Beijing to Shanghai
Jan 27th, 2017, 01:33 PM
#1
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Beijing to Shanghai
Due to a mistake on our tour of China, we will be needing to get from Beijing to Shanghai to fly back home. Looking for suggestions on how to do this. Flying or high speed train? Have some time so that's not a problem. Train would be something very different to try. Don't want to go overboard on price. Thanks for any suggestions you can make.
Suzyque
Suzyque
Jan 27th, 2017, 04:59 PM
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I didn't take any internal flights while in China. I didn't take the train between Beijing and Shanghai, but I'm glad I took other trains in China -- it can be a great way to see Chinese people interact with each other, and maybe also interact with them, too.
What is it that you need to know to make a decision?
What is it that you need to know to make a decision?
Jan 27th, 2017, 06:13 PM
#3
I would, and did, take the night train, although the day train is faster than it was. Soft sleeper was pretty comfortable back when I last used it in 2004, and I'm sure it's only gotten better.
There's some info here:
http://seat61.com/beijing-to-shanghai-by-train.htm
There's some info here:
http://seat61.com/beijing-to-shanghai-by-train.htm
Jan 27th, 2017, 08:00 PM
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I prefer flying, but that's just me. We flew from Beijing to Xi'An to Shanghai, and it was all pleasant. Beware that Beijing airport is famous (or infamous) for flight delays, so allow lots of time in your itinerary, should you decide to fly.
Jan 28th, 2017, 02:00 AM
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Especially if you rarely have the opportunity to take high-speed trains, there's no contest. Given advance check-in times, travel to and from out-of-town airports, and waits for baggage to appear, there's not much difference in journey times. See something of the Chinese countryside rather than clouds.
You may as well choose first class although second class is perfectly comfortable, just with one more seat in each row. Departures are fairly frequent and from what is far and away Beijing's best and most easy to navigate railway station, the UFO-like Beijing South (architect Britain’s Sir Terry Farrell).
Buy tickets from any station or any of dozens of ticket agencies once in Beijing, or get your hotel to do it if you must (but check charges--no more than ¥20 to ¥30 per ticket). Booking from overseas through rapacious agents with English-language websites is highly expensive. 2nd class is ¥553. There are about 40 high-speed departures a day, taking typically around 5.5 hours, with some under five hours.
Hot meal trays are available on the train, but they're a bit dismal, and you're better to shop in bakeries for sandwiches, cakes, and fruit before you leave and make a picnic out of it.
For a lot more on various methods of leaving Beijing, on railway stations, ticket buying, etc. see
http://bit.ly/2k2MdIC
You may as well choose first class although second class is perfectly comfortable, just with one more seat in each row. Departures are fairly frequent and from what is far and away Beijing's best and most easy to navigate railway station, the UFO-like Beijing South (architect Britain’s Sir Terry Farrell).
Buy tickets from any station or any of dozens of ticket agencies once in Beijing, or get your hotel to do it if you must (but check charges--no more than ¥20 to ¥30 per ticket). Booking from overseas through rapacious agents with English-language websites is highly expensive. 2nd class is ¥553. There are about 40 high-speed departures a day, taking typically around 5.5 hours, with some under five hours.
Hot meal trays are available on the train, but they're a bit dismal, and you're better to shop in bakeries for sandwiches, cakes, and fruit before you leave and make a picnic out of it.
For a lot more on various methods of leaving Beijing, on railway stations, ticket buying, etc. see
http://bit.ly/2k2MdIC
Jan 28th, 2017, 05:34 AM
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Do not take a domestic flight just prior to taking an international flight, too risky. Domestic flights in China are very often late. On the other hand, trains, especially high-speed trains are very reliable.
"... or get your hotel to do it if you must (but check charges--no more than ¥20 to ¥30 per ticket). Booking from overseas through rapacious agents with English-language websites is highly expensive. ...." - not true. Rapacious? Seems this poster has no idea. Tickets agents generally charge $5-6, the same as that 20 to 30RMB which he seems to consider ok if charged by the hotel.
OP doesn't want to go "overboard on price" so 2nd class will do. It is perfectly fine with plenty of leg space (similar to business class on lanes).
