Shantou High‑Speed Train Guide

Thanks to China's extensive high-speed railway network, traveling to Shantou is now much easier than before. Visitors can reach this Teochew culture city conveniently from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Chaozhou, Xiamen, and many major cities across China.

However, many foreign travelers are confused about one important point: Shantou does not have only one railway station. The most commonly used stations include Shantou Railway Station and Chaoshan Railway Station, and choosing the wrong station may add unnecessary travel time. This guide explains everything you need to know about taking the high-speed train to Shantou, including railway stations, train routes, schedules, ticket prices, and practical travel tips.

Shantou’s New High-Speed Rail Connection

Before 2025, most international tourists travelling to Shantou would take high‑speed trains to Chaoshan Railway Station in Chaozhou and then ride taxis or long‑distance buses for roughly 40‑60 minutes to reach Shantou downtown, because Shantou’s central area lacked a high‑speed‑rail terminal for decades. The completion of Shantou‑Shanwei High‑Speed‑Railway (Shanshan HSR for short) completely changes this awkward situation. As a critical component of China’s national coastal Ningbo‑Guangzhou high‑speed‑rail corridor, the whole‑line Shantou‑Shanwei railway stretches 162 kilometres with a top speed of 350 kilometres per hour, and it includes the world‑first 9781‑meter‑long undersea high‑speed‑rail tunnel passing underneath Shantou Bay, a landmark engineering breakthrough for global high‑speed‑rail development. Combined with the existing Xiamen‑Shenzhen High‑Speed‑Railway and Guangzhou‑Shanwei High‑Speed‑Railway, Shantou now has two major high‑speed‑rail lines: the 350km‑h Shantou‑Shanwei HSR and the older 250km‑h Xiamen‑Shenzhen HSR.
 

Three High-Speed Railway Stations in Shantou

Shantou currently has three regularly‑operating high‑speed‑rail stations for passenger services: Shantou Railway Station, Shantou South Railway Station and Chaonan Railway Station. Among them, the newly‑built main Shantou Railway Station acts as Shantou’s flagship transport hub; Shantou South Station serves Haojiang District and coastal towns; Chaonan Railway Station mainly meets travel demands of people living in Chaonan District. Apart from these three stations, the Xiamen‑Shenzhen High‑Speed‑Railway does not set up stops inside Shantou’s downtown, so passengers heading to northern Shantou like Hepu and Waisha still choose Chaoshan Railway Station in Chaozhou for long‑distance cross‑provincial trips. After the July‑1‑2026 timetable revision, Shantou Railway Station runs a total of 217 scheduled trains every single day, reaching 57 cities across China, which includes frequent direct trains to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Nanchang and even southwest Chinese cities such as Nanning and Kunming. A widespread misunderstanding among foreign visitors needs to be clarified here: Shantou Railway Station (downtown Shantou) and Chaoshan Railway Station (Chaozhou city) are two separate stations located roughly 35 kilometres apart. Never mix up their names on your map app, or you will end up arriving at the wrong city and waste half a day of your sightseeing schedule.
 

Which Railway Station Should You Choose?

1. Shantou Railway Station (汕头站) – Best Choice for Downtown Travelers

Shantou Railway Station is the most convenient station if your hotel is located in central Shantou. The newly‑renovated Shantou Railway Station is the most important high‑speed‑rail terminal for overseas tourists, situated in Jinping District right within central Shantou, just around 4‑kilometres from Shantou Old Town, Small Park historic zone and famous food streets, which saves you long‑distance transfers compared with the previous situation when you had to get off at Chaoshan Station. 

The station building covers an area of 100,000 square‑meters with 11 platforms and 24 tracks, and its interior design takes inspiration from the historic red‑headed ships that Chaoshan people took to sail across Southeast Asia hundreds of years ago, showing local maritime‑culture features. The waiting hall has English‑marked directional signs, mother‑baby rooms, accessible facilities and dedicated manual‑service counters for foreign‑passenger help, which is very friendly for international guests.

