My family typically makes an annual pilgrimage to the Hong Kong Electronics Fair, followed by a quick trip to the Canton Fair (Guangzhou). Normally, we’d book a flight or a regular train from Hong Kong to Guangzhou. This year though, we were excited to try the newly opened Vibrant Express bullet train connecting Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong. Below, I’ll detail out our Vibrant Express train experience, and whether I’d recommend other folks to try this new avenue of transport between Hong Kong and other China cities

 

Table of Contents

• Basic Vibrant Express facts
• Why choose the Vibrant Express?
• Recounting my Vibrant Express train experience
• Other tips and tricks for first-time China tourists

Basic Vibrant Express facts

• HK Station: West Kowloon Station (~2 mins walk from Austin Station)
• Guangzhou Station: GuangzhouNan (~30 mins via MTR to TaiZuSquare, near BeijingLu)
• Top speed: 200 km/hr (in Hong Kong) // 300 km/hr (in Mainland China)
• Travel time: 48 minutes
• Cheapest fare price: Adult (RMB 215); Child (RMB 108)

Why choose the Vibrant Express?

Whenever there are fast train options (e.g., Europe) vs flight options, I always take them. It’s just so much easier, for the following reasons:

You save lots of time

• Train stations are more accessibly since they’re typically found in the city center. On the other hand, airports are typically situated ~30-60mins away from the city center
• Immigration and customs for Hong Kong and China are co-located at the West Kowloon (Hong Kong) station (and took only 30mins to go through!). In essence, once you step on the train, you’re already on China territory and therefore there’s no need to go through immigration/ customs again when you arrive at Guangzhou

Prices remain constant, no matter what!

• While I LOVE seat sales, and many of my travels have benefited from the cheap airline fares I’ve managed to snag… The airline dynamic pricing system really sucks when you’re booking last minute. Thankfully, the Vibrant Express prices remain constant all day, every day. You just have to contend with sold out seats from time-to-time
• Plus, at RMB 215 (for Adult, Second Class tickets) – the price is pretty decent. Note: the cost for Vibrant Express and the Long-Haul train (48mins for Vibrant Express vs 60 mins for Long-Haul) is the same – so if the schedule works for you, go for the Vibrant Express!

You don’t have to worry about luggage allowances

• Luggage allowance is always such a struggle… Whether it’s ensuring you stay within the set luggage weight, or ensuring your bags fit the stipulated bag sizes set by the airline… this is such a pain. Thankfully, when you take the train, they don’t care how big or how heavy your bags are!

You can continue communicating with the outside world

• We’ve all felt the pain of being cut off from the outside world when we take a flight (no WiFi, no signal). Thankfully, Vibrant Express provides free high-speed WiFi, and you can still message friends and family while onboard. Or for the workaholics, you can continue terrorizing your employees!

Recounting my Vibrant Express train experience

STEP 1: Determine the train schedule that fits your needs

To check the train prices and schedule, you should use the High Speed Rail MTR site, which is extremely user friendly. On this site, you should input your departure station and arrival station. Afterwards, click Search Fares and Schedule, and voila!

Note that the HKD prices can change month-on-month as they are adjusted based on the RMB-HKD exchange rate at that time.

 

STEP 2: Purchase your ticket

Once you’ve determine the train schedule, ticket fare (Business Class, Premium Class, First Class, Second Class), it’s time to purchase your ticket!

TOP TIP: Just go for the Second Class ticket. They’re cheap and the experience is great. The seats recline and there’s free WiFi – what more do you need?

