What is the best way to travel from Hong Kong to Guangzhou - Here are the 4 best!

In Guangzhou you are spoilt for choice when in comes to Dim Sum. With a mixture of both traditional and contemporary varieties, fresh ingredients and highly skilled chefs, you will find quality and diversity that far exceeds other cities.
Here is a list of our favourite places for Yum Cha in Guangzhou!

Are you considering a layover in Guangzhou or Shenzhen? Well now you may be able to visit enjoy a visa free transit for up to 144 hours! Starting from 1st May 2019, travellers from 53 countries can transit through Guangdong province, China to a third country or region without buying a Chinese via. You will probably find this most useful for China Southern layovers when flying into Guangzhou or Shenzhen international airports, but the rules are actually a bit more flexible than that.  Who is eligible for the 144-hour visa free transit in Guangdong China? Travellers from one of the 53 eligible countries listed below can take a visa free transit in Guangzhou, Zhenshen and the rest of Guangdong province: Schengen area countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, SwitzerlandOther countries in Europe: Russia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia (FYROM), Albania, Monaco, BelarusNorth and South America: the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, ChileOceania: Australia, New ZealandAsia: Korea, Japan, Singapore, BruneiMiddle East: United Arab Emirates, QatarWhere must you enter for a visa free transit in Guangdong, China?You will need to enter from one of the three ports – Guangzhou Baiyun Airport Shenzhen Bao’an Airport Jieyang Chaoshan Airport and importantly, you must hold a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region.  Hong Kong and Macau are considered as third territories. Where must you exit on a visa free transit in Guangdong, China?If you want to get a 144 hour visa free transit for Guangzhou, Shenzhen or anywhere else in Guangdong, China, you will need to exit from one of the 32 designated ports –AirportsGuangzhou Baiyun AirportShenzhen Baoan AirportJieyang Chaoshan AirportMeizhou AirportZhejiang AirportRailway stationsGuangzhou Tianhe – Guangzhou East Railway StationDongguan – Changping Railway StationFoshan – Foshan Railway StationZhaoqing – Zhaoqing Railway StationLand portsShenzhen: Shatoujiao, Wenjindu, Huanggang, Luohu, Shenzhen Bay, Futian Zhuhai: Gongbei, HengqinSea portsGuangzhou: Port of Guangzhou, Nansha Port, Lianhuashan PortShenzhen: Shekou Port, Fuyong Port (in Shenzhen airport)Zhuhai: Jiuzhou Port, Wanzai Port, Wanshan Port, Doumen PortJiangmen: Port of JiangmenHeshan: Port of HeshanFoshan: Gaoming Port, Ronqi Port Zhongshan: Port of Zhongshan Dongguan: Humen Port  How does this differ to the previous 72 hour visa free entry?Previously, foreigners from 45 countries were able to get a 72 hour visa free entry. However this was restricted to entering and exiting from Guangzhou Baiyun Airport. How do I apply for the 144-hour Temporary Entry Permit to Guangdong?Upon arrival at the airport, go to Temporary Entry Permit Application counter.Fill in the application form.Present your passport which needs to have more than 3 month validity and a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region.  Please note that both flights must have no stopovers of any kind within Mainland China. Where can I travel on a 144 hour visa free entry and how long can I stay?The 6-day stay starts from midnight the day following the date of arrival.  You are allowed to travel anywhere within Guangdong province (this includes, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhuhai, Jiangmen, Qingyuan and many smaller cities).Chinese visa rules can change rapidly. Please check with your local Chinese consulate prior to travel. Don't travel without a visa just because we said you could! About Eating AdventuresEating Adventures offers walking food tours in Guangzhou. Explore the backstreets of Guangzhou and gain an appreciation for this fantastic city and its world famous chinese cuisine. Guangzhou tours led by true local licensed tour guides (strictly no expats, no unlicensed guides). All our guides are fluent in Cantonese, the local dialect.If you are looking for inspiration for what to do on a stopover, check out our Guangzhou Travel Guide. Dont forget, you cannot access Google, Facebook and Whatsapp in China, so you might need to purchase a VPN connection prior to travel to get around this. We use Panda VPN.

