Without a doubt, the best way to travel between Beijing & Shanghai is by train. A new Beijing-Shanghai
high speed line opened on 1 July 2011, speeding up the journey to as little as 4 hours 48 minutes. And
of course a train ride in China is a genuine Chinese experience in itself. In addition, the trains are
generally very punctual and reliable, avoiding the many delays that affect flights on the Shanghai-Beijing
corridor.
New high-speed service from 1 July 2011...
As of 1 July 2011, brand-new CRH380 'G' category trains with a distinctive pointed nose-cone link Beijing South and Shanghai Hongqiao at up to 300km/h (186 mph) in as little as 4 hours 48 minutes, as fast as a flight once check-in and airport travel times are added (and likely to be far more reliable than a flight, too!). Beijing to Shanghai via the new high-speed line is 1,318 km (819 miles), a little shorter than the classic route, which is 1,454 km (909 miles).All the 'G' category high-speed trains have 2nd class, 1st class, VIP class seats, and a dining car. VIP class has individual reclining seats with footrests. 1st class seats (sometimes referred to as 'business class') are 2-abreast each side of the aisle, 2nd class ('economy') seats are 3-abreast one side, 2 abreast the other.Other 'D' & 'T' category trains: Several 'D' trains taking 7 hours also use the high-speed line, with cheaper fares. However, they are not shown here. One or two sleeper trains remain: Trains T109/T110 have soft and hard sleepers and hard seats. Train D302 has 2nd class seats and soft sleepers.
Beijing ► Shanghai (New high-speed service from 1 July 2011)
Beijing ► Shanghai (continued...)
Train number: G3 G37 G141 G143 G17 G149 G19 G153 G155 G39 G21 G159 G161 G163 G165 T109 D311 D321 D313 Beijing (South station) depart 14:00 14:05 14:16 14:22 15:00 15:20 16:00 16:10 16:15 16:26 17:00 17:05 17:25 17:39 17:57 19:28** 20:52** 20:58** 21:11 Shanghai (Hongqiao) arrive 18:48 19:33 19:39 19:50 19:55 20:50 20:55 21:40 21:45 21:50 21:55 22:35 22:47 23:01 23:27 10:25* 08:40* 08:46* 08:52*
Shanghai ► Beijing (New high-speed service from 1 July 2011)
G102 G104 G106 G12 G110 G32 G2 G114 G116 G118 G14 G122 G124 G16 G128 G130 G132 Shanghai (Hongqiao) depart 07:00 07:10 07:20 08:00 08:05 08:15 09:00 09:05 09:15 09:27 10:00 10:10 10:15 11:00 11:05 11:20 11:40 Beijing (South station) arrive 12:20 12:40 12:50 12:55 13:28 13:41 13:40 14:26 14:44 14:49 14:55 15:33 15:42 15:55 16:35 16:45 17:04
Shanghai ► Beijing (continued...)
G124 G138 G140 G142 G4 G38 G10 G150 G152 G20 G156 G158 G22 G160 G162 G164 G166 T110 D312 D322 D314 Shanghai (Hongqiao) depart 12:10 12:43 13:00 13:20 14:00 14:19 15:00 15:05 15:20 16:00 16:05 16:21 17:00 17:05 17:17 17:50 17:55 18:14* 20:01* 20:07* 20:13* Beijing (South station) arrive 17:40 18:12 18:30 18:43 18:48 19:49 19:55 20:35 20:48 20:55 21:29 21:44 21:55 22:28 22:45 23:20 23:25 09:23** 07:46** 07:52** 07:52 Trains on a darker shaded background = overnight sleeper trains. Trains on a light background are high-speed daytime trains.* These trains arrive/depart Shanghai main station in central Shanghai, not Hongqiao. ** These trains arrive/depart Beijing main station, not Beijing South.In fact, there are more trains in addition to those shown here, but as these are slower and/or overtaken by faster trains, they aren't shown. You can confirm the times for all trains using the online Chinese timetable websites listed here.What are the new high-speed 'G' category trains like?
Which train should you take?
