Adventure Travel in China

Overlanding: China Mainland into Hong Kong

Post by Marco FerraresecloseAuthor: Marco Ferrarese Name: Marco Ferrarese
Email: info@monkeyrockworld.com
About: Marco Ferrarese has been teaching English, living and travelling around East, South and South East Asia since 2007. An underground musician and writer for many years, he has lived in Europe, the USA, China and Australia and is currently based in Malaysia. He has explored 22 of the 34 provinces by train, foot, rickshaw and any other overland form of transportation. He writes for CnAdventure Blog and has published a book about his Chinese adventures in Italian language.See Authors Posts (32)

So are you departing from China, right? You have indeed a few border options: Mongolia, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan… or probably much easier: Hong Kong.

So many people daily have to cross into Hong Kong from the mainland, generally to fly back home, as most airlines have international flights departing from Hong Kong, or even also to renew a visa… or to get one. Whatever is your reason to come to Hong Kong, this brief post will explain how to get there overland. Our favorite way.

Shenzen

This is Hong Kong’s sister city in the mainland, and connected by easy customs. There is not that much in Shenzen which might lure you, but if you have time, try to check out the art districts and the commercial center. Shenzen is a jewel of booming China’s architecture, and boasts spacious lanes and a definitely “western” feel. There are many connections to Shenzen. By bus from the north, like Guilin in Guanxi, connected to Shenzen by sleeper bus service, taking around 10 hours overnight. Guangzhou is otherwise the hub from where you will arrive, by train or else.

From Shenzen main bus station, cross the road and avoid the taxi driver touts and get to the bus stop. For only 2 yuan, bus 7 will take you directly to the main train station and Luo Hu exit/entry point. Get off at the last stop, and keep your right: Luo Hu is in front of you, on the left side of the train station. A fast 10 minute walk will get you trough customs and out of Mainland China, and a further 5 minutes walk will get you into Honk Kong territory proper. Take an LRT train from there and get to your central destination changing trains at Kowloon Tong station. Welcome to Hong Kong!

Macau

With more time and money on your hands, make Macau an interesting stop on your way out of the Mainland. From Guilin or northern destinations, reach Guangzhou first, and then Zhu Hai. By train, you will most likely have to reach Guangzhou first, but it is possible to get some sleeper buses which will take you to Zhu Hai directly. Zhu Hai itself is a nice harbour town, and you might want to linger for a bit, enjoying its breezy air and detached atmosphere. From here, the cross into Macau is straightforward.

Be forewarned, your passport will be stamped, so check if your nationality is valid to get a free entry into Macau territory. If not, a visa on arrival at the border will be generally issued for around 20 US $. Macau is quite compact, being constituted by the peninsula of Taipa and the island of Coloane, and can be walked on foot in a few hours. From the main jetty, half hourly boat departures to Hong Kong make a scenic entry into the city, although quite expensive at 150 HK $ one way. Once in Hong Kong, your passport will be stamped again. Indeed, a nice collection of visas!!

These routes make for a straightforward, easy entry or exit from China. Remember that you need to be on a double entry visa to activate your second stay in the Mainland or you have to get a new visa once in Hong Kong to be able to get back trough Shenzen or Macau/Zhu Hai. If you only intend to visit Macau from Hong Kong, Chinese visas are not necessary, but check online in the respective countries’ embassies websites what applies to your nationality.