You can opt to purchase your ticket online (via the same High Speed Rail MTR site). In our case though, we had loads of questions around what time should we get to West Kowloon, what’s allowed/not allowed on the train etc; so we opted to purchase the ticket at the train station itself

This is extremely straightforward. At the West Kowloon Station, there are several ticket counters AND self-service ticket machines. The self-service ticket machines can’t read foreign passports however, so for non-Hong Kong folks, you’ll have to use the ticket counter

Important information to note:

• To purchase tickets, you need to present the passport of ALL passengers
• You can purchase tickets 28 days in advance of the actual date of travel. Do note that tickets can be sold-out, especially during major weekends as the Chinese travel between cities
• If you opt to book on the day itself, the counter stops selling 45minutes before the train departs from the station
• They accept cash (HKD, RMB), credit cards and a multitude of mobile payment options

 

STEP 3: Arrive at West Kowloon AT LEAST 45 minutes before the train departure time

As you’ll be going through immigration and customs for both Hong Kong AND China before you can board the train, it’s important you get here at least 45 minutes before the train departs so you have ample time. Do note that the train will definitely NOT wait for you

 

STEP 4: Present your passport and ticket

Do note that the ticket will have your name AND passport number indicated, so make sure you’re holding the right ticket. Likewise, it’s important to remember that you require a China visa to enter China cities – so hopefully, you’ve got that prepared.

 

STEP 5: Go through baggage security check

Standard procedure – just place all your bags and devices on the security belt conveyor. Take off your shoes, and bring out your laptops/iPads/other tech devices as well

 

STEP 6: Time to go through the Hong Kong immigration

There didn’t seem to be a need for a departure card while going through the Hong Kong immigration. Note that they have self-service immigration machines which you can make use of and is super convenient! Unfortunately, for people like me (aka they can’t seem to match my passport photo with my actual face?!?!), they’ve got immigration counters for you to use

Expect this to take ~5-10 minutes. Self-service immigration machines will be faster, given that there is rarely a queue there

 

STEP 7: Time to go through the China immigration

Things get a bit tricky here, and sadly I don’t have any photos as there was a HUGE “No photo taking” sign in the immigration area.

First off, there’s a self-service fingerprint collection area. Head there and use the machines to log your fingerprints. The instructions are pretty self-explanatory. If you’ve got sweaty and/or chubby fingers, wipe your fingers first before pressing down on the glass. If it’s still not registering, use your other hand to push the fingers down further. Why do I know this? Because my fingerprints wouldn’t register – so I know every single trick out there to get this to work. Post-registration, it’s time to fill up the China arrival card and line up at the foreigners queue

Expect this to take ~15-20 minutes, depending on how long it takes to register your fingerprint and whether there’s a queue for immigration

 

STEP 8: Chill at the waiting area

The gate opens 20 minutes before your train departure time. While waiting, there are loads of informative posters detailing the plans to link Mainland China and Hong Kong together. If that doesn’t interest you, there’s also free MTR WiFi here

NOTE: Since you’re technically on Mainland China land at this point, you may need to start using your VPN to access apps like Facebook and Instagram

 

STEP 9: Board the train

Twenty minutes before your train departure, it’s time to queue at your gate (indicated on the ticket!). I hope you haven’t lost your ticket yet as you’ll need it to enter the train area AND when you exit the Guangzhou station

TOP TIP: If you’re lugging big baggage, board as early as possible. There are limited luggage racks for big baggage at the front and back end of the train. If by the time you board the train, all the spaces have been taken up, you’ll be forced to share your leg space with your bag which can be pretty uncomfortable!

 

STEP 10: Enjoy!!!

Other tips and tricks for first-time China DIY tourists

 

VPN is a MUST

Once you enter China, apps like Facebook and Instagram can no longer be used. So, make sure to download a VPN app beforehand. I typically use BetterNet, but their service has been pretty suckish (and they now require payment after a 7-day free trial!), so I’ll start searching for another app soon

 

Invest in good Internet

One of my biggest pet peeves in China is how slow the internet can be (even in so-called five star hotels). Therefore I came ready this time – by purchasing a travel sim via Travel Sim PH before I left the Philippines!

For just PHP 700, you get unlimited data for 8 days – which was perfect. We had internet all throughout my Hong Kong and China trip, which was such a blessing as my phone couldn’t seem to connect to my China hotel’s WiFi! Do note that hotspot can only support up to 2GB usage. Afterwards, the unlimited data can only be used on one device

 

And… that’s pretty much it!! Enjoy your convenient, cheap, and hassle-free trip <3