Guilin to Shanghai High-Speed Train: Times, Tickets & Prices
The fastest high-speed train from Guilin to Shanghai takes 7h 18m, with 2+ departures a day and second-class fares from ¥665. Tickets only go on sale 15 days ahead — check your booking window below before you plan around this leg.
Fastest
7h 18m
Trains / day
2+
From
¥665
Times and fares are for the stations most visitors use. Booking sites quote the best time between any two stations in these cities, which can mean a quicker train to an outlying one.
Scenic but long — only two direct G trains a day from Shanghai Hongqiao to the karst country of Guilin, so reserve early.
Route length: ~1602 km · typical journey 9h
Compiled from official sources by Henry · independent · based in China
Travelling the other way? Shanghai to Guilin →
Stations on the Guilin → Shanghai leg
Departing
Guilin
Three stations: trains from Guangzhou and Chengdu mostly use Guilin West (桂林西), those from Kunming and Shenzhen mostly Guilin North (桂林北), and a handful the central Guilin (桂林) — check which is printed on your ticket.
Arriving
Shanghai
Shanghai Hongqiao (上海虹桥) is the main high-speed hub; some trains use Shanghai Railway Station downtown.
Arriving in Shanghai? Your passport is your ticket at the gates — no paper collection needed.
When can you book this trip?
China Railway sells tickets just 15 days ahead (counting the travel day). Pick your Guilin → Shanghai travel date and see the exact day booking opens:
Booking opens August 12, 2026
Tickets for August 26, 2026 go on sale in 16 days (Beijing time). On that day, tickets are released between 08:00 and 18:00 depending on the departure station — look up your station's exact time. Popular routes can sell out within minutes around holidays.
The presale window is occasionally adjusted around major holidays and timetable changes — details on the ticket release date calculator.
How to book
12306 — the official channel. The 12306 website and app are China Railway's only official online sellers, and the only ones that charge no booking fee. Registration on the English site asks for your passport and an email address, not a Chinese phone number, and notifications come by email. No paper ticket needed — your passport is your ticket at the gates.
Register well before you fly, not the week of. 12306 will not sell you a ticket until your passport clears real-name verification. That often goes through in minutes, but when the automatic check fails it drops to manual review, which travellers commonly report taking several working days and sometimes closer to two weeks. Since tickets only go on sale 15 days ahead, an account started the week before you fly can still be pending when your train opens for booking. Set it up two or three weeks out, and keep one of the resellers below as a backup.
Klook — book in English, before you fly. Klook's Guilin–Shanghai high-speed rail page resells the same seats with instant confirmation, international cards accepted and your passport linked straight to the e-ticket — handy if 12306 registration gives you trouble. It's an international site, best used before you arrive: from a mainland-China connection it switches to Klook's local app, which does not carry high-speed rail. Since tickets only open about two weeks out — when most visitors are still home — it is an easy way to lock in a busy route like this one early. Already in China? Trip.com below or 12306 above both work on local networks.
Trip.com — the English option that works inside China. Trip.com's Guilin–Shanghai train page resells the same seats with passport booking and international cards too — and unlike Klook its international site stays reachable from a mainland-China connection, so it's the easy English fallback if you only sort tickets after you land.
Avoid unofficial agents. Nobody can get you a seat that 12306 says is sold out — seats do return to the pool as refunds come in, so keep re-checking instead.
Refund fees, official rates
| Cancelling | Fee |
|---|---|
| 8 days or more before departure | Free |
| 48 hours – 8 days before | 5% of the fare |
| 24 – 48 hours before | 10% of the fare |
| Less than 24 hours before | 20% of the fare |
Booking the moment sales open is low-risk — changes more than 8 days out cost nothing.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the train from Guilin to Shanghai take?
The fastest train takes 7h 18m, and most services take around 9h. There are 2+ departures a day.
How much is the train from Guilin to Shanghai?
Second-class fares start from ¥665 (from ¥665 second class; only two direct g trains a day). China Railway floats fares by train and date, so check the exact price for your departure.
How far in advance can I book the Guilin to Shanghai train?
China train tickets go on sale only 15 days ahead, counting the travel day — i.e. 14 days before departure. On release day, tickets appear between 08:00 and 18:00 Beijing time depending on the departure station.
Which station do Guilin to Shanghai trains leave from?
Three stations: trains from Guangzhou and Chengdu mostly use Guilin West (桂林西), those from Kunming and Shenzhen mostly Guilin North (桂林北), and a handful the central Guilin (桂林) — check which is printed on your ticket.
Where does the Guilin to Shanghai train arrive in Shanghai?
Shanghai Hongqiao (上海虹桥) is the main high-speed hub; some trains use Shanghai Railway Station downtown.
Can foreigners book the Guilin to Shanghai train with a passport?
Yes. The official 12306 website and app accept foreign passports for real-name booking and have an English version; registration needs your passport and an email address, not a Chinese phone number. Allow time for it: 12306 only sells to you once your passport clears real-name verification, which is usually quick but can go to manual review lasting several working days, and tickets are on sale for just 15 days before travel. International platforms like Klook and Trip.com resell the same seats for a small service fee with no verification wait, and link your passport straight to the e-ticket. Your passport is your ticket at station gates.
More train routes from Guilin
Where to go next from Shanghai
Before you ride: check your visa, pick an eSIM, set up Alipay/WeChat Pay (you'll pay for tickets with them), sort your arrival card, and map your route with the itinerary builder.
Sources
The figures on this page come from the dated rail references below. Journey times and stations are also checked by hand against 12306, China Railway's own booking system, whenever a route is re-verified — 12306 has no English route pages to link to, so it can't be listed here. Fares float by train and date, so confirm on 12306 or your booking platform before you travel.
Affiliate disclosure: The Klook and Trip.com booking links on this page are affiliate links — we may earn a commission if you book through them, at no extra cost to you. Route facts come from the dated sources above, never from commission rates.
Disclaimer: This page is general information. Timetables and fares change — the figures above are “from” prices and approximate frequencies, verified on the date shown against the sources listed. Always confirm on 12306 or your booking platform before planning around them. Ready Set Chinais an independent information site: we don't sell, book or procure tickets, and we're not affiliated with China Railway or any government. We're not responsible for travel decisions made on the basis of this page.