Since the new high speed train line opened up in July 2015, it is now easier- and faster- than ever to get from Shanghai to Tunxi, and the foothills of the Yellow Mountains. You can also choose to break up the trip with a stop in Hangzhou (like we did). It is a nice city for a day or two of strolling and eating, and breaks the transit time into two manageable legs (approximately 3 hours from Shanghai to Hangzhou, and just under 4 hours from Hangzhou to Huangshan.)
With a new train line comes new stations and new bits of information. Currently, there isn’t much out there in the way of travel tips regarding this route, and since we learned a couple of things the hard way, I wanted to pass on some useful information.
For starters- we took the bus from Shanghai to Hangzhou. We chose this option because we were flying into Shanghai and wanted to immediately begin making our way inland (we planned to spend a couple of days wandering the city on the tail end of our trip.) The bus schedule was convenient and departed in regular intervals, so we weren’t lingering in the airport for endless hours. (For more info about how to take the bus click here.) I mention this because had we taken the high speed train from Shanghai to Hangzhou, we would have been aware that there were 2 train stations… the old and the new. So, to save you the running, panicking and almost missing your train (we literally arrived seconds before it left the station) I present to you
THE BREAKDOWN:
1. I highly recommend booking your train tickets through China Highlights. The website is in English, and a small service fee buys you the ability to pick up all the tickets for your entire China trip at any train station. You also get a big, printable packet of information that includes useful phrases along with electronic images of your tickets ‘just in case.’ Highly convenient.
2. Click here for the location map of the old Hangzhou train station. It is about a 20-30 minute walk from the D-House Boutique Resort, and Qinghefang Ancient Street. You can pick up your tickets here, but the high speed train does not leave from this station! Make sure you budget in about an hour to make it from the old station to the new (a minimum of 45 minutes if you like to live on the edge). Once you enter Hangzhou Old Station, look right for the stairs going down to the subway. Flash your Tunxi bound train tickets at the ticket window so that the teller knows where you are headed. 1 ticket for Hangzhou East Station was about 4RMB. Once on the subway, the station names are in English so figuring out where to get off isn’t a challenge. The ride was about 22 minutes. Then… through a turn style, down a long hall, up 2 flights of stairs, and 1 escalator before you reach a luggage x-ray and metal detector.
The station is beautiful and modern, and offers up an amazing view of the glistening high rises of modern Hangzhou.