Route guide · Cross-border · Direct bullet train
Hong Kong to Xiamen by Train (2026)
Four direct high-speed trains a day make the run in about 3h 29m–4.5h, clearing Hong Kong exit and mainland China entry in one queue at West Kowloon before you board — and which Xiamen station you pick decides how close you land to Gulangyu.
China for Travelers EditorialUpdated Published Rail data refreshed monthly
- Train 2nd class
- ¥258 – ¥373
- direct G-train
- Direct trains
- ~4/day
- 2 central · 2 Xiamen North
- Journey
- 3h 29m–4.5h
- one-seat, no change
- Immigration
- Before boarding
- co-located at West Kowloon
Take the train. Four direct G-trains a day do it in ~3h 29m–4.5h, second class ¥258 – ¥373, one seat and the border cleared at West Kowloon — roughly level with flying once you add airport time. The one thing to get right: book a service to the central Xiamen Station (not Xiamen North) if you're heading for Gulangyu.
Train or fly?
Hong Kong to Xiamen is about 554 km along the Fujian coast. The flight looks faster on paper, but the direct train is one-seat, clears the border at West Kowloon rather than an airport, and lands you in the city — so for most travellers it wins door-to-door:
| Option | Time · frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Direct high-speed train | ~3h 29m–4.5h · 4/day | One-seat, border cleared at West Kowloon. Second class ¥258 – ¥373. Two to central Xiamen Station, two to Xiamen North. |
| Fly (HKG → XMN) | ~1h20m air · several daily | Short in the air, but ~4-4.5 h door-to-door once you add 2 h early + the airport run + immigration at the airport. ~¥600-1,200. |
| Transfer at Shenzhen North | all day | West Kowloon → Shenzhen North (~20 min) then a Shenzhen North → Xiamen train — the fallback if the four direct times don’t fit. |
Which should you pick?
- Take the train
- The default. One seat, ~3h 29m–4.5 h, the border cleared at West Kowloon, and you arrive in the city. Just book a service to the central Xiamen Station for Gulangyu.
- Fly
- Only really worth it if a flight time fits your day far better than the four train departures, or fares are unusually low — door-to-door it’s roughly level, and you clear immigration at the airport.
Which Xiamen station — it matters for Gulangyu
Two of the four daily trains terminate at the central Xiamen Station (厦门站) and two at Xiamen North (厦门北站) — and they are nowhere near each other. For Gulangyu, Zhongshan Road and the old town, the central station is far more convenient, so it's worth checking the terminus before you book:
| Station | Where it is | To the old town / ferry |
|---|---|---|
| Xiamen Station 厦门站 central · pick this one | On the island, Siming district — the real city centre | Metro Line 3, or ~3.5-6 km / 10-20 min by taxi to Zhongshan Road + the ferry |
| Xiamen North 厦门北站 off-island (Jimei) | ~25-30 km out in Jimei, off the island | Metro Line 1 to 镇海路 ~45-55 min, or 1 h+ by taxi at peak |
Ride-hail tip. At the central Xiamen Station the DiDi / 网约车 pickup is the South Plaza (南广场) — follow the 网约车 signs, take the escalator up to ground level and turn left (the app pins it as “志愿服务驿站”). At Xiamen North, the South-plaza underground ride-hail zone queues 15-30 minutes at peak — the North Plaza is usually faster. Pay the metro with an Alipay QR or your passport at the staffed gate.
How the cross-border train works
The bit travellers worry about is the easy bit. Hong Kong West Kowloon uses co-located inspection: Hong Kong exit immigration and mainland Chinese entry immigration sit in the same hall, all on one level (B2). You queue once, walk through both checkpoints before you board, then ride an already-cleared train and step straight out in Xiamen.
At West Kowloon 西九龙站both stamps
Both stamps happen here before you board — Hong Kong exit, then mainland China entry, in one walk-through on B2. Clearance is usually 10-20 minutes; arrive about an hour ahead on a weekday, 1.5-2 hours at weekends or holidays. Check-in opens 15 minutes before departure and the gate closes 5 minutes before.
A few practical notesgood to know
Foreign-passport holders use the staffed counters (the self-service e-channels are for residents). There is no paid “fast-track” inside — ignore anyone selling one. Keep the Hong Kong landing slip you're given, and note the duty-free shops sit between the two checkpoints. Arriving in Xiamen is a plain domestic walk-out.
