Atlas of China
Nanjing to Changsha 南京 – 长沙
Door to door, the high-speed train comes out ahead: about 4½ hours against about 4½ hours by flight, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. Fares run ¥405 against about ¥450. The stations are in or near the city centres, which is what tips it.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed trainNanjing South 南京南 → Changsha South 长沙南 | 4 h 8 minG385, fastest | 4½ hours | ¥405standard class | 2206:32–19:04 |
| FlightNanjing Lukou (NKG) → Changsha Huanghua (CSX) | 1 h 45 minin the air | 4½ hours | about ¥450varies by day | 207:50–15:35 |
By train
22 direct high-speed trains a day run from Nanjing South to Changsha South, between 06:32 and 19:04. The fastest, G385, takes 4 h 8 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥405. Coming back, 22 trains a day, the fastest 3 h 54 min (G386, 07:23 to 18:50).
By air
2 nonstop flights a day from Nanjing Lukou (NKG) to Changsha Huanghua (CSX), 1 h 45 min in the air, 07:50 to 15:35, with China Eastern Airlines and Hainan Airlines. 2 fly back. Door to door, with the airports at each end, count about 4½ hours; fares vary by day and are typically about ¥450.
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 Nanjing: Purple Mountain & Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, Fuzimiao and the Qinhuai River, City Wall of Nanjing.
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 Nanjing · About Changsha · Where Nanjing 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.