Getting There By Rail
The national railway service within China, which is operated by the Ministry of Railways (website: www.chinamor.cn.net), has developed rapidly and is very extensive. Shanghai Railway Station, 385 Meiyuan Lu (tel: (21) 6317 9090), is the main terminus and point of arrival for the hordes of provincial workers and travellers descending on the city. The station has left-luggage facilities, ATMs, tourist information, shops and restaurants.
Rail services: All Chinese express trains have four different classes – soft sleeper, soft seat, hard sleeper and hard seat. Tickets for overseas visitors are available for purchase at the next-door Longman Hotel. Reservations, especially for sleepers, should be made three to five days in advance. Some of the most popular routes include Shanghai to Beijing (journey time – 12 hours),the overnight sleeper from Shanghai to Hong Kong (journey time – 25 hours 45 minutes) and the short hop to Hangzhou (1 hour 30 minutes).
Travellers should purchase tickets for these routes through the China International Travel Service (website: www.cits.net), Jingling Dong Lu, or China Youth Travel Service, CYTS, Hengshan Lu.
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