New China express trains cut journey times

New express train services have been launched in China, cutting journey times from Beijing to three popular tourist destinations.

Travel times from Beijing to Xi'an and Luoyang are now down to about four hours - cutting some six hours off both journeys - while a third new route means travellers can now reach Guangzhou from Beijing in just eight hours.

That is thanks to the longest high-speed rail route in the world, with the bullet train hitting average speeds of up to 186mph.

It is then just a two-hour train journey from Guangzhou's East Train Station into Hong Kong - making a Beijing-Hong Kong trip much more accessible than the full day's travelling it used to be.

The shorter journey times from Beijing to Xi'an and Luoyang are also exciting given travellers are then just a short car ride away from some of China's key cultural sites such as the imperial Terracotta Warriors and the Buddhist carvings at the Longman Grottoes.

A spokesperson for The China Guide said express trains in China tend to be cheaper and considerably more reliable than travelling by air, adding: "Now travel to these cities by train takes about the same amount of time as flying without all the hassle of checking-in and going through security."