Atlas of China
Guangzhou to Changsha 广州 – 长沙
Door to door, the high-speed train comes out ahead: about 2½ 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 ¥319 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 North 广州北 → Changsha South 长沙南 | 1 h 57 minG6018, fastest | 2½ hours | ¥319standard class | 14906:18–23:15 |
| FlightGuangzhou Baiyun (CAN) → Changsha Huanghua (CSX) | 1 h 20 minin the air | 4 hours | about ¥400varies by day | 309:30–22:50 |
By train
149 direct high-speed trains a day run from Guangzhou North to Changsha South, between 06:18 and 23:15. The fastest, G6018, takes 1 h 57 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥319. Coming back, 148 trains a day, the fastest 1 h 53 min (G1113, 05:01 to 23:24).
By air
3 nonstop flights a day from Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) to Changsha Huanghua (CSX), 1 h 20 min in the air, 09:30 to 22:50, with China Southern Airlines. 3 fly back. Door to door, with the airports at each end, count about 4 hours; fares vary by day and are typically about ¥400.
Stops on the way
Cities between the two with direct trains from Guangzhou and on to Changsha, so the trip can be broken there.
At the other end
Featured places around Changsha.
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Hunan Museum 湖南省博物馆
A Han marchioness, her silk banner and a gauze robe as thin as air
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 Changsha · Where Guangzhou reaches in a day · Where Changsha 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.