Taking G Train?
 

I am traveling with my dad to Changsha and we need to get from Changsha to Hong Kong and we don't really have any time restraints and we haven't traveled in China very much so we thought that it would be fun to take a train from Changsha to Hong Kong instead of flying. We think it would be a nice way to see a part of the country and it would be fun to ride on a high speed train which we haven't done before.

It looks like our best option is to take the G train to Shenzhen and then take the subway to Hong Kong.

Has anyone done something similar before and have any recommendations? Neither of us speak any Mandarin, will that be an issue?

Is business class worth it for a couple hour journey?

Thanks for any help you can provide

Not a bad way to move from Changsha to Shenzhen in a hurry, though there's not much in the way of attractive scenery. I'd go for the cheap tickets, but some like to pay more for a bit more space.

Only real issue would be if you're travelling with lots of heavy luggage. If so, the Metro/MTR transfers to Hong Kong could be a hassle.

Language shouldn't be a big issue: just follow the crowds.

Best to buy your ticket ahead of time. Your hotel should be able to steer you to a nearby ticket office.

Of course you'll need to buy separate tickets on arrival for the Metro/MTR.

If you have time to spare, you can always do a detour. Doing a transit in Guilin will add time to your journey (double the travel time) but you'll have very nice scenery.
No mandarin required, train stations, especially the ones for high-speed trains are pretty obvious. As to whether business class is worth it, this is really up to you. I find second class just fine. See what the various classes look like on this YouTube video: The business class seats are substantially more expensive.

Business would probably be overkill on such a short ride. 8 seat cabin is best but I'm not sure what is on that line, Then its probably not worth it especially since it's 3x the price of second class. I like it for longer trips though when jetlag is involved


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For your Beijing-Changsha leg, there are 5 express G trains daily, with trip times 5:38 to 5:42. Departing Beijing from 8:00 to 13:02 and arriving in Changsha from 13:38 to 18:41. Ticket price for Beijing-Changsha 2nd class 649 yuan, 1st class 1038 yuan, business class 2050 yuan.
The route also has 11 non-express G trains, trip times 6:31 to 7:38, ticket cost same except 2 trains have VIP class instead of business.
Changsha-Futian leg has 10 trains daily, with trip times 3:04 to 3:42. Departing Changsha 7:50 to 20:26, arriving Futian 11:32 to 23:47. 2nd class 397 yuan, 1st class 612 yuan, business class 1210 yuan. Some of the 10 trains have VIP class instead of business, some have both.

OP makes no mention of Beijing. And if the goal is to end up in HK then it is better to take the train to Shenzhen north than to Futian. Shenzhen north has buses to HK and it is on the same subway line that the Futian checkpoint. Futian station requires some transfers.

A separate thread by the same OP does.

If the goal is to end up in HK then Futian is certainly better than Shenzhen North. Less crowds and nearer to the border on the same metro line 4.

No, sorry but you are wrong. Look at a subway map. Shenzhen north is on the same line but Futian requires a transfer. You also have cross border buses from the Shenzhen north bus station which is next to the train station.

I'm talking about Futian train station, not metro station.

Futian train station connects to 3 different metro stations, one of those (Civic Centre) are on line 4.

I have actually been there a few times and only saw a connection to the Futian subway station. It is actually right under it. How do you get to Civic Center? how long a walk is it? It is nearly 1km away, must be quite a walk with luggage.

Through underground passage from exit 15, which passes near some staff quarters