Guangzhou's Huadu district will be built into a demonstration district for the integration of aviation and railways, Guangzhou municipal government announced on Aug 19.

Huadu contains two of the large-scale transportation hubs of the Greater Bay Area, namely Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Guangzhou North Railway Station.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport saw an annual total passenger throughput of more than 73.38 million in 2019, putting it among the top 10 in the world. This number is expected to reach 140 million after the completion of the third-phase extension project of the airport.

Guangzhou North Railway Station, a junction station on the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, a railway artery linking the north and south of China, is only 10 kilometers away from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, and has been scheduled to send through 43 million passengers ever year.

Intercity railway lines and expressways such as Guangzhou-Dongguan-Shenzhen intercity railway and Yayao Expressway will be built, allowing people to travel from Guangzhou North Railway Station to the airport within 15 minutes. 

A special light rail line connecting the railway station and Terminal 4 of the airport at the northeast corner of the station to Terminal 1 and 2 will also be constructed, providing direct travel between the station and the airport in six minutes.

This is expected to improve the quality of intercity transportation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and expand the sphere of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport's influence to the Pan-Pearl River Delta region.