Beijing to Shanghai by high-speed train

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 2024

Beijing ► Shanghai by high-speed train

Train number:

G103

G1

G105

G107

G3

G111

G113

G5

G117

G119

G7

G121

G123

G125

Beijing South station depart

06:20

07:00

07:17

07:25

08:00

08:16

08:39

09:00

09:20

09:24

10:00

10:05

10:14

10:48

Shanghai Hongqiao arrive

11:58

|

13:03

13:12

|

14:11

15:01

13:37

14:55

15:32

14:35

15:42

16:26

16:50

Shanghai main station

-

11:29

-

-

12:32

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Beijing ► Shanghai by high-speed train, continued...

Train number:

G9

G127

G129

G131

G133

G11

G135

G137

G13

G139

G141

G15

G143

G145

Beijing South station depart

11:00

11:05

11:18

11:27

11:49

12:00

12:12

12:47

13:00

13:04

13:34

14:00

14:08

14:14

Shanghai Hongqiao arrive

15:37

17:08

17:38

17:22

18:02

16:38

18:21

18:56

|

19:06

20:08

18:33

20:07

20:12

Shanghai main station

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

17:35

-

-

-

-

-

Beijing ► Shanghai by high-speed train, continued...

Train number:

G147

G17

G149

G151

G19

G153

G157

G21

G159

G161

G23

G25

G27

Beijing South station depart

14:27

15:00

15:08

15:49

16:00

16:30

16:53

17:00

17:19

17:33

18:00

18:04

19:00

Shanghai Hongqiao arrive

20:43

19:34

21:10

22:12

20:28

22:27

23:13

21:18

23:18

23:32

|

22:58

|

Shanghai main station

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

22:43

23:29

Beijing ► Shanghai by sleeper train
Train number:	T109	D9	D5
Beijing main station depart, day 1:	20:03	-	21:21
Beijing Nan (South) station depart, day 1:	\|	19:36	\|
Shanghai main station arrive day 2:	11:02	07:46	09:27

All trains shown here run every day, check times for your date of travel online 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 central station, normally written as plain Beijing.

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 D & T category sleeper trains still use Shanghai's more central main station (Shanghai Zhan) which is actually in the city centre. One or two high-speed G trains also use Shanghai main station as shown above.

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.

Check current times for all trains at www.chinahighlights.com or any of the Chinese train timetable websites listed here.

Train times, northbound 2024

Shanghai ► Beijing by high-speed train

Train number:

G104

G102

G2

G106

G108

G110

G6

G112

G114

G8

G116

G118

G10

G122

Shanghai main station

-

-

07:00

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Shanghai Hongqiao depart

06:27

06:37

|

07:22

07:22

07:38

08:00

08:05

08:15

09:00

09:26

09:43

10:00

10:26

Beijing South station arrive

13:12

12:38

11:36

13:22

13:22

13:32

12:24

14:07

14:12

13:27

15:22

15:47

14:26

16:08

Shanghai ► Beijing by high-speed train, continued...

Train number:

G122

G124

G12

G128

G14

G130

G132

G134

G16

G138

G140

G18

G142

G144

Shanghai main station

-

-

-

11:15

11:53

-

-

-

12:55

-

-

-

-

-

Shanghai Hongqiao depart

10:34

10:44

11:00

|

|

12:16

12:21

12:26

|

13:29

13:34

14:00

14:16

14:43

Beijing South station arrive

16:29

16:43

15:31

17:22

16:38

18:21

18:25

18:44

17:36

19:31

19:42

18:35

20:10

20:45

Shanghai ► Beijing by high-speed train, continued...

Train number:

G20

G146

G148

G22

G150

G152

G24

G154

G156

G158

G160

G162

G26

G28

Shanghai main station

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

17:55

-

Shanghai Hongqiao depart

15:00

15:21

15:25

16:00

16:04

16:19

17:00

17:11

17:16

17:20

17:41

17:46

|

19:00

Beijing South station arrive

19:36

21:05

21:42

20:37

21:56

22:20

21:33

22:49

23:08

23:14

23:42

23:51

22:35

23:18

Shanghai ► Beijing by sleeper train
Train number:	T110	D8	D6	D10
Shanghai main station depart	16:30	19:08	21:15	21:21
Shanghai South station depart	\|	\|	\|	\|
Beijing South station arrive	\|	\|	\|	09:24
Beijing main station arrive	08:32	07:14	09:26	-

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

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

How much does it cost?

