Travel to Hangzhou from Shanghai

Hangzhou is the capital city of Zhejiang province in China. Famous for its picturesque scenery and rich history, Hangzhou has always been among the top tourism sites in China. It is only about 120 miles away from Shanghai, which makes it the ideal place for a weekend vacation if you happen to be in Shanghai and want to see the more traditional side of China. There are numerous ways to travel to Hangzhou from Shanghai. Here are several approaches you can choose according to your location, budget, comfort level and time constraints.

Steps

  1. Take the train. This is the cheapest, safest and most comfortable way to travel to Hangzhou from Shanghai. There are more than 40 trains commuting between Shanghai and Hangzhou every 24 hours, and the high speed train is available now. It is a 45-minute to 1 hours ride for about 82RMB (13USD) one way. Trains run every 30 minutes (at least in peak hours) from Shanghai Hongqiao train station (the one next to SHA Shanghai airport). There are English-version ticket vending machines that are your best solution to purchase tickets. The trains go up to speeds of 350km/h.
    • The one way ticket price varies from 20RMB (3 USD) to 100RMB (14USD), depending on the level of the train and the class of your tickets.
    • There are several types of the trains differentiated by the starting letter of the train number. Generally, there are four types of trains running between Shanghai and Hangzhou. The fastest and the most comfortable train you can find now is call “ Dong Che Zu” (“动车组”) starts with the letter “D” for example “D689”. It’s very new and clean, and takes only 1 hour and 40 minutes to travel from Shanghai South railway station to Hangzhou railway station. The ones start with letter “T” for example “T797” are express trains and the ones start with letter “N” for example “N489” are fast trains. They are generally also acceptable with around 2 to 2 and half hours travel time. The ones that start with “K” (e.g. “K89”) or have no letter (e.g. “1597”) are not recommended. They normally stop in between Shanghai and Hangzhou which delays the travel. Also, most of them are old trains without air conditioning.
  2. Journey by bus. Bus is the most convenient way to travel during the daytime. The highway between Shanghai and Hangzhou is one of the best in China and definitely matches international standards. On average, it takes 2-3 hours station to station traveling time.
    • The one way ticket price is 50RMB (7 USD).
    • Compared to taking the train, it is more frequent. Buses depart almost every 10 to 20 minutes time 8am to 8pm.
    • There are several bus stations in Shanghai; you can choose the one close to your departure location. Most of the bus arrives at Hangzhou East bus station（“杭州东”）, which is an old station and in relatively poor condition. Sometimes, you have to wait in a long queue in order to get a taxi due to the terrible traffic around it.
    • If you are leaving from Shanghai Pudong international airport, the easiest way to get to Hangzhou is by taking a long distance airport bus. You can find the bus on the first level of the departure hall. The ticket price is RMB100 (USD14) for one way. It takes about 3 hours depends on the traffic. However, there are two drawbacks with this bus. First, the frequency of the bus is relatively low. It leaves in every three hours starting from 9am to 6pm. Second, the quality of the bus is poorer compared to other transportation modes.
  3. Catch a taxi. This is the most flexible but also the most expensive way to travel to Hangzhou. You can basically get a taxi anyway, anytime from Shanghai. And it normally takes around 2-4 hours door to door, with traveling time depending on the traffic and your departure and destination locations.
    • You can either choose to pay according to the meters or negotiate a lump sum in advance. Negotiating a total in advance is recommended but you can also keep the meter running on the same time just to see how much it actually ends up. The total price is normally between 700 to 800 RMB (100 to 115 USD).
    • If you choose to take taxi, be careful of the taxi companies. Several instances have been reported of kidnappings on long distance taxi rides. Taking taxis from big companies is recommended, especially in the night, as they generally guarantee the integrity of the driver and the quality of the car. Also, if you have any issue, it will be much easier to report and resolve with bigger companies.
    • There are two major taxi companies in Shanghai: Dazhong and Qiangshen. Both of them also provide car rental service.
  4. Hire a rental car. This is the most dangerous way to travel to Hangzhou, and not recommended. The rental car service is still under development in China. However, there are several rental car services available which you can find by searching “Shanghai rental car” on an Internet search engine. Considering China’s high road accidents rate, the different local driving habits and rules, and the fact that you can only drive with a valid Chinese Driving License or a temporary International Driving License, long distance driving on the highway is not recommended for a foreigner.

Tips

  • Hangzhou is a very busy place for tourists and Chinese alike. It's a good idea to buy your return tickets when you arrive as many of the trains to Shanghai fill up quickly. You can buy tickets up to 10 days in advance and since the schedule remains constant, you can just show up with a piece of paper with the date and train number or time if you don't speak Chinese. The ticket office is also very busy so if you do not buy your return tickets ahead of time, give yourself a good 15-45 minutes to get through.
  • As a foreigner traveling in China, it is always good to carry a pocket English-Chinese dictionary with you. If you do not have a local guide, it is better to take the public transportation for its safety. Although most staff in the public transportation companies do not understand English, it shouldn’t be too difficult to write down the train/bus number in order to purchase a ticket. Generally there are English instructions on the public transportation facilities. Another tip is to babble incoherently until a benevolent student who speaks English comes to help you- the educated Chinese youth can be very kind to foreigners.
  • If your travel schedule falls between 8am and 8pm, both buses and trains are excellent choices. If you are traveling at night, the train is much preferred for its safety and schedule. Taking a taxi in the evening for long distance travel is not recommended in China.

Warnings

  • Drink bottled water, you won't regret it

Things You'll Need

  • Money
  • A good, recent map
  • A translator (optional)
  • Passport ( for foreigners)

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