Routes
Where can you go from here?
Every city pair we cover, grouped by where you set off from — with fares, journey times, and whether the train or the plane is genuinely worth it. One page per pair, both directions. Prefer a picture? See them on the rail map.
From
Beijing
The capital's fast lines fan out south and west — the coast, the old capitals, and Sichuan.
Beijing ⇄ Tianjin
~30m · from ¥55 second class · 200+ trains a day
Beijing ⇄ Shanghai
~4h 27m · from ¥576 second class · 46+ trains a day
Beijing ⇄ Xi'an
~4h 12m · from ¥515 second class · 23+ trains a day
Beijing ⇄ Datong
~1h 40m · from ¥153 second class · 20+ trains a day
Beijing ⇄ Luoyang
~3h · from ¥337 second class · 18+ trains a day
Beijing ⇄ Chengdu
~7h 30m · from ¥808 second class · 8+ trains a day
From
Shanghai
Quick Yangtze Delta hops where the train is the obvious call — plus longer runs to Yellow Mountain and inland to Xi'an.
Shanghai ⇄ Suzhou
~25m · from ¥40 second class · 450+ trains a day
Shanghai ⇄ Hangzhou
~45m · from ¥73 second class · 300+ trains a day
Shanghai ⇄ Nanjing
~1h 3m · from ¥135 second class · 220+ trains a day
Shanghai ⇄ Xi'an
~5h 45m · from ¥659 second class · 20+ trains a day
Shanghai ⇄ Huangshan
~2h 24m · from ¥206 second class · 16+ trains a day
From
Guangzhou
Down to Shenzhen and the Hong Kong border in half an hour, or up into the karst country around Guilin.
From
Chengdu
The Sichuan hub — a quick run to Chongqing, the sacred mountain at Emei, or the crossing north to Xi'an.
From
Xi'an
From the Terracotta Army, on to the grottoes at Luoyang and the walled town of Pingyao.
From
Hangzhou
The bullet train to the foot of Yellow Mountain, and a quick hop across to Suzhou.