Fares for high-speed trains
One-way per person	By G-category 300 km/h train
One-way per person	2nd class seat	1st class seat	Business class seat
Beijing-Shanghai, bought in China:	RMB 553	RMB 933	RMB 1,748
Beijing-Shanghai, booked online:	USD 93	USD 149	USD 325

Fares for sleeper trains
One-way per person, approx	D-category fast sleeper train		T-category sleeper train
One-way per person, approx	Hard sleeper	Soft sleeper	Hard sleeper	Soft sleeper
Beijing-Shanghai, bought in China:	RMB ?	RMB 615	RMB 305	RMB 477
Beijing-Shanghai, booked online:	USD 84	USD 102	USD 46	USD 70

$1 = approx RMB 7. £1 = approx RMB 8.9.

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

Option 1, buy tickets in either direction at www.chinahighlights.com, a reliable agency that I can recommend. They can book all classes.

Option 2, buy tickets in either direction at 12go.asia, another reliable booking agency.

Confirmation is instant. You are emailed an e-ticket for your mobile phone with which you can board the train.

Option 3, buy tickets at www.trip.com, another well-known and reliable agency.

Travel is now ticketless, you scan your passport at the automatic gates at the entrance to the platform, the system recognises your passport number, knows you have a reservation and lets you through, see the section below about finding & boarding your train.
For a full run-down of the various ways to buy Chinese train tickets in person and online, see the how to buy tickets section on the Train Travel in China page.
Tip: After booking, if you find a self service ticket machine of the latest type which recognises passports as well as Chinese ID cards, you can use it to print out a reminder of your itinerary with car & seat numbers, and/or after your journey use one to print an old-style ticket (now merely a reimbursement slip) as a souvenir, see the self-service ticket machine section on the China page.

Buying tickets at the station: See advice here

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 high-speed trains like?

Two different types of train operate the G-category high-speed trains between Beijing and Shanghai, Fuxing meaning revival and Heixe meaning harmony. If your train has a single-digit or 2-digit train number (for example G1 or G15) and a Beijing-Shanghai journey time of 4h18-4h43, then it will be a 350 km/h CR400 Fuxing. If it has a 3-digit train number (for example G117 or G120) & journey time over 5h it is likely to be a 300 km/h CRH380 Heixe. See tips for travel by high-speed train about luggage, seat numbering, food, WiFi...

Fuxing (revival) trains CR400A & CR400B

The fastest G-category services are operated by Fuxing (revival) trains. These are the world's fastest passenger trains, designed for up to 400 km/h and operating in service at up to 350 km/h (217 mph). There are two designs, the red & grey CR400A (pictured below left) or the white & gold CR400B (below right), but the interiors are the same. 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 Heixe trains there are no sit-down cafe tables, just the serving counter.


*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.

Heixe (harmony) trains CRH400A & CRH400B

Other G-category trains are operated by Heixe (harmony) trains, which also come in two designs, the Chinese-designed CRH380A and the German-designed CRH380B. Both types are designed for speeds up to 380 km/h and operate at up to 300 km/h (186 mph) in service. They have the same classes as Fuxing trains, although the colour scheme is different.


CRH380B... German-designed by Siemens, you can see the similarity to a German Railways ICE3 train. There is an 8-car & 16-car version.		CRH380A... These are Chinese-designed 300km/h trains with 8-car & 16-car versions.


2nd class seats on a CRH380B, arranged 2+3 across the car width. May not be power sockets.		1st class seats arranged 2+2 across the car width. There is a power socket for each pair of seats, in the seat base.


Business class seats on a CRH380B. On a 16-car CRH380 you'll find one whole car of business class seats plus two business class seats in the very end compartment at each end of the train.


Buffet car on a CRH380B with counter & tables selling snacks, beer, soft drinks...		A complimentary meal with plenty of green tea & orange juice are served in business class.