Flying is the same entry in immigration terms — you simply clear mainland China entry on arrival at Xiamen Gaoqi (XMN) instead of at West Kowloon.
Visa and entry rules
Whether you take the train or fly, arriving in Xiamen is a full mainland China entry. Hong Kong and the mainland are separate immigration zones — being admitted to Hong Kong grants you nothing on the mainland, so you must independently qualify to enter:
- Mainland China side (your arrival) — requires a valid Chinese visa, or you qualify under the 240-hour visa-free transit (Xiamen Gaoqi is one of the listed entry points). Hong Kong counts as a third region for the transit policy. A single-entry China visa you have already used cannot be reused for this entry.
- Hong Kong side (your departure) — you are leaving, so your Hong Kong entry status simply needs to still be valid. Most passports get visa-free entry to Hong Kong on arrival (US, UK, EU, Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, Singapore and many others); neither the train nor the flight changes that.
Unsure how your nationality stands? The visa checker shows both the Mainland China and Hong Kong policies side by side, and the 240-hour transit planner checks a transit itinerary if your mainland leg is visa-free.
How to book with a foreign passport
Trip.com ↗ — the cross-border train booked in English with a foreign Visa or Mastercard, no Chinese phone number and no verification wait, plus 24/7 multilingual support. Check each train's terminus and pick a service to Xiamen (厦门站) for Gulangyu. See the booking walkthrough.
12306 English app — the official China Railway channel: face-value fares in CNY, no booking fee. The trade-off is hassle — passport real-name registration must clear before you can buy (often slow), it sometimes wants a Chinese phone number for payment, and customer service is Chinese-first.
MTR Hong Kong — natural if you are booking from the HK side in HKD. Same shared inventory; tickets open 15 days before departure and sell out fastest around mainland holidays — book early.
Book on Trip.comNASDAQ: TCOM
One of the few platforms selling real China Railway tickets in English, to a foreign passport and card. (Is it legit? — 12306 vs Trip.com )
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Getting to Gulangyu — the ferry
Gulangyu (鼓浪屿), the car-free island of colonial villas, is the reason most people come to Xiamen — and the ferry trips travellers up more than the train does. The terminal depends on the time of day:
- Daytime — sail from 邮轮中心厦鼓码头 (Dongdu Cruise Terminal) to 三丘田码头 on Gulangyu, which lands closest to the main sights. This is the terminal tourists must use during the day, ~5-6 km north of the old town (taxi or Metro Line 2 to 邮轮中心).
- After ~17:40 (18:40 in summer) — the central 轮渡码头 near Zhongshan Road opens to visitors. During the day this pier is for residents only and you cannot buy a daytime ticket there.
- Book ahead — the official fare is just ¥35. Sailings sell out, especially at weekends and holidays. Buy in English on Trip.com or Klook, or on the official 厦门轮渡 mini-program — which is Chinese-only and needs WeChat, so the English platforms are the easier path for most visitors.
Ignore the touts. Anyone at the station or pier telling you “the Gulangyu pier is closed, I'll take you to another one”, pushing a “two-island government-subsidy package ticket”, or selling a boat to “海上金门” is running a scam — the only Gulangyu sailings are the official ¥35 ones above. The same goes for drivers steering you to a “cheap local seafood” spot or a “free” tea house; book food and tickets yourself.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get from Hong Kong to Xiamen?
The train usually wins. There are four direct high-speed trains a day from Hong Kong West Kowloon to Xiamen, taking about 3.5 to 4.5 hours, with immigration cleared at West Kowloon before you board. Second class is around ¥258-373. Flying (HKG to XMN) is a short ~1h20m hop, but once you add airport time it's roughly level with the train door-to-door — and you clear immigration at an airport instead of at West Kowloon — so most travellers take the train. Two of the four trains run to the central Xiamen Station (best for Gulangyu), two to Xiamen North.
Is there a direct train from Hong Kong to Xiamen?
Yes — four direct high-speed trains a day, Hong Kong West Kowloon to Xiamen, in about 3.5 to 4.5 hours (the fastest around 3.5 hours), running via Shenzhen North along the Fujian coast. Two terminate at the central Xiamen Station (厦门站) and two at Xiamen North (厦门北站). Second class is about ¥258-373, first class ~¥485-596. There's no overnight service — the last train leaves Hong Kong around 18:37. Book ahead around mainland holidays.
