Triangle Trip

The best option to go from Hong Kong International Airport (”HKIA” or “HKG”) to South China (Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Huizhou, Foshan and Zhongshan) for business or pleasure is by bus (see my previous post with step by step directions). If you are not comfortable with taking the bus from HKIA and prefer the traditional train route, or simply want to stop in Hong Kong for a drink or meal, here is what you need to do to get to quickly get to Hong Kong Central then to Shenzhen or Guangzhou:

1.  Take the Airport Express train from HKG to Hong Kong Station; this drops you off in Central District. You can get a nice meal or drinks here (here’s my previous post on places to visit in Hong Kong if you can spare a day or two before going to the Mainland).

2.  From the Hong Kong Station in Central, look for the MTR train and take the Tsuen Wan (Red) line toward Kowloon.

3.  Get off at Tsim Sha Tsui station and walk to the East Tsim Sha Tsui station (a 10 minute walk)

4.  From the East Tsim Sha Tsui station, get on the West Rail line (dark purple) toward Hung Hom.

5.  Take the train one stop to Hung Hom (last stop) and transfer to the East Rail line (baby blue), which starts from this station.

6.  Stay on the East Rail line to the last stop. The East Rail line terminates into one of two stations, either Lo Wu (Luo Hu in pinyin) or Lok Ma Chau (station for the Shenzhen Free Trade zone). From here, go through customs to cross the border from Hong Kong into Shenzhen.

To get to Guangzhou, you will need to take the “Guangdong Through Train” . follow steps 1 to 4 from above. Instead of step #5, you will need to:

5b. Take the West Rail line (dark purple) train from East Tsim Sha Tsui station for one stop to Hung Hom (last stop) and walk towards the Express train station which is not part of HK’s MTR.

6b. At the train station, purchase a ticket for an express train to Guangzhou East station in Guangzhou. The price of the ticket should be around HK$150 to HK$190. I recommend you pay a bit extra and get upgraded to First Class.

Have a safe journey.

If you are flying to Hong Kong International Airport (“HKIA” or “HKG”) to get to South China (Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Huizhou, Foshan and Zhongshan) for business or pleasure, there are many options to go directly from HKIA to Shenzhen and Guangzhou without setting foot in Hong Kong. The best option is to use one of the three to four bus operators that go from HKG to South China every hour.