Atlas of China
Nanjing to Guangzhou 南京 – 广州
Door to door, the flight comes out ahead: about 5 hours against about 7 hours by high-speed train, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. Fares run about ¥690 against ¥756.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed trainNanjing South 南京南 → Guangzhou South 广州南 | 6 h 31 minG385, fastest | 7 hours | ¥756standard class | 607:25–15:52 |
| FlightNanjing Lukou (NKG) → Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) | 2 h 30 minin the air | 5 hours | about ¥690varies by day | 2007:20–21:25 |
By train
6 direct high-speed trains a day run from Nanjing South to Guangzhou South, between 07:25 and 15:52. The fastest, G385, takes 6 h 31 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥756. Coming back, 6 trains a day, the fastest 6 h 9 min (G386, 06:18 to 15:01).
By air
20 nonstop flights a day from Nanjing Lukou (NKG) to Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN), 2 h 30 min in the air, 07:20 to 21:25, with China Southern Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines and China Eastern Airlines. 23 fly back. Door to door, with the airports at each end, count about 5 hours; fares vary by day and are typically about ¥690.
Stops on the way
Cities between the two with direct trains from Nanjing and on to Guangzhou, so the trip can be broken there.
- Jingdezhen 景德镇 350 km from Nanjing · 2 h 37 min there, 4 h 44 min on
- Ganzhou 赣州 790 km from Nanjing · 5 h 5 min there, 2 h 13 min on
At the other end
Featured places around Guangzhou.
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Canton Tower & Pearl River 广州塔
A slim-waisted tower glowing over the Pearl River in China's Cantonese food capital
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 Guangzhou · Where Nanjing reaches in a day · Where Guangzhou 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.