Beijing to Shanghai by 350 km/h (217 mph) high-speed train.  Or save time & a hotel bill by sleeper train. For other Chinese train routes & a beginner's guide to train travel in China, see the main China page...

Beijing to Shanghai by train or flight?

Between Beijing & Shanghai, the train is the way to go.  Choose between the World's Fastest Passenger Train, a 350 km/h (217 mph) high-speed train taking as little as 4h18 or a time-effective 250 km/h (156 mph) express sleeper train which saves a hotel bill.  Either way, it's a unique Chinese experience.

When you consider the time taken to get to & from remote airports, airport check-in & security plus the unreliability of domestic flights on the overcrowded Beijing-Shanghai corridor, the clean & punctual high-speed train is as quick as flying and much more fun.  This page will show you what the trains are like, advise you on which class to travel in, and how to buy your ticket online or in person.

  Beijing to Shanghai southbound train times

  Shanghai to Beijing northbound train times

  How much does it cost?

  How to buy tickets

  What are the G-category high-speed trains like?

  What are the D-category sleeper trains like?

  Quick guide to boarding at Beijing South

  Quick guide to boarding at Shanghai Hongqiao

  Hotel suggestions in Beijing & Shanghai

Train times, southbound 2026

By sleeper train:

Notes for timetable

Shaded = recommended fastest high-speed trains taking less than 4h50.

All trains shown here run every day, check times for your date of travel as shown here.  A few extra trains run on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays.

G-category 300 km/h or 350 km/h high-speed trains have 2nd, 1st & Business class seats, see the photos & advice here & watch the video guide.

D-category 250 km/h express sleeper trains have soft sleepers & 2nd class seats, some may have hard sleepers, see photos & advice.

Z-category classic sleeper train Z281/Z282 has soft & hard sleepers, soft & hard seats, see info & advice.

T-category classic sleeper train T109/T110 has soft & hard sleepers and hard class seats, see info & advice.

Finding & boarding your train    Luggage arrangements     Hotels in Beijing    Hotels in Shanghai

Beijing metro map.   Shanghai metro map.   Map of Beijing showing stations.   Map of Shanghai showing stations

Which station in Beijing?  Almost all Beijing-Shanghai trains now use Beijing South Station (Beijing Nan), 6km southwest of central Beijing.  One or two trains still use Beijing's main station, normally written as plain Beijing, which is in the city centre so more convenient if the timings suit.

Which station in Shanghai?  Most Beijing-Shanghai trains now use Shanghai's new Hongqiao station, 18 km from central Shanghai near the old airport.  One or two trains still use Shanghai's main station (Shanghai Zhan) which is in the city centre and much more convenient.

Distances:  Beijing South to Shanghai Hongqiao 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) from Beijing railway Station to Shanghai station.  The new high-speed line opened in 2011.

Route map:  There's an excellent interactive map at cnrail.geogv.org/enus/route/CN~G0001 which you can search by station or train number.  I've set up that link to show the route taken by Beijing-Shanghai high-speed train G1.

How much does it cost?

$1 = approx RMB 6.8.  £1 = approx RMB 9.

Children:  As of 1 January 2023, children under 6 travel free (just one per adult goes free), all other children under 14 travel for half fare. Those 14 & over pay full fare.  Child discounts only apply to the 'base' part of a sleeper fare, so in sleepers it's closer to a 25% reduction on the total fare.

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

For more details on how to buy Chinese train tickets, see the Train Travel in China page.

How to buy tickets at the station

It's fairly easy to buy tickets in person at the station even if you don't speak Chinese, see how to buy tickets at the station.

Trains in China are always busy and often leave fully-booked, but on the Beijing-Shanghai route there are many trains with thousands of seats, and it's usually possible to find a ticket of some sort even for travel tomorrow, even if not today - at least outside peak holiday times.

Availability displays at stations show which trains have seats left in which class on which of the next few days.  Just be prepared to take a second choice of train or date or class.

What are the G-category trains like?

Most G-category services on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed route are operated by CRH400 Fuxing trains, where CRH stands for China Rail High-Speed, 400 means a maximum design speed of 400 km/h, and Fuxing meaning revival.

These are the world's fastest passenger trains, operating in service at up to 350 km/h (217 mph).  There are several sub-types including the red & grey CR400A (pictured below left) or the white & gold CR400B (below right), but the interiors are similar.  Each design comes in an 8-car & 16-car version, and offers 2nd class, 1st class & business class plus a small cafe counter selling Chinese tea, coffee, beer, snacks & microwaved hot dishes.  Unlike the CRH380 Heixe trains there are no sit-down cafe tables, just the serving counter.  See tips for travel by high-speed train about luggage, seat numbering, food, WiFi.