Sightseeing area on a CRH380B train from Shanghai to Beijing

CRH380B high-speed train arrived at Beijing South station

The sightseeing area on a CRH380B, immediately behind the cab at each end of the train. On CRH380 Heixe trains the sightseeing area is arranged like this, with two business class seats behind the cab, then a row of three narrower non-reclining seats which are sold as first class. On some routes and trains the sightseeing areas are fitted with six first-class-style seats which are sold as superior (or premium or deluxe, the English translation varies).

The Man in Seat 61 says: "As you can see, the glass to the cab is permanently electrically frosted up, so there's not much sightseeing going on (the term 'sightseeing' has officially now been dropped). This cab was at the rear of the train, so the seats faced backwards, whereas most other seats on the train are turned round to face forwards before the train boarded. I'd stick with seats in the regular first or business class cars."

Tips for travel by high-speed train

Seat numbering

Seats are numbered with a row number then a seat letter, like 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. The buffet accepts RMB but not HK$. 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 materials 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

What are the D-category sleeper trains like?

CRH2E high-speed sleeper trains

These modern express sleeper trains can travel at up to 250km/h (156 mph), although in this case they use the classic route and won't exceed 160km/h (100 mph). The CRH2E trains are 16-cars long, consisting of 13 sleeping-cars each with nine comfortable 4-berth soft sleeper compartments, one buffet car and two streamlined end cars with a limited number of 2nd class seats.

The soft sleepers have very welcome powerful air-conditioning and there's a power socket for laptops, mobiles & cameras under the table. Pillows, sheets & fluffy duvet are provided. The door locks securely, with a security-latch to prevent the door opening more than an inch even if the regular lock is undone from outside with a staff key. Each berth even has a small TV screen, although these did not work on this occasion. Toilets & washroom are just along the corridor.

The Man in Seat 61 says: "This is a modern and comfortable train. Have a Tsingtao beer or two in the buffet, then retire to your sleeper berth, Shanghai tomorrow morning! Sharing a 4-berth sleeper is no problem, whatever your western sensibilities. When the photos below were taken we shared with a pleasant Chinese lady in her late 20s who spoke good English, and a young man who spent most of the evening on his laptop."


An express sleeper train to Shanghai waits to leave Beijing South.		The trainside displays clearly state train number, origin-destination & car number. This is car 2.


Berths are clearly numbered on the compartment door.		The train has comfortable 4-berth soft sleepers.		The sleeper corridor is fairly wide, with tip-up seats.


Buffet car with counter & tables in the centre of the train, selling snacks, beer (RMB 15), soft drinks and microwaved tray meals like this for around RMB 40 (£4, $6).				Washroom area at the end of each car.


The D313 express sleeper from Beijing, arrived at Shanghai, right on time. These D sleeper trains use Shanghai's more central main station, not Hongqiao.		The train has both western & Asian-style toilets, with toilet paper & paper towels provided. There's also a baby-changing table.

CRH2E capsule-type high-speed sleeper

A new type of sleeper was deployed on some Beijing-Shanghai D-category night trains in 2017. Instead of conventional 4-berth soft sleeper compartments the new train has open-plan upper & lower berths arranged longitudinally along the car walls, with an upper and lower row of windows for upper and lower berths, see this video. Each berth has its own individual curtains for privacy. On some booking sites this type is described as capsule sleeper. However, it's probably no longer operating on this route now the Revival Green trains are being delivered.


New sleeper train on the D311. Courtesy Gilbère Mannie. Click the images for larger photos.

CR200J Revival Green sleepers

Yet another type of fast sleeper train has now been deployed on the Beijing-Shanghai route from 2019, the CR200J Revival Green. Painted in a rather bright green livery, these are 16-car sleeper trains designed for up to 200 km/h mainly on the classic network, but also on some 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

A 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 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.

Window on on 'revival green' sleeper train

Corridor on 'revival green' sleeper train

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

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) for just RMB 5 (60p, $0.75), allow 40 minutes for the subway journey. Or you can take a taxi, the taxi fare from central Beijing to Beijing South is around RMB 35 (£3.50, $6), allow at least 30 minutes for the taxi ride.

There's a brief X-ray baggage check as you enter the station, so arrive at least 30 minutes before your train leaves... If you arrive by taxi, it will drop you at the taxi rank alongside the vast main departures hall (pictured above right). 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.

Beijing Nuo Hotel lobby

Beijing Nuo Hotel Landmark Room.

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.

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