Station‑to‑downtown transfer tips
Public buses including Route 4, 39, 63 and K‑series shuttle buses stop at the north‑side bus platform outside the station exit, costing only 2‑3 CNY per person, yet most bus drivers cannot speak English. You need to show a screenshot of your hotel’s Chinese‑name address to avoid getting off at the wrong stop. Licensed taxis gather at the south‑side taxi stand; a normal‑price ride to Shantou Old Town costs about 15‑20 CNY, and do not accept rides from unlicensed private‑car drivers who approach you right after you walk out of the station building, as they usually overcharge international visitors heavily without fixed price standards. If you book an online car‑hire service, choose the south‑exit pick‑up point, where drivers are familiar with downtown hotel locations.
 

Train‑schedule overview updated in July 2026
Shantou Railway Station provides the largest number of departures in Shantou’s whole rail network. For trips to the Pearl‑River Delta, there are more than 35 daily departures running from 06:35 to 21:45 to Guangzhou East, Guangzhou South and Shenzhen North. The benchmark high‑speed G‑trains make Shantou‑Guangzhou East travel time as short as 1 hour and 50 minutes, while the fastest Shantou‑Shenzhen North journey only takes 99 minutes, greatly cutting travel time compared with the former 3‑hour‑long trips via Chaoshan Station. For long‑distance routes heading to Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi Province, over 18 daily trains depart from Shantou Railway Station between 08:10 and 22:05, with direct services to Xiamen, Fuzhou, Hangzhou East and Shanghai Hongqiao without transfers.

2. Chaoshan Railway Station (潮汕站) – The Main High-Speed Railway Hub

Even after Shantou downtown’s high‑speed‑rail station opened, Chaoshan Railway Station still plays an irreplaceable role in some situations. If you want to travel northward to Wenzhou, Ningbo, Nanjing and Wuhan, more train options are available at Chaoshan Station; some overnight sleeper trains to Shanghai and Hangzhou only depart from Chaoshan Station rather than Shantou Station itself. When you finish your tour in Shantou and plan to visit Chaozhou Ancient City (18 kilometres away from Chaoshan Station), you can take short‑distance D‑trains between Shantou Station and Chaoshan Station, which just takes 22‑30 minutes with a second‑class‑seat fare of 28‑35 CNY.

Shantou South Railway Station (Haojiang District)
Shantou South Railway Station sits in Binhai Sub‑district of Haojiang District, built along the Shantou‑Shanwei High‑Speed‑Railway line and opened for passengers in late 2023 before the full‑line launch. It is a medium‑sized station with two platforms and four tracks, mostly suitable for tourists who plan to visit Haojiang coastal areas, Queshi Scenic Area and Haimen Town. Daily departures here are around 22 trains from 07:40 until 20:10, mainly short‑haul trains heading to Shanwei, Huilai and Shenzhen North, while very few long‑distance trains to Shanghai or Hangzhou stop at this station. For most international visitors whose main travel plan is exploring downtown Shantou’s historic streets and local food, this station is not a good choice. Travelling from Shantou South Station to Shantou Old Town takes around 40 minutes by taxi, so choosing Shantou Main Station remains far more convenient.

Chaonan Railway Station (Longtian Town, Chaonan District)
Chaonan Railway Station is also a newly‑built station on Shantou‑Shanwei HSR, serving residents of Chaonan District, the southernmost county‑level area of Shantou. Around 16‑19 trains stop here each day, with departures from 08:25 to 19:30. If your accommodation is in downtown Chaonan or you visit the coastal towns like Shishi and Yuting, you can take trains from Chaonan Station to Shenzhen and Guangzhou directly. But for tourists staying in central Shantou, this station is too far away; a one‑way taxi trip from Jinping District to Chaonan Station takes over one hour, so you should avoid it for your city‑sightseeing trips.