A CR400A Fuxing at Beijing South, courtesy of Brett Cubit.		A CRH400B Fuxing.  Fuxing means revival.

2nd class seats are arranged 2+3 across the car width.  Perfectly OK if you're on a budget, but not much space per person, especially if you get a middle seat.  Larger photo.		1st class seats are far more spacious, arranged 2+2 across the car width.  There's a power socket for each pair of seats in the seat base.  Well worth the extra cost.  Larger photo.

Business class seats are arranged 1+2 across the car width, in a spacious carpeted car and on a Fuxing there is also a small business class area with 5 seats at the end of the train, seen here.  The seats recline electrically and become a flat bed at the touch of a button.  Each seat has a power socket.  Business class is expensive even by western standards, but if you can stretch that far it's well worth it.  The fare includes one hot tray meal and a constant stream of tea, coffee, apple juice, orange juice or soft drinks.  There's a VIP lounge for business class passengers at Beijing South & Shanghai Hongqiao.  Business class is expensive even by western standards, but if you can stretch that far it's well worth it.  Click the images for larger photos.

Tips for travel by high-speed train

• Seat numbering

  Seats are numbered with a row number then a seat letter, as on a plane.  In 2nd class where seats are 3+2 across the car width the seat letters are ABC-aisle-DF.  In 1st class with 2+2 seating the seat letters are  AC-aisle-DF.  In business class the seat letters are AC-aisle-F except for the pair of seats behind the driver's cab at each end of the train which are lettered A-aisle-F.  So in all classes, A & F are always window seats.  C & D are always aisle seats.  B is the undesirable middle seat of three in 2nd class.

  Car 1 is normally at the front from Beijing to Shanghai, and at the back from Shanghai to Beijing.  Car 8 or 16 is at the other end.

• Luggage

  You take your bags onto the train with you, max 20 Kg per adult, 10Kg per child, maximum length in any one dimension 130cm, although in practice no-one weighs or measures anything.  It goes on the racks above your seat or (larger items) the luggage stacks at the end of each car near the entrance doors.

• Food & drink

  You can take food & drink with you, or buy simple microwaved tray meals, snacks & drinks (including beer) from the buffet counter.  Have some cash with you, don't reckon on it accepting cards.  Heixe trains have a buffet counter and seats around tables which you can use freely, a nice place to socialise away from your seat.  Fuxing trains just have the counter, no tables.

  On a Fuxing you'll find the buffet counter in car 5 on 8-car trains, car 9 on 16-car trains.

  Business class tickets include a hot tray meal and a steady flow of complimentary tea, coffee & soft drinks plus a 'welcome box' of various Chinese sweets.

  There's a boiling water dispenser in each car - ideal for making noodles, tea or coffee if you bring the necessary supplies along!

• Power sockets and WiFi

  On Fuxing trains, all seats have power sockets & USB ports.  On Heixe trains, all first & business class seats have power sockets, but not all 2nd class seats do.  In theory all these trains have free WiFi, but this requires a code to be sent to a Chinese mobile phone so foreign visitors cannot use it.  Just sign up for a mobile data package from your phone provider, there is good 3G/4G reception along most of this route.  Using mobile data on a foreign SIM card also gets around China blocking access to Google, Facebook, Twitter and so on, but you might want to pay for a VPN to get around these restrictions when on WiFi, see more information here.

Watch the video:  Shanghai to Beijing by high-speed train

The video shows a journey by CRH380B previously used on the Beijing-Shanghai route.

What are the D-category sleeper trains like?

D-category sleeper trains on the Beijing-Shanghai route are now operated by CR200J Revival Green trains.  Painted a rather lurid green, they are 16-car sleeper trains designed for up to 200 km/h mainly on the classic network, but can also run on high-speed lines.  They have 7 soft sleeper cars, each of which has ten lockable 4-berth soft sleeper compartments, 6 hard sleeper cars with bunks in doorless compartments of 6, several 2nd class seats cars and a buffet counter in car 9 serving snacks and drinks including beer.  If a D-category train is shown online as having hard sleepers, it's a CR200J Revival Green.

 CR200J Revival Green sleeper train.  Photos in this section are courtesy of David Feng.

Hard sleepers on a CR200J, in doorless compartments of 6 berths, two lower, two middle, two upper.  Fresh clean sheets, duvet and pillow are supplied.  There are small tables & tip-up seats in the corridor for evening or morning use.  There are toilets (both normal & squat type) and a set of washbasins at the end of the corridor.

Soft sleeper corridor.

Soft sleepers on a CR200J, in lockable compartments of 4 berths, two lower & two upper.  There's a table under the window, and each berth comes with an individual berth light & USB power sockets.  Fresh clean sheets, duvet and pillow are supplied.  There are toilets (both normal & squat type) and a set of washbasins at the end of the corridor.  Luggage goes in your compartment, under the lower berth or on the floor.  See larger soft sleeper photo.

