Vietnam to China Train - Trains from Hanoi to Nanning

Bordering with China on the north, Vietnam has a cross-border train from Hanoi to Nanning, China. The overnight sleeper train departs from Hanoi Gia Lim Station at 21:40 daily, arrives at Nanning (China) at 09:12 the next morning. The whole distance is about 400km and the journey time is about 12 hours. There are only soft sleepers available, which have 4 berths in each cabin. All trains are equipped with air conditioner, toilet, hand sink, water heater, pillow and blanket. The ticket fare is around USD45 one way. 

Vietnam to China Train Schedule (MR2 - T8702)

Station	Country	Train No.	Arrival Time	Departure Time
Hanoi (Gia Lam)	Vietnam	MR2	-	21:40
Bac Giang			23:39	23:42
Dong Dang			03:00	04:09
Pingxiang	China	T8702	04:41	06:31
Chongzuo			08:10	08:16
Nam Ninh (Nanning)			10:10	-

China to Vietnam Train Schedule (T8701 - MR1)

Station	Country	Train No.	Arrival Time	Departure Time
Nanning (Nam Ninh)	China	T8701	-	18:05
Chongzuo			20:11	20:17
Pingxiang			22:10	23:41
Dong Dang	Vietnam	MR1	00:22	02:55+
Bac Giang			05:33	05:36
Hanoi (Gia Lam)			06:30	-

 Hanoi Gia Lim Station: Not Hanoi Railway Station (the main station). This is a small station located about 10km to the city center. Due to the different tracks, the international train use this station instead of Hanoi Railway Station. 

Gia Lam Station

Gia Lam Railway Station

 Dong Dang Station: Passengers need to get off the train with their luggage for immigration inspection at this station. 

 Pingxiang Station: Another immigration inspection will be taken at this station, passengers also need to get off the train with luggage.

During the overnight journey from Nanning to Hanoi, it is rather disruptive as you could not have a sound sleep due to the inspections, but the experience is really unusual.

How to Get Tickets

Ticket Window at Gia Lam Station

For Hanoi to Nanning, the tickets are released 18 days in advance, and the time is 60 days for Nanning to Hanoi, which means it is better to book the ticket earlier rather than approaching the travel date. There is no e-ticket for the international route now, you could only buy paper train ticket for this route. Generally, you have two ways to get the ticket. 

 Buy at the Railway Station: You have chance to get the tickets at the station several days before your travel date, however, during the travel peak time, the tickets could be sold out. You may also have language barrier at the ticket window. 

 Book ticket with a reliable travel website like agatetravel.com. Paper tickets will be sent to your hotel in Hanoi or Nanning. You could book the ticket as soon as your travel date is confirmed. However, you need to pay a small amount fee to get the professional booking service. 

Child Ticket Policy

The child ticket policies are different for the two routes. 

 Hanoi - Nanning: 
Child Ticket: Age 3-9 years & height lower than 130cm. 
Baby under 3 years could share berth with adult for free. One adult could only take one baby for free.

 Nanning - Hanoi:
Child Ticket: 4-12 years
Baby under 4 years could share berth with adult for free. One adult could only take one baby for free.

Travel Tips

1. Please make sure that your Chinese/Vietnamese Visa is valid when you go through the borders. Your luggage, Visa and passport will be checked at Dong Dang and Pingxiang station. 

2. The train runs for about 40min from Dong Dang to Pingxiang or vice versa, from the first immigration inspection to the second one finishes, it takes several hours in total. Although it is an overnight train, you don’t have much time to sleeper. 

3. It is better to book tickets in advance if you travel is near or during festivals or public holidays, especially for the trip from Nanning to Hanoi.