The best way to travel between Shanghai and Hangzhou is by high speed train. There are over 130 daily high speed trains linking the two cities. Most of them are using Shanghai Hongqiao Station and Hangzhou East Station, with several using the central-located Shanghai Railway Station, and Hangzhou Railway Station (closer to West Lake).
Journey time ranges from 45 – 80 mins depending on the specific train you ride, and ticket price is from CNY73.
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From Shanghai to Hangzhou
From Hangzhou to Shanghai
From Shanghai to Hangzhou
Departure from Shanghai Hongqiao: 128 daily G or D category high speed trains leaves from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station. 119 of them arrive at Hangzhou East Railway Station and 9 at Hangzhou Railway Station.
Departure from Shanghai Railway Station: 3 daily G category high speed trains leaves from Shanghai Railway Station and all of them arrive at Hangzhou Railway Station.
| Shanghai to Hangzhou by high speed trains | |||||||
| Train Type | From – To | Frequency | 1st-Last | Duration | Ticket Fares | ||
| 2nd Cls | 1st Cls | Biz Cls | |||||
| D,G train | Shanghai Hongqiao to Hangzhou East | 119 | 06:00-20:52 | 50-70mins | 73 | 117 | 219.5 |
| G train | Shanghai Hongqiao to Hangzhou Station | 9 | 06:30-21:30 | 60-70mins | 77.5 | 123.5 | 233.5 |
| G train | Shanghai Station to Hangzhou Station | 3 | 06:30-21:30 | 90-100mins | 92.5 | 147.5 | 278.5 |
| For a live schedule & ticket availability, please refer to http://www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/ | |||||||
From Hangzhou to Shanghai
Departure from Hangzhou East: There are 119 daily high speed trains (G or D trains) running from Hangzhou East (HangzhouDong). All arriving at Shanghai Hongqiao Station.
Departure from Hangzhou Railway Station: About 13 daily high speed trains run from Hangzhou Railway Station to Shanghai between 06:10 – 20:25, with 3 arriving at Shanghai Railway Station, and 10 at Shanghai Hongqiao Station.
| Hangzhou to Shanghai by high speed trains | |||||||
| Train Type | From – To | Frequency | 1st-Last | Duration | Ticket Fares | ||
| 2nd Cls | 1st Cls | Biz Cls | |||||
| D,G train | Hangzhou East to Shanghai Hongqiao | 119 | 06:48-22:39 | 50-75mins | 73 | 117 | 219.5 |
| G train | Hangzhou Station to Shanghai Hongqiao | 10 | 07:58-20:25 | 60-80mins | 77.5 | 123.5 | 233.5 |
| G train | Hangzhou Station to Shanghai Station | 3 | 06:10-20:00 | 85-100mins | 92.5 | 147.5 | 278.5 |
| For a live schedule & ticket availability, please refer to http://www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/ | |||||||
Which Train Station to Use
Most of the high speed trains are uning Shanghai Hongqiao Station and Hangzhou East Station. Only several are using Hangzhou Station and Shanghai Station.
Shanghai Hongqiao is centrally located in city center with Hongqiao Airport nearby. If you arrive at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and plan to travel to Hangzhou by train immediately, Hongqiao Railway Station is your choice. Hongqiao Station can be reached by metro line 2 from Nanjing Lu & The Bund, by line 10 from Shanghai Disneyland, by Airport Bus Line 1 from Shanghai Pudong Airport.
By metro: line 2, line 10, line 17. (Refer to Shanghai metro on Wiki & official site http://service.shmetro.com/en/)
Shanghai Railway Station is also centrally located in urban area, operating high speed trains. But it has only 3 daily high speed trains to Hangzhou, all of which arriving at Hangzhou Railway Station.
By metro: line 1, line 3, line 4. (Refer to Shanghai metro on Wiki & official site http://service.shmetro.com/en/)
Hangzhou East (Hangzhou Dong) is the main high speed station serving Hangzhou. Compared to another main station Hangzhou Railway Station, Hangzhou East is far from city center and West Lake.But Hangzhou East has the most trains to or from Shanghai. For going to or coming from Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport, it is just 45 mins ride from Hangzhou East by Airport Bus.
By metro: line 1, line 4, line 6(open in 2019)
Hangzhou Train Station is close to the West Lake, Wulin Square. It has about 10 daily high speed trains to Shanghai Hongqiao, and 3 to Shanghai Railway Station.
By metro: line 1 at Chengzhan stop, line 5 (not open) and line 7
Ticket Booking Tips
When to buy tickets: Chinese train tickets are always released online 30 days in advance on its official site www.12306.cn (in Chinese only). So you can buy tickets or check ticket availability 30 days ahead of departure. For English version timetables, just use www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/.
Where to buy tickets: You can buy tickets at ticket windows in any train stations in Hangzhou or Shanghai (even another city, Suzhou for example), or an online ticket agent like www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/, who will charge you a service fee.
Do I need to buy tickets in advance? or How long in advance should I book tickets?
Generally speaking, it is always good to book China train tickets in advance.
Since there are over 130 daily bullet trains available, tickets are sufficient for this route for most of the time or day. So in usual time, it is ok for you to buy them several days in advance even buy tickets on the date of your travel.
But Chinese public holidays are exceptions. It is advised to buy tickets in advance (even 30 days in advance) if you travel during Chinese public holidays including New Year Day, Chinese New Year, Qingming Festival, Labor’s Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-autumn Day, National Golden Week, etc.
More trains:
Shanghai to Guangzhou high speed train, Shanghai to Hong Kong high speed train
Trusted Online Ticket Agents:
Option 1: China Highlights is a reliable online agency for China train ticketing. They get positive reviews on TripAdvisor & Trustpilot. Sharon and her team help you buy tickets & plan rail routes even deliver tickets to your hotels with a service fee.
Option 2: Trip.com is an internatioal brand owned by Ctrip Group, China's largest online travel booking platform. Trip.com offers booking service for flight, train, hotel, activities, etc