"... or get your hotel to do it if you must (but check charges--no more than ¥20 to ¥30 per ticket). Booking from overseas through rapacious agents with English-language websites is highly expensive. ...." - not true. Rapacious? Seems this poster has no idea. Tickets agents generally charge $5-6, the same as that 20 to 30RMB which he seems to consider ok if charged by the hotel.
OP doesn't want to go "overboard on price" so 2nd class will do. It is perfectly fine with plenty of leg space (similar to business class on lanes).
Jan 28th, 2017, 06:29 AM
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> Seems this poster has no idea.
Charges of US$10 on an US$81 ticket are commonplace (and outrageous). A quick look through half a dozen common sites found several at that level and the lowest at ¥35, all taking the foreigner to the cleaners, but not as much as other sites seen in the past to have mark-ups of 70% on some routes.
So tickets agents on-line with English sites *don't* "generally charge $5-6, the same as that 20 to 30RMB".
Nor is $5-6 even "the same" as ¥20 to ¥30, which would in fact be roughly $3 to $4.5 even if those rates could be found on-line.
And, of course, it was implied that buying from the hotel should be the last choice, the opposite of saying that it was 'OK'.
The point of mentioning the ticket price for was so the OP can see how much she's being charged compared to how much commission she'd pay in Beijing (nothing at the departure point; a fraction of the above figures at any other station or official ticket seller), and can chose whatever method meets her requirements for ease of use and cost.
There may be reliable on-line sellers with English-languages sites and low commission rates "the same" as ¥20 to ¥30. But if so the sensible thing, rather than carping pointlessly and inaccurately at others, would be actually to name one so that the OP may consider taking advantage of it.
What an utter waste of time.
Charges of US$10 on an US$81 ticket are commonplace (and outrageous). A quick look through half a dozen common sites found several at that level and the lowest at ¥35, all taking the foreigner to the cleaners, but not as much as other sites seen in the past to have mark-ups of 70% on some routes.
So tickets agents on-line with English sites *don't* "generally charge $5-6, the same as that 20 to 30RMB".
Nor is $5-6 even "the same" as ¥20 to ¥30, which would in fact be roughly $3 to $4.5 even if those rates could be found on-line.
And, of course, it was implied that buying from the hotel should be the last choice, the opposite of saying that it was 'OK'.
The point of mentioning the ticket price for was so the OP can see how much she's being charged compared to how much commission she'd pay in Beijing (nothing at the departure point; a fraction of the above figures at any other station or official ticket seller), and can chose whatever method meets her requirements for ease of use and cost.
There may be reliable on-line sellers with English-languages sites and low commission rates "the same" as ¥20 to ¥30. But if so the sensible thing, rather than carping pointlessly and inaccurately at others, would be actually to name one so that the OP may consider taking advantage of it.
What an utter waste of time.
Jan 29th, 2017, 12:07 AM
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Your maths is entirely lacking, and irrelevant to your initial claim, which was simply false on three counts.
> The Man is seat 61 referred to above is the true expert on train travel in China.
That would be the man who recommends a site whose standard charge is US$10 per ticket, would it?
Seems then, according to your own definition, he 'has no idea'.
To revert to giving real-world helpful advice, the OP is best to buy from a ticket agency in Beijing for the official minimum booking fee, or pay a higher fee to her hotel to go round the corner to the same agency and do it for her, if she values convenience over cost, while being aware of what's a reasonable charge for her hotel to make.
Oh, and it should be noted, OP, that even if you book the tickets through your hotel, and even a top-end hotel that accepts foreign credit cards, you'll almost certainly need to pay cash, as you would at the ticket window. Ticket agencies rarely accept foreign cards for rail tickets, and if they do may want anything up to 4% extra.
> The Man is seat 61 referred to above is the true expert on train travel in China.
That would be the man who recommends a site whose standard charge is US$10 per ticket, would it?
Seems then, according to your own definition, he 'has no idea'.
To revert to giving real-world helpful advice, the OP is best to buy from a ticket agency in Beijing for the official minimum booking fee, or pay a higher fee to her hotel to go round the corner to the same agency and do it for her, if she values convenience over cost, while being aware of what's a reasonable charge for her hotel to make.
Oh, and it should be noted, OP, that even if you book the tickets through your hotel, and even a top-end hotel that accepts foreign credit cards, you'll almost certainly need to pay cash, as you would at the ticket window. Ticket agencies rarely accept foreign cards for rail tickets, and if they do may want anything up to 4% extra.