Watch the video:  Beijing to Shanghai by high-speed sleeper train

The video shows a CRH2E sleeper, previously used on the Beijing-Shanghai route.

Guide to boarding your train at Beijing South   Map of Beijing showing stations

How to reach Beijing South Station:  Beijing South station (BeijingNan) is 6 km (4 miles) south-southeast of Tiananmen Square.  You can travel there easily & cheaply by Beijing Subway (see Beijing subway map), allow 40 minutes for the journey.  Or take a taxi, very cheap by western standards, allow at least 30 minutes for the ride.

X-ray baggage check:  There's a brief X-ray baggage check as you enter the station, so arrive at least 30 minutes before your train.  If you arrive by taxi, it will drop you at the taxi rank alongside the vast main departures hall.  You walk into the departures hall and immediately queue for a brief luggage X-ray check, followed by a 'wanding' by security staff.  If you arrive by metro, you emerge from the metro platforms into the downstairs arrivals level, and must take escalators or lifts up to the main departures hall, passing through a luggage X-ray check and security staff 'wand' search to enter the hall.  If you walk in through the ground-level main entrance you immediately pass through a luggage X-ray check, then go up a long tall escalator into the main departures hall where (you've guessed it) there's yet another luggage X-ray check and security staff 'wand' search to enter the hall.  Although these simple security checks are nothing like what you have to go through at an airport, you should arrive at least 30 minutes before your train leaves, assuming you have already collected your tickets.

Finding your train is easy.   Large electronic departures boards clearly show the train number, destination, departure time and ticket gate number, see the photos below.  The board alternates between English & Chinese.  Go to the ticket gate shown, a display at the gate confirms that you're in the right place.  Boarding usually starts 30 minutes before departure, your ticket & passport are checked at the gate before you go down the escalators to the platform.

Beijing South main entrance.		The departures hall, upper level above the tracks.

One of the main departure boards.		The ticket gate for platforms 4 & 5.

Quick guide to boarding your train at Shanghai Hongqiao   Map of Shanghai showing stations

How to get to Shanghai Hongqiao:  Honqiao railway station is 18km (11 miles) west of central Shanghai.  You can travel there easily & cheaply by Shanghai metro (see Shanghai metro map) for just RMB 5 (60p, $0.75), allow 40 minutes for the metro journey.  Or you can take a taxi, the taxi fare from central Shanghai is around RMB 40 (£4, $7), allow at least 30 minutes for the taxi ride.

X-ray baggage check:  If you arrive by taxi, you arrive outside the main departures hall and there's a simple X-ray baggage check and 'wanding' by security staff when you enter the hall.  If you arrive by metro, you emerge from the metro at the arrivals level downstairs, follow the signs up the escalators to the departures hall, with a simple X-ray baggage check and 'wanding' by security staff before you enter the hall.

Shanghai Hongqiao station & taxi rank.		Shanghai Hongqiao departure hall.

Ticket gate 1, for the 10:00 G14 to Beijing.		Business Class lounge in the main hall near gate 1.  It offers complimentary tea, coffee & snacks.

---

See panorama photo:  Shanghai at night

---

Suggested hotels in Beijing & Shanghai

In Beijing:  Beijing Hotel Nuo Forbidden City

The Beijing Hotel Nuo Forbidden City dates from 1917, making it one of the oldest hotels in Beijing, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Hotel.  It's just a few minutes walk along the main road to Tiananmen Square and the entrance to the Forbidden City, 3 minutes walk from Wanfujing Metro Station.  Service is excellent and the colonial-style rooms spacious.  An extensive breakfast buffet is served in the modern extension behind the main building.  The hotel was originally Block B of the Beijing Hotel, Block C next door dating from 1954 is now the Beijing Grand Hotel and Block D dating from 1974 retains the name Beijing Hotel and is a state-run hotel.  Tip:  The hotel's rooms are both in the original 1917 block and the modern block behind, ask for a room in the original 1917 building.

A cheaper option, still with good reviews and reasonable location, try the Pentahotel Beijing.  It's informal, comfortable, and walking distance from Beijing Railway station - although you're better off taking a taxi if you have luggage.  There's a bar and noodle bar downstairs.

In Shanghai:  Fairmont Peace Hotel

The Fairmont Peace Hotel is the place if you have a generous budget (€190+ for a double) and want history and grandeur with 5-star comfort, located right in the centre of the Bund in a classic building which dates from 1929.  Originally the Cathay Hotel, pre-1949 it was regarded as Shanghai's most prestigious hotel.  The relief murals in the lobby remind me of New York's Empire State or Chrysler Buildings!  There's more information on its history at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Hotel.

---

Back to home page