Getting to the Canton Fair Complex: airport, metro, Hong Kong

Which metro station for which area

The complex is long: four exhibition areas laid out east to west along the river, with Xingang East Road cutting across the middle. Getting off at the wrong station adds a kilometre in the heat, so match the station to your hall.

Line 8 runs east to west across the southern half of the city and connects to almost everything: Line 3 at Kecun (for the airport, Zhujiang New Town and Tianhe), Line 2 at Changgang (for Guangzhou South station), and Lines 4 and 18 at Wanshengwei, one stop east. Line 11, the loop line that opened at the end of 2024, connects Pazhou directly to Guangzhou East railway station and the Tianhe hotel district, which is the change that made Hong Kong a same-morning trip.

Metro fares are by distance and cheap: RMB 2 to 9 for any journey in the city. Pay with the Alipay or WeChat Pay transport code, by tapping a contactless foreign Visa or Mastercard at the gates that show the card logos (most do since 2024), or with a single-journey token from the machines. During the fair the gates at Pazhou are staffed and the queues move.

From Baiyun Airport

Metro (about 80 minutes, under RMB 10). Line 3 from Airport South (Terminal 1) or Airport North (Terminal 2) to Tiyu Xilu; change to the Line 3 main line towards Panyu Square for three stops to Kecun; change to Line 8 towards Wanshengwei for Xingangdong or Pazhou. Two changes, all signed in English, escalators most of the way. With a large suitcase in the evening rush it is not pleasant; on a weekday morning it is the most reliable option in the city.

Taxi or DiDi (45 to 60 minutes, RMB 150 to 200). The official taxi rank is outside arrivals at both terminals; ignore anyone offering a car inside the hall. Metered, with the airport expressway tolls added at the end. Show the Chinese address above. DiDi works with a foreign card and has an English interface; the pick-up points at the airport are signed.

The fair shuttle bus (50 to 70 minutes, about RMB 35). During each phase a dedicated bus runs roughly every half hour between the bus ticket counters at T1 and T2 and the complex, with the badge-holder fare set below the normal airport bus price. It is the best option if you land in the morning and want to collect your badge at the airport registration office first: badge, then bus, then straight into the hall.

From Hong Kong

A large share of buyers still fly to Hong Kong, either because the fares are better or because their passport works better there (see the visa guide on the 240-hour transit rule and where it applies). Three ways on to Guangzhou:

• High-speed rail from West Kowloon to Guangzhou East (best). Around 38 pairs of trains a day run from West Kowloon to Guangzhou South or Guangzhou East; take one to Guangzhou East, about an hour, second class roughly HK$215 to 250. Mainland immigration is done at West Kowloon before boarding, so you arrive as a domestic passenger. From Guangzhou East, Line 11 runs to Pazhou in about 20 minutes with no change. Book on the 12306 app or through Trip.com; fair-week trains sell out days ahead.
• High-speed rail to Guangzhou South. Faster on the train (48 minutes) but Guangzhou South is far from the fair: Line 2 to Changgang, then Line 8, about an hour, or a 40-minute taxi. Choose it only if the Guangzhou East trains are full.
• Cross-boundary coach. Coaches run from Hong Kong and the airport to Guangzhou hotels including some in Pazhou, three to four hours with the border stop at Shenzhen Bay or Huanggang. Cheap, slow, and useful with a lot of luggage.

The ferry from the Hong Kong airport SkyPier to Pazhou Ferry Terminal, which is next door to the complex, has been the most convenient route of all when it runs. It has not run reliably, and the schedule has been cut and restored several times; check the SkyPier page and do not book a flight around it.

From Shenzhen and Guangzhou South

From Shenzhen North or Futian, high-speed trains reach Guangzhou South in 30 to 40 minutes every few minutes; from there Line 2 to Changgang and Line 8 to the complex, about an hour, or a taxi for RMB 80 to 100. Conventional trains from Shenzhen station to Guangzhou East take 70 to 80 minutes and drop you on Line 11, which is often the better door-to-door option for the fair.

Taxis and DiDi

Guangzhou taxis are metered, start at RMB 12, and are cheap by any Western standard: a ride from the Tianhe hotel district to Pazhou is RMB 35 to 50, from Zhujiang New Town about 30. Drivers do not speak English. Show the characters for your destination; hotel business cards exist for this reason. Pay by cash, or by Alipay or WeChat Pay with a linked foreign card; a few older drivers still refuse cards, and none take a foreign card directly.

DiDi is the ride-hailing app and works well for visitors: English interface, foreign cards accepted, fares slightly above taxi. At the complex, ride-hailing pick-up is at signed points outside each area, not at the taxi ranks. The one time not to use either is 17:30 to 18:30 on a fair day, when a thousand people want a car at the same gate. Walk to the metro.

Shuttle buses

The organisers run free shuttle buses during the fair between the complex and the main hotel districts and railway stations; the routes and timetable are published in the app a week or two before each session. Many hotels within 10 kilometres run their own shuttles to Pazhou in the morning and back at 18:00, and advertise it in the name of the hotel on the booking sites, which tells you how much buyers value it. Our hotel guide covers which areas that makes sense from.

Moving between the areas

Areas A and B are joined along the river side by a covered concourse; walking from the middle of A to the middle of B is ten minutes. Area C is across Xingang East Road from B, reached by the footbridges and the underpass at Pazhou station. Area D is west of A. Free inter-area shuttle buses circle the complex during the fair; walking is usually faster than waiting for one unless you are going from D to C. The riverside tram, which used to stop along the complex, has been closed at that section since May 2025 for tunnel works.