Previously, it was the MTR that takes you from Hong Kong Lok Ma Chau train station to Guangzhou, China. The journey usually takes about 120 minutes, that’s 2 hours. It’s not bad since trains are a pretty reliable source of transportation that general doesn’t get affected or delayed due to weather. However, the new high-speed rail help cuts your journey to only 48 minutes when travelling to Guangzhou from Hong Kong. Yes, we said it right, only 48 minutes!

For me, I had the opportunity to ride this High-speed train only from Hong Kong to Futien, China. It’s mainly from me to experience the train, not really to do much visiting in Shenzhen, China. Thus, the day trip was quite a rush but I was pretty surprised by the comfortable quick train ride to Futian. It only took us 14 minutes from West Kowloon, Hong Kong to Futian, Shenzhen. I didn’t even had the time to take a proper nap!

This is great because it makes day trip to China when travelling around Hong Kong, or from China to Hong Kong, a much plausible idea, as the travelling time won’t be such a drag anymore. Here are some tips when travelling with the new high-speed train.

#1 Passport and Visa

Yes, you’ll need your passport when riding on the High Speed Train from Hong Kong to China. No brainer here. As for visa, check if your country needs a visa to get into China before your trip. If yes, apply one and settle it before your trip.

#2 Get your tickets right

When you purchase your ticket, do check to see if your name and passport number are correct. Just like boarding a plane, if it’s not accurate, you can’t get on. I was stopped at the entrance for having the wrong passport number on my ticket, it accidentally got switched with another media that was travelling with me. Thankfully, we were quickly directed to a counter that could easily assist us with our issue. It was very efficient. Though, we highly recommend you to get everything right while purchasing your tickets to avoid such problems.

#3 Be early for Two immigrations

At least 2 hours earlier to be safe. This is because you’ll have to get through 2 immigrations before getting on your train. One is for Hong Kong departure, the other is for Mainland China arrival. Both you’ll need to fill in a departure and arrival card at each immigration counter. We suggest arriving early as it’s the one thing you can’t predict, you’ll never know if you’ll be stuck at immigration due to the amount of people that particular day. I took an hour to get through immigrations and barely made it to board my train.

#4 Know your Boarding Gate and Carriage/Car Number

I read a little mandarin, so I thought 车 is the train that I’m supposed to look for. So I confidently walked towards number 6 (got split up with the other media) but it got a little weird when I saw there was 6A and 6B. Thankfully, when I asked for help, they spoke a little english and informed me that my boarding gate is actually 18B (one of the top right), which is all the way at the other end. Oh boy, I ran like Usain Bolt. Funnily when I got there, I just ran into a random carriage, frantically looking for a familiar face. I had such a huge sigh of relief when I found them. Lesson here is that when you get to the right train/boarding gate, you’ll have to look for your assigned carriage number, mine was 6 and be seated at your seat number, mine was 03B.

Confused? Don’t worry, I’ve labelled the important ones for you in the picture below to help you understand the train ticket better.

#5 Relax, enjoy Free Wifi, and more!

Once you’ve board the right train and get seated, you can finally relax. The seats are spacious, ultra comfortable, comes with a charging station, and a washroom. Yes, there is free Wifi! It’s really easy to connect as they have the interface in english too.

Overall, I think it’s a great way to easily explore other places other than just your intended city. Whether it is from Hong Kong to China or the other way around, why not plan a day trip to visit the neighbouring country in your initial itinerary since it’s so convenient.

For more information on ticketing, visit Highspeed MTR’s website.

Watch the video below to see my High speed train experience to Futian from Hong Kong!