Train from Hanoi to Nanning costs 1 million VND/person, no visa required

(Dan Tri) - Regarding ticket prices, the Hanoi - Nanning (China) route currently costs about one million VND/ticket/trip. Chinese media expects this to be a train route that promotes tourism on both sides.

Boost for Vietnam - China tourism

After a five-year suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic, China and Vietnam have officially restored the passenger train route between the two countries.

This move is assessed by experts as contributing to promoting bilateral tourism, which is on a strong growth trajectory, while creating conditions to attract more international tourists to China without a visa.

On May 25, the Vietnam - China train arrived at Dong Dang station, Lang Son (Photo: Nam Trinh).

In recent years, Beijing has relaxed its visa policy, expanding the list of visa-free countries to support the tourism industry's recovery after the pandemic. Accordingly, Vietnamese citizens can enter China without a visa if they join group tours organized by Chinese travel companies.

Xinhua News Agency reported that from May 25, the international train route between Nanning (in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region) and the capital Hanoi has officially resumed operation. The journey lasts 11.5 hours.

The train line was put into operation in 2009 but was suspended in February 2020 when many Asian countries simultaneously closed their borders to prevent the spread of the epidemic.

Experts say the restoration of this railway line will contribute to promoting two-way tourism along the 1,297km land border between the two countries.

"In the past two years, there have been more and more Vietnamese tourists coming to China. Vietnam's economy is also developing rapidly," said Steven Zhao, CEO of Guilin-based online travel company China Highlights.

According to Mr. Zhao, after arriving in Nanning, passengers from Vietnam can easily connect to China's high-speed rail network to famous tourist cities such as Beijing or Shanghai.

Data from market research firm Statista shows that in 2023, visitors from Vietnam will account for about 4% of total arrivals to mainland China.

In the third quarter of 2024 alone, according to statistics from the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism, this number reached 23,500, second only to Hong Kong (China) in the number of international visitors to this country.

Train T8701 leaves Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southern China, for Hanoi (Photo: Xinhua).

According to Mr. Zhao, the capital Hanoi is also a popular destination for many Western tourists.

The resumption of the train route will facilitate this group of tourists to visit China without a visa. It is known that China is currently applying a 30-day visa exemption policy for citizens of 38 countries, including Australia, Singapore and many European countries.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dan Martin, an international business consultant at Dezan Shira & Associates, currently working in Hanoi, commented that with the increasing number of Chinese tourists coming to Vietnam, the reopening of the Hanoi - Nanning route is also expected to better serve Chinese passengers wishing to visit the Southeast Asian country.

"In Hanoi, a fairly large proportion of the total number of tourists are Chinese," said Mr. Martin.

According to data from the National Statistics Office of Vietnam, in 2024, the number of Chinese visitors to Vietnam will exceed 3.7 million, thereby becoming the fastest growing market in the Vietnamese tourism industry.

The Global Times newspaper quoted Chinese government sources as saying that in the first quarter of this year alone, nearly 1.6 million Chinese people came to Vietnam.

During the suspension of the railway, most Vietnamese tourists chose low-cost flights to China. Others traveled by bus.

The newly restored train line T8701, which uses sleeper cars, is considered part of the two countries' efforts to strengthen cross-border rail connectivity, Xinhua News Agency reported.

It is known that China and Vietnam currently depend heavily on the railway system to serve commercial activities in the context of these activities becoming increasingly vibrant, especially in the manufacturing and export sectors.

Cases where you do not need a visa when taking the train from Hanoi to Nanning

Vietnamese citizens need to present their passports and can be exempted from visas when entering China if they travel in a tour group organized by a Chinese travel agency.

Entry is allowed through certain ports of entry including Nanning.

Tourists must strictly follow the tour program and must not separate from the group. However, this is a visa exemption policy for group tours, applicable to short stays.

If tourists do not go on a group tour but travel independently (buy train tickets and travel independently), they still need to apply for a Chinese visa as usual.

Tickets for the Hanoi - Nanning route cost about one million VND. The Hanoi - Beijing route costs nearly 9.4 million VND. Children under 4 years old are free, children from 4 to 12 years old get a 50% discount (each adult is allowed to bring one child). Groups of 6 or more people get a 25% discount.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/tau-tu-ha-noi-toi-nam-ninh-gia-ve-1-trieu-dongnguoi-khach-khong-can-visa-20250527143648598.htm