt 10 hours every time, thought it might actually be slightly less in real time) and the New York Times (link behind paywall) reporting the journey at 8 hours long, the time difference might be not that big. Also, not having to eat the food on an Air China flight alone is worth a couple of extra hours. Questions is - when will they extend to HK? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takeshi Posted January 3, 2013 at 02:47 PM Report Share Posted January 3, 2013 at 02:47 PM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guangzhou–Hong_Kong_high-speed_rail_controversy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Jones Posted January 4, 2013 at 02:34 AM Report Share Posted January 4, 2013 at 02:34 AM For internal flights you only need to be in the airport about an hour beforehand, not 2 hours. Well, I'm never there 2 hours in advance... I flew from Beijing Nanyang airport last week - what a little gem of an airport! Much easier to get to than the big 'un. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymoose Posted January 4, 2013 at 05:34 AM Report Share Posted January 4, 2013 at 05:34 AM You flew on China United Airlines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Jones Posted January 4, 2013 at 05:39 AM Report Share Posted January 4, 2013 at 05:39 AM I did indeed. They were pretty good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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