New G category 300 km/h (186 mph) trains: These started running on 1 July 2011, fastest journey time 4 hours 48 minutes. Some slower D-category trains will also use the new line at up to 250 km/h, taking 7 hours 56 minutes.Trains D311-D322 are top-quality high-speed sleeper trains, see the photos below. It's an immaculate 200km/h sleeper train introduced in December 2008, with 4-berth soft sleepers, restaurant/bar car & hard class seats. Fully air-conditioned, each sleeper berth even has its own TV screen & there are power sockets for laptops or mobiles. Expect the train to be very punctual.Trains T109 & T110 are cheaper overnight sleeper trains with soft & hard sleepers plus a few deluxe 2-berth sleepers with private toilet & washroom. If you are on a tight budget and want to save money, travel hard sleeper on one of these slower 'T' category trains. Hard sleeper is still a comfortable and safe way to travel. See the T category train photos above. They'll save a hotel bill, too.How much does it cost?
Fares for high-speed daytime trains
By 'G' category 300km/h train (from late June 2011) By 'D' category day train 2nd class seat 1st class seat VIP seat 2nd class seat 1st class seat Bought at reservations office in China: RMB 555 ($81) RMB 935 ($138) RMB 1,750 ($257) RMB 450 ($66) RMB 540 ($79) Booked at www.chinatripadvisor.com: ? ? ? $69 $81 Booked at www.china-train-ticket.com: ? ? ? ? ?
Fares for overnight sleeper trains
By 'T' category sleeper train By 'D' category sleeper train Hard sleeper Soft sleeper Deluxe sleeper 2nd class seat 4-berth soft sleeper 2-berth soft sleeper Bought at reservations office in China: RMB 327 ($51) RMB 499 ($73) RMB 921 ($135) RMB 327 ($48) RMB 730 ($107) RMB 1,470 ($215) Booked at www.chinatripadvisor.com: $65 $95 $165 ? $128 ? Booked at www.china-train-ticket.com: $100 $130 $195 ? ? ? Children under 120cm tall travel free, 120-150cm tall travel for half fare, over 150cm tall pay full fare (140cm was changed to 150cm in Dec 2008, and 110cm to 120cm in Dec 2010)The sleeper fares shown here are for lower berths. Upper berths (and middle berths in hard sleeper) are a fraction cheaper.How to buy tickets...
See the how to buy tickets section above. Tickets cannot be bought online, at least not in English, so you will need to buy from a station ticket counter or pre-book through a recommended Chinese train ticketing agency, see the advice here. Don't leave it until the last minute to buy a ticket, as the trains are often busy - A typical report said "I went to Beijing ticket office on Wednesday to buy Beijing-Shanghai tickets for the following Saturday. The first 3 departures from Beijing were full, but there were tickets available for later trains." There are self-service ticket machines at major stations with an English language facility, but they can no longer be used by visitors as new regulations introduced in June 2011 require ID to be shown to buy tickets for C, D and G category trains. The machines will accept Chinese citizens ID cards, but not passports.Which station in Shanghai?
Almost all Beijing-Shanghai trains now use Shanghai's new Hongqiao station, some way out of central Shanghai near the old airport. One or two trains are still using Shanghai's more convenient main central station (Shanghai Zhan). Please make sure you know which station your departure from Shanghai will use.Beijing metro map. Street map of Beijing showing stations. Street map of Shanghai showing Hongqiao & Main stations & the famous 'Bund'.What is the Beijing-Shanghai D-category sleeper trains like?
The restaurant car on a 'D' category sleeper train. Photo courtesy of James Fletcher The bar on a 'D' category sleeper train. Photo courtesy of James Fletcher What are the Beijing-Shanghai D-category daytime trains like?
Train D32 at Beijing South.
Photo courtesy of Ben Low.Soft (business) class.Courtesy of Ben Low. Hard (2nd) class...
Photo courtesy of Ben Low.
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Because you are beautiful. I enjoy looking at beautiful people, and I decided a while ago not to deny myself the simpler pleasures of existence
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