Which Xiamen station should I arrive at for Gulangyu?
Aim for the central Xiamen Station (厦门站) if you can. It sits on the island in Siming district, about 3.5-6 km from Zhongshan Road and the Gulangyu ferry — 10-20 minutes by taxi, or Metro Line 3. Xiamen North (厦门北站) is off-island in Jimei, about 25-30 km out: Metro Line 1 to 镇海路 takes 45-55 minutes, and a taxi can be over an hour at peak. Two of the four daily Hong Kong trains run to each station, so when you book, pick the central Xiamen Station unless that's the only seat left.
How long is the Hong Kong to Xiamen train?
About 3.5 to 4.5 hours, depending on the service and which Xiamen station it terminates at — the fastest is around 3.5 hours. By comparison the flight is roughly 1h20m in the air, or about 4-4.5 hours door-to-door once you add getting to the airport, checking in two hours early, and getting into the city after landing. That's why the one-seat direct train, with the border cleared at West Kowloon, is usually the better choice.
Where do I clear immigration on the Hong Kong to Xiamen train?
At Hong Kong West Kowloon station, before you board — all on one level (B2). Hong Kong exit and mainland China entry sit in the same hall, so you walk through both checkpoints in one go, usually 10-20 minutes, then board an already-cleared train and step straight out in Xiamen. Arrive about an hour ahead on a weekday (1.5-2 hours at weekends or holidays). Foreign-passport holders use the staffed counters rather than the residents' self-service e-channels.
Do I need a China visa to travel from Hong Kong to Xiamen?
Yes — both the train and the flight are a full mainland China entry, so you need a valid Chinese visa, or you qualify under the 240-hour visa-free transit. Hong Kong and the mainland are separate immigration zones, so being admitted to Hong Kong grants you nothing on the mainland, and a single-entry China visa you have already used cannot be reused. Our visa checker shows both the Mainland China and Hong Kong policies for your nationality.
How do I get to Gulangyu from Xiamen?
By ferry — and the terminal depends on the time of day. Daytime visitors must sail from the 邮轮中心厦鼓码头 (Dongdu Cruise Terminal) to 三丘田码头 on Gulangyu, which is closest to the main sights; the central 轮渡码头 near Zhongshan Road is for residents and only opens to tourists late in the evening (after about 17:40, or 18:40 in summer). Tickets sell out, so book ahead — the official fare is just ¥35. Buy in English on Trip.com or Klook, or on the Chinese-only 厦门轮渡 mini-program. Ignore anyone at the station or pier saying the pier is closed, offering 'package tickets', or selling trips to '海上金门' — those are scams.
How do I book Hong Kong to Xiamen with a foreign passport?
Book on Trip.com in English with a foreign card (no Chinese phone number, no verification wait, 24/7 multilingual support), or on the official 12306 app (face-value fares in CNY but Chinese-first). When you choose your train, check whether it terminates at Xiamen (厦门站, central) or Xiamen North (厦门北站) and pick the central one for Gulangyu. Enter each traveller's passport exactly as printed — booking is real-name and the same passport is checked at immigration. Tickets open 15 days before departure.
Verification scope
Route data — distance, journey times, fare bands and the daily frequency — is sampled from China’s national rail system and refreshed monthly; the four direct West Kowloon → Xiamen trains (two to the central Xiamen Station, two to Xiamen North) were cross-checked on the 12306 timetable 2026-06-30. The direct services’ train numbers change with timetable revisions, so we describe them by route, not a fixed number.
Hong Kong MTR times are estimates, not a routing-engine quote — Amap (高德地图) transit coverage is limited inside Hong Kong. The West Kowloon crossing, the which-station routing and the Gulangyu ferry details are Amap routing + official ferry information + traveller reports (小红书 / 点点, 2026-06-30); traveller-reported figures move and are flagged as such.
Confirm before booking: exact schedules and fares vary by train and season, and entering the mainland depends on your nationality — check both the Mainland China and Hong Kong policies for your passport, and that your China visa or visa-free eligibility is valid, before you travel.
Plan the rest of your trip
Gulangyu, Zhongshan Road and the seafood — then the rail map for wherever Xiamen connects on to.