Transportation between cities

My husband and I are planning a trip to China in late August for 15 days. We are arriving in Shanghai and planning on visiting the following cities in the following order.........Shanghai, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Canton, Guilin, Xian, Beijing, and then fly back home from Shanghai. I need help with transportation between the cities. Is train the best way to go or should we fly betweeen some of these cities?

Transportation between cities

I think you need to choose a mix of train/air way for travelling between cities. Check the domestic flight info through www.elong.com and train schedule through www.adventurechinatrip.com/chinatrain.asp.

Good luck

Transportation between cities

First off, there%26#39;s no direct train from Hangzhou to Hong Kong, and flying would be a lot more expensive. The most hassle-free method would be to go directly upon arrival at Shanghai Pudong airport to Hangzhou by direct airport shuttle, sightsee there and then come back to Shanghai to take the direct international train to Hong Kong. Note that this train only departs every other day from Shanghai though (scroll down http://www.it3.kcrc.com/B2C/UserPage/sysTimeTable_Eng.asp).

Alternatively, you could go to Hong Kong directly from Shanghai upon flying into Shanghai, and visit Hangzhou at the end of your trip instead.

Or, if you haven%26#39;t bought your plane tickets yet, it would make much more sense if you could fly open-jaw into Hong Kong and out of Shanghai, or vice versa.

The name Canton has not been in use for many years already, the present name is Guangzhou.

I would recommend going to Yangshuo (http://www.yangers.com) unless you don%26#39;t mind staying in overpriced accommodation in yet another Chinese city.

Option 1: Shanghai Pudong airport -- direct airport shuttle -- Hangzhou (1 day) -- 2-hour train -- Shanghai -- train (1 day) -- Hong Kong (2.5 days) -- 1-2 hour train/bus -- Guangzhou (1 day) -- 10-hour bus -- Yangshuo (2.5 days) -- bus -- Guilin -- flight -- Xi%26#39;an (1.5 days) -- overnight train -- Beijing (3 days) -- overnight train -- Shanghai (1.5 days)

Option 2: Shanghai (1 day) -- train (1 day) -- Hong Kong (2 days) -- 1-2 hour train/bus -- Guangzhou (1 day) -- 10-hour bus -- Yangshuo (2.5 days) -- bus -- Guilin -- flight -- Xi%26#39;an (1.5 days) -- overnight train -- Beijing (3 days) -- overnight train -- Hangzhou (1 days) -- 2-hour train -- Shanghai (1.5 days)

Option 3: Hong Kong (2 days) -- 1-2 hour train/bus -- Guangzhou (1 day) -- 10-hour bus -- Yangshuo (2.5 days) -- bus -- Guilin -- flight -- Xi%26#39;an (1.5 days) -- overnight train -- Beijing (3 days) -- overnight train -- Hangzhou (1 days) -- 2-hour train -- Shanghai (1.5 days)

Personally I think the last option would be the best as you don%26#39;t need to backtrack. Of course it could also work in the opposite direction!

Email me at ellyse99@yahoo.com if you%26#39;d like to discuss itinerary and scheduling, I%26#39;m studying in Shanghai and have travelled extensively in mainland China. Please put ';TripAdvisor Anna1201'; in the subject line so that I don%26#39;t junk your email by mistake, thanks. :)

That train from Shanghai to Hong Kong goes through and stops in Hangzhou. You could also fly to Shenzhen from Hangzhou for 75USD or less for a one way ticket. Getting to Hong Kong from Shenzhen is an easy bus ride.

As far as I know, the Shanghai -- Hong Kong only stops at Jinhua West, Zhuzhou and Guangdong East before arriving in Hong Kong. No Hangzhou.

K99 Shanghai - Hongkong (Kowloon) Timetable:

NO. Station Day of Arr. Arr time Dep time Distance

1 Shanghai 0 Departure station 10:24:00 0KM

2 Jinhua West 0 15:02:00 15:10:00 392KM

3 Xiangtang 0 22:15:00 22:23:00 816KM

4 Zhuzhou 1 3:48:00 4:00:00 1155KM

5 Guangzhou East 1 10:51:00 11:33:00 1818KM

6 Hongkong Kowloon 1 13:10:00