ESPAÑOL

For general information see the post TRAVEL BY TRAIN IN CHINA. Shanghai has several main train stations:

• Central Station (Shanghai Railway Station 上海 站), the oldest, but recently renovated, so it is sometimes referred to as the “new station”:
  • Located in the north-central area, at the intersection of metro lines 1 (red), 3 (yellow) y 4 (dark purple).
  • Tickets are purchased in a separate building immediately east of the station. There is a counter marked as ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTER.
  • It has normal trains and some high-speed trains, and the only direct to and from Hong Kong. It is also the station from which the only train leaves for Lhasa, in Tibet.
  • We went to Suzhou in second class fast-train. It took 35 minutes on the way out and on return 25, and cost 39.5 ¥ each way; the experience was excellent.

Shanghai Railway Station

You’ll buy your tickets in this building

Platforms

One way ticket to Suzhou, 2nd class

• Hongqiao Station (上海虹桥站):
  • It is part of Hongqiao Transportation Hub, which includes the Airport of the same name, as well as a bus station and a future Maglev train. It is currently the largest train station in Asia. It is reached by metro lines 2 (green) y 10 (violet).
  • High-speed trains to most destinations to the north and west.

• South Station (上海南站):
  • Metro lines 1 and 3.
  • All the trains to the south that are not of high speed, except the direct one to Hong Kong (that belongs to Central Station) and some trains to center-west China.

• West Station (上海西站): far less useful, some trains to Nanjing.

BUS

As we have already mentioned in the post GETTING AROUND IN CHINA, the bus is a much less popular transport than the train in general, and to large cities such as Shanghai in particular, as it is usually affected by traffic jams on arrival and departure cities.

Except for those independent travelers who go to unusual destinations where there is no train, from Shanghai it is only recommended to go by bus to the Yellow Mountain (Huangshan). All buses to tourist destinations such as Suzhou, Tongli, Hangzhou, Beijing or Xi’an cost almost the same as a second-class seat in high-speed train and take more than twice as long to arrive, so it is absurd to take them unless there is no train available.

There are 16 long-distance bus stations. Only the 4 main ones are mentioned:

• The most important is Shanghai Long-Distance Bus Terminal / Station, close to Central Railway Station; It is not easy to get from one to the other walking, so many travelers move by taxi. By metro, the most convenient lines are  3 and 4.There are buses to many destinations, including Suzhou, Tongli, Hangzhou, Beijing and Xi’an.
• Shanghai South Long-Distance Bus Station, attached to Southern Train Station. For surrounding cities and destinations to the south.
• Pudong Airport has its own long-distance bus terminal, as well as Hongqiao’s (check the post AIRPORTS IN SHANGHAI).

About Huangshan, it deserves a separate mention because in this case, fast trains take the same time as the bus but are much more expensive:

• From South station there are 2 direct (the only ones from Shanghai) to Tangkou at 10:27 and 14:49 (it’ll be written Huangshan Scenic Spot, SHhuangshan Line), 6 and a half hours, 148 ¥. It is what we use; neither advise nor discourage, the truth:
  • It’s half as cheap as the fast train, its only advantage.
  • But it takes an hour and a half longer.
  • The buses are old and our driver was a public danger.
  • And it is not totally direct either, before arriving at Tunxi they make you change to another bus that stops in many villages and becomes very dull.
• To go to Tunxi, there are 9 a day from South station. From Hongqiao, North and Hutai stations there is one per day to Tunxi, and from General there are two (all from the SHTunxi Line), 5h, 135 ¥.
• If we want to go to the Scenic Area from the north (Taiping), there are two buses a day from General and one from Hutai (SHtaip Line), 133 ¥.

Panel addressing from South Railway Station to South Bus Station

Crowded waiting room in South Bus Station

SHIP

• Shanghai is an international port, arrival and departure place for cruise ships. The terminal is north of the Bund, there is a subway stop with your name on it line 12 (dark green).

• To go to Japan there are two companies that offer a similar service for the same price, China-Japan International Ferry Company, and Shànghǎi International Ferry Company:
  • Both offer a weekly ferry to Osaka-Kobe, the first on Saturdays at 12:30 pm, and the second on Tuesdays at 11 am.
  • Price: from ¥ 1,300 in an 8-bed dormitory to ¥ 6,500 for a double deluxe bedroom.
  • It takes 46 hours.
  • They are very close to the Cruise Terminal.

MORE ON TRANSPORT IN SHANGHAI:

<AIRPORTS                        GETTING AROUND>

∇ Destinations / ∇ China / ∇ Shanghai