Weird.

The train is nice once in a while. Besides, if money is an issue it's much cheaper. The flight to go to Hong Kong ends up being much more than 300-600 rmb.

@ Alpage: The rapid Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains are pretty frequent and no hassle to board if you arrive by train in Guangzhou Station (quick ticket, special entrance to the rapid-train waiting room). Does the Guangzhou-Hong Kong train depart frequently? What's it cost? From which station, main Guangzhou station or Guanzhou East (trains from Kunming arrive at the main station)? And where do you have to go through Immigration and customs?

@Alien,

Don't know, don't care. If I wanted to go to Hong Kong I would not start by taking a train to Guangzhou, then Shenzhen, then Hong Kong.
If you want to travel by train, Kunming to Hong Kong is available, but I value my time, so air is the only way I would go.

I find no direct train from Kunming to Hong Kong. However, Ctrip site now claims the Z212, leaving at around 6PM, will get you to Guangzhou in 16&1/2 hours - hard sleeper 351rmb.

Visa extension has morphed into diff forms of transport.

I have better things to do than share a cubicle with 3 other people. One of which will snore, one will have feet that smell to high heaven, and one will sit up all night playing games on the phone. On top of that the whole carriage will be using one toilet, the air conditioning will be turned up full and blasting, there will be mosquitoes and the whole train will have a slight smell of vegetable fart.

It's not how I would choose to spend 16 hours. Anyone going to HK for a visa run is better off paying 100-200 extra and flying right in on a 2 hour flight, missing Guangzhou and Shenzhen out completely. Once at the airport I have noticed about 3 or 4 little stalls all offering Chinese visas - I think while you wait, but I can't vouch for any, having never visited on visa business.

No need to turn a visa run into the grand tour of Southern China via peasant wagon.

I see Napoleon travels in style. Only soft sleepers get to share with 3 others. The hard sleepers you share with 7+ (counting the two sitting by the window, + extended family on bottom bunks). Also, the toilets there are for two train sections. The rest sounds about right.

There is no sixteen hour train. I tried it once, and it arrived in twenty two hours. They just hold it up for hours at several stops at night.

If you want sixteen hours by train, you need slow train to Guiyang or Nanning, then hop on the high-speed to Guangzhou.

The wait at those stalls is days, not hours. They are just outlets of major agencies in HK.