Atlas of China
Changsha to Sanya 长沙 – 三亚
Door to door, the flight comes out ahead: about 5 hours against about 24½ hours by train, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. Fares run about ¥710 against ¥314.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TrainChangsha 长沙 → Sanya 三亚 | 24 h 12 minZ501, fastest | 24½ hours | ¥314standard class | 210:38–21:38 |
| FlightChangsha Huanghua (CSX) → Sanya Phoenix (SYX) | 2 h 25 minin the air | 5 hours | about ¥710varies by day | 710:00–22:20 |
By train
2 direct trains a day run from Changsha to Sanya, between 10:38 and 21:38. The fastest, Z501, takes 24 h 12 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥314. It runs overnight, so a sleeper berth saves a hotel night. Coming back, 2 trains a day, the fastest 23 h 44 min (Z502, 09:06 to 16:26).
Sanya: Hainan's ring high-speed line is not linked to the mainland network; trains to the mainland cross by ferry and are slow, so most visitors fly.
By air
7 nonstop flights a day from Changsha Huanghua (CSX) to Sanya Phoenix (SYX), 2 h 25 min in the air, 10:00 to 22:20, with China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines and Okay Airways. 7 fly back. Door to door, with the airports at each end, count about 5 hours; fares vary by day and are typically about ¥710.
Stops on the way
Cities between the two with direct trains from Changsha and on to Sanya, so the trip can be broken there.
At the other end
Featured places around Sanya.
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Sanya Beaches 三亚
China's tropical south coast, where winter is beach season
Around Changsha: Hunan Museum.
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 Changsha · About Sanya · Where Changsha reaches in a day · Where Sanya 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.