Beijing to Shanghai by high-speed train

The stations — both cities have several

Beijing has multiple main stations and they serve different lines. Trains for Shanghai leave from Beijing South (Beijingnan). Beijing West and Beijing Station are different places serving different directions, and they are not close together.

In Shanghai you normally arrive at Shanghai Hongqiao, a very large station in the west of the city, attached to Hongqiao airport and on Metro lines 2 and 10. Some services use Shanghai Station instead, which is more central. Read which one your ticket says — they are a long way apart.

How fast, and which train

The quickest G-class services do the journey in a little over four hours; most take between four and a half and six depending on how many stops they make. The line runs at up to 350 km/h and the ride is remarkably smooth for the speed.

D-class trains also run the route more slowly and sometimes more cheaply. For a journey this long the extra hours are rarely worth the saving.

Booking: fifteen days, and your passport

Two rules govern everything. Tickets are released about fifteen days before departure — there is no booking months ahead. And every ticket is registered to a passport, which you show at the station gate and again at the platform.

At the station

Beijing South and Shanghai Hongqiao are both enormous and both run airport-style security. Allow forty-five minutes rather than the fifteen you might in Europe. Gates close a few minutes before departure and this is enforced without discretion.

Second class is comfortable for the journey; first class buys more width and a quieter carriage. Business class exists on this route and is a genuinely different product with lie-flat seating, priced accordingly.

Train or plane?

The flight is about two and a quarter hours, but Beijing and Shanghai airports are both far out, and this corridor is notorious for air traffic delays. The train leaves and arrives in the city, runs to time with unusual reliability, and gives you a table and a plug for the whole journey. For most travellers it is the better trip.

Booking notes for China

Two rules govern everything. Tickets are released about fifteen days before departure — there is no booking months ahead — and every ticket is registered to the passport you booked with, which you show at the station gate and again at the platform. Carry the document itself, not a photograph.

Train numbers tell you the speed: G is high-speed and usually what you want, D is slightly slower, and Z, T and K are conventional long-distance trains. Stations run airport-style security, so allow around forty-five minutes at a major hub — and gates close a few minutes before departure, strictly.

Our guide to train travel in Asia covers booking, station procedure and what the classes actually get you.

Common questions

How far ahead can I book?

About fifteen days — that is when seats are released. There is no booking months ahead as there is in Europe, so work out when the window opens for your date.

Do I need my passport?

Yes, the physical document. Chinese rail uses real-name registration: your ticket is tied to the passport you booked with, and it is checked at the station gate and again at the platform. A photograph will not do.

Which stations?

Beijing South for departures, and usually Shanghai Hongqiao on arrival. Beijing has several main stations serving different directions, and Hongqiao is some distance from Shanghai Station — read your ticket.

How early should I arrive?

Around forty-five minutes at these stations. They are enormous, security screening is airport-style, and the gates close a few minutes before departure without exception.