​When it comes to choosing a layover city, Guangzhou is not at the top of many peoples list. But that is part of the appeal of why Guangzhou is a fantastic city for a stopover. Less famous than Shanghai and Beijing, Guangzhou is a living museum of authentic Cantonese culture, with fantastic food, picturesque alleyways, interesting local markets and great layover tours. Here is the Eating Adventures guide for the best way to spend a Guangzhou LayoverDo you have enough time to leave Guangzhou airport?The first thing to consider is if you even have enough time to leave the airport. You really need at least 7 hours to make it worthwhile leaving the airport. Whilst the downtown area is only 40 minutes by taxi from the airport in normal traffic, the biggest problem is actually getting out of the airport which sometimes can take a while. You should allow 2 hours from landing to getting to your hotel, and then depart your hotel around 3 hours prior to your onward flight. The traffic in Guangzhou is not too heavy, but it can be during peak hours in the evening, so beware.If you have flexibility, choose your flights so that you can spend a night or two in Guangzhou, you won’t regret it!Do you need a visa for a Guangzhou Layover?Citizens of 53 countries are allowed visa free entry for a 72 hour layover. This includes Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada and Singapore. To be eligible for this, you must be in possession of an onward international flight ticket as well as having a valid visa for your next destination. Visa free entry is only available if you are both entering and exiting via Guangzhou Baiyun Airport. Please check the exact rules with your local Chinese embassy prior to booking, as visa rules for China change frequently.How to get from Guangzhou airport to the city?Depending on where you are staying, either the Metro or a taxi will be the easiest way into the city. The Metro is clean and efficient, with a station directly under the airport. It is definitely the cheapest way into the city.If you are not staying on the Metro line, local taxis cost around RMB130 – RMB200 into the city. You are expected to pay for tolls separately, and there is an official taxi queue outside arrivals. Never take illegal taxis and remember that by law taxi drivers must switch on the meter.If you are travelling to the city by taxi, make sure you have the address for where you are going written in Chinese, and a contact telephone number for the hotel will be helpful. Guangzhou is a massive city with hundreds of hotels, so you cannot expect taxi drivers to know all of them.English speaking chauffer transfers are also available, but unless you have money to burn, this is not really necessary.You can find a more detailed post on how to get from Guangzhou airport to the city here.Things to do during a Guangzhou Layover?Eat the best food in China!!Guangzhou is famous for having the best food in China. This is where world famous Cantonese cuisine originates from, and the quality and diversity of local Cantonese cuisine is amazing and far exceeds neighbouring Hong Kong. As well as the best Cantonese cuisine in the world, you will find restaurants specialising in food from most provinces in China.Eating Adventures offers English speaking walking food tours in Guangzhou. This is definitely the easiest way to try some local delicacies and explore the backstreets of Guangzhou during a Guangzhou layover. Tours normally run for around 4 hours and will give you an insight into authentic local Cantonese culture and cuisine, whilst taking you off the beaten path. All tours are led by fully licensed guides. Tour timing may be able to be flexible to allow for your layover.If you don’t have the time for a food tour, Dim Sum is the one eating experience that you must do in Guangzhou. You are spoilt for choice when it comes to Dim Sum in Guangzhou, two of our favourites for the best dim sum in Guangzhou are Dim Do Dak and Guangzhou Restaurant.  

A locals guide to the best things to do in Guangzhou. See why we love this city so much. The best food in china, Canton Tower, authentic culture, Guangzhou Opera House, temples and more.

Guangzhou Baiyun Airport is connected to downtown Guangzhou by Metro, bus, taxi and English hire car transfer. The best choice for you will largely depend on where in Guangzhou you are travelling to, the time of day, and how comfortable you are immersing yourself in the Chinese speaking world!With Guangzhou becoming the leading regional hub in Southern China (soon to overtake Hong Kong), there is an ever increasing number of business travellers, holidaymakers and people with layovers visiting Guangzhou, the culinary capital of China.MetroGuangzhou Baiyun airport is connected to the city via Metro Line 3. The Metro stations are located directed under the airport terminals, with Airport South being for Terminal 1 and Airport North for Terminal 2. The Guangzhou Metro is new, fast, clean and efficient. Travel time from Baiyun airport to Tiyu Xilu (Tianhe) is roughly 40 minutes. Fares vary depending on how far you are travelling, but will be around 7RMB.The Metro operates from 6am – 11pm (check at the Metro station for exact timing of the last service for that station), and ticketing machines have and English option.The Metro is definitely the cheapest way to travel between Guangzhou airport and the city. It is also the fastest way to Tianhe, and a good option during peak hour traffic from other parts of Guangzhou as well.If you are staying in other areas such as Liwan and Haizhu, you may still find the Metro to be a reliable option, however you will need to change lines, possibly multiple times, making the journey longer (1 hour or more).TaxiTaxi is a convenient option to travel between Guangzhou Airport and downtown Guangzhou outside peak hour traffic. There are official taxi queues located outside the airport arrival halls. Taxi fares will be around RMB150 depending on where in Guangzhou you are travelling to and traffic conditions. In addition to this, you are expected to pay for any road tolls. The journey time can expected to be around 40 minutes. This is a good option in the evenings and during the middle of the day. If you are travelling by taxi between downtown Guangzhou and the airport during morning rush hour, or in the evening between 4:30pm – 7:30pm we suggest you allow for extra time, as the traffic can be heavy. By law, taxis in Guangzhou must use the meter. In general most taxi drivers will adhere to this, however there are some that will try to take advantage of foreigners seeking fixed price fares. If you encounter this, grab a different taxi or ask the police for assistance. You should assume that your taxi driver will not speak or read any English. Unless you are fluent in Cantonese or Mandarin, it is highly recommended that you have the name and address of your hotel written in Chinese. A contact telephone number can also be useful as there are literally hundreds of hotels in Guangzhou and your taxi driver is unlikely to know all of them.We get a lot of layover food tour clients asking us how to travel to the city, and we normally recommend that a Taxi or the Metro will be the easiest for them.Car Hailing AppsGuangzhou was Ubers most popular city ranked by the number of trips, until the Government forced Uber to stop its illegal operations in Guangzhou. There are however numerous legal car hailing apps that you can use in Guangzhou. Most of the apps are in Chinese only, making it challenging for non Chinese peaking travellers. Didi Chuxing (one of the biggest car hailing companies in China) has recently released an English version of their app. The app has an English interface as well as other bilingual functionality such as real time messaging translation to assist you communicating with your driver. There is also bilingual support available for customers via telephone and email. You can download the app from Google Play store.There is a specific parking lot at Guangzhou Airport dedicated to users of car hailing apps. At the time of writing it was P4 for Terminal 1. Follow the signs upon arriving as it is clearly marked.The cost to travel between Guangzhou Airport and downtown Guangzhou using Car Hailing Apps will be similar to taxis. Most apps will give you an estimate of the fare in advance. When we checked the Didi app at the time of writing it was estimating a fare of RMB101 to Haizhu Square in low traffic. As with taxis, you are expected to pay for any road tolls in addition to the fare.Again we recommend that you carry with you the hotel name, address and contact details in Chinese so as to minimise any issues.We personally normally use car hailing apps to travel between the airport and the city, unless there is heavy traffic in which case we use the Metro.Hire Car Transfer – English SpeakingEnglish speaking hire care transfers are also available. Such transfer sometimes use an English speaking driver, but normally would have a Chinese speaking driver and a translator. Prices start at around 400 RMB. This may be a good option for the most nervous of travellers, but otherwise it is really an unnecessary expense.BusThere are numerous express bus services transferring people between Guangzhou Baiyun airport and downtown Guangzhou. Fares vary but will be around 20-30 RMB. Despite being a cheap option, we would take the Metro any day over the bus as using the Metro is easier, more frequent and definitely will be faster during peak hour. If you prefer to go by road, then taxi or using a car hailing app will be more convenient.Some of the bus routes that are available include:No. 1Guangzhou Railway Station (Yuexiu district - not to be confused with Guangzhou East Train Station in Tianhe district). Transit time approximately 45 minutes to final stop.NO. 2AGarden Hotel, Crowne Plaza Guangzhou City Centre, Guangzhou Zoo, TeeMall, TianHe Computer Centre. Transit time approximately 50 minutes.No. 3Fangcun Coach Station, Rosedale Hotel (Haizhu district near Chang Gang Metro Station). Transit time approximately 70 minutes.No. 5DongFang Hotel, Haizhu Square, Guangzhou Hilbin Hotel (Yuexiu district - Yuexiu South Road). Transit time approximately 60 minutes.No. 6Grandview Mall, Citic Plaza (Tianhe district). Transit time approximately 55 minutes.No. 9Guangzhou North Railway Station (Huadu district). Transit time approximately 50 minutesNo. 10Guangzhou International Convention and Exhibition Centre (Pazhou, Haizhu district), Canton Tower, Guangzhou Textile and Fabric Centre (near Sun Yat Sen University West Gate). Transit time approximately 60 minutes For some ideas of things to do in Guangzhou, check out our Guangzhou Layover Guide, or our Insiders Guide to Guangzhou. About Eating AdventuresEating Adventures offers half day walking food tours in Guangzhou. With Guangzhou being famous as having the best food in China, there is no better way to immerse yourself in Cantonese culture and cuisine than a food tour through the backstreets of Guangzhou. All tours are led by local licensed guides that are fluent in English (no expats).