Trains between Vietnam and China

There are two railway lines between Vietnam and China, one is Hanoi - Pingxiang - Nam Ninh (Nanning, China) line, and the other is the historical Vietnam - Yunnan line. If you would like to take the cross-border overnight train, Hanoi - Nam Ninh is the only choice. While the other route of Lao Cai - Hekou - Kunming (Vietnam - Yunnan line) is faster and more convenient when it resumes operation.
 
The cross-border railway between Pingxiang, China and Hanoi, Vietnam was firstly built in 1940. In November 1951, construction of the Nanning - Pingxiang section in China started. Since the railway in Vietnam is a narrow-gauge track built by France in the past, the section from Pingxiang to Youyiguan was also paved with narrow-gauge for the convenience of docking. In this way, Pingxiang Station on the Chinese side has actually become a transfer station for the combined railway transportation between the two countries.

On August 2, 1955, the first Sino-Vietnamese international intermodal train departed from Beijing and reached Pingxiang after dozens of hours, then went all the way to Hanoi. However, at the end of the 1970s, this international railway was completely interrupted. 17 years later, on February 14, 1996, the ceremony of the restoring of China-Vietnam International Railway was held at the Pingxiang Railway Station. The Hanoi-Pingxiang-Beijing-Moscow international train shuttled back and forth, and Pingxiang Station became an important hub for the intercontinental railway transportation line from Eastern Europe to Southeast Asia.

Since the journey time for Hanoi - Beijing is too long, most of the travelers will only take the train from Hanoi to Nanning, then connect China high speed train or domestic flight from Nanning to Beijing.

The travel distance for this route is about 400km and takes around 12 - 12.5 hours. Only soft sleepers are set on the train, and one cabin contains 4 berths. The carriages are air conditioned. Toilet, hand sink, water heater, pillow and blanket are available. The ticket fare is CNY 215 (USD 30) one way.  One thing to notice is that the train departs from Gia Lam station in Hanoi, which is a little far to the city center. Passengers need to get off the train with their luggage for immigration inspection at Dong Dang (Vietnam) and Pingxiang (China).
 (Last Update on May 28, 2025)

Country	Train No.	Station	Arr. Time	Dep. Time
Vietnam	MR1	Hanoi (Gia Lam)	-	22:20
		Bac Giang	23:11	23:14
		Dong Dang	01:55+	03:50+
China	T8702	Pingxiang	04:31+	06:05+
		Chongzuo	07:56+	08:01+
		Nanning (Nam Ninh)	10:06+	-

 (Last Update on May 28, 2025)

Country	Train No.	Station	Arr. Time	Dep. Time
China	T8701	Nanning (Nam Ninh)	-	18:05
		Chongzuo	20:15	20:21
		Pingxiang	22:18	23:41
Vietnam	MR2	Dong Dang	00:22+	02:55+
		Bac Giang	05:33+	05:36+
		Hanoi (Gia Lam)	06:30+	-

Notes:
1. "+" means the second day.
2. The tickets from Nanning to Hanoi are only sold at Nanning Railway Station, Guiling North Railway Station, Chongzuo Railway Station and Pingxiang Railway Station 10 days before departure now.

Pingxiang Railway Station is the closest railway station to Friendship Pass (友谊关 in Chinese and Huu Nghi Quan in Vietnamese) on the border between China and Vietnam. Passengers in Vietnam can also take a car or bus to Friendship Pass first, then pass the border check, and finally take a normal train traveling from Pingxiang to Nanning.

Departure	Arrival	Duration	Ticket Fare
15:00	19:28	4H28M	Hard Seat: CNY 29.5 Hard Sleeper: CNY 83.5

 (Last Update on May 28, 2025)

Departure	Arrival	Duration	Ticket Fare
08:45	13:15	4H30M	Hard Seat: CNY 29.5 Hard Sleeper: CNY 83.5

 

Lao Cai in Vietnam and Hekou in China face each other over the Red River. The two cities are at the junction of the Red River and the Nanxi River. Hekou Port is the transportation hub of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, Kunhe Highway, and Red River Channel. It is the most convenient land route from southwest China to Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.

Now, travelers could cross the border at Lao Cai Vietnam to Hekou, China. From Hekou, you could take high speed train to Kunming to start your China trip, this line was developed from the historical Vietnam - Yunnan Train, which was originally built from Haiphong (Vietnam) - Kunming (China) by France during 1904-1910.

Border Opening Times (China is one hour ahead of Vietnam)

Vietnam Time: 07:00-22:00
China Time: 08:00-23:00
 

(Updated on May 28, 2025)

Train No.	Departure	Arrival	Ticket Fare
C564	08:25	13:26	CNY 91 - 96 for 2nd Class Seat CNY 145 - 154 for 1st Class Seat
C560	13:32	17:58
C554	18:30	23:23
K9604	08:45	14:52	CNY 54.5 for Hard Seat

 

(Updated on May 28, 2025)

Train No.	Departure	Arrival	Ticket Fare
C552	08:26	13:07	CNY 96 for 2nd Class Seat CNY 154 for 1st Class Seat
C562	13:21	18:09
K9602	14:45	21:57	CNY 54.5 for Hard Seat

International Trains from/to China 

K3/K4: Beijing - Ulaanbaatar - Moscow	K19/K20: Beijing - Manzhouli - Moscow	K23/K24: Beijing - Ulaanbaatar
K27/K28: Beijing - Pyongyang	Erlian - Ulaanbaatar	4652/4653: Hohhot → Ulaanbaatar 4654/4651: Ulaanbaatar → Hohhot
Z5/Z6: Beijing - Hanoi	K9795/K9796: Urumqi - Almaty K9797/K9798: Urumqi - Astana	D87/D88: Kunming - Vientiane

 International railways under construction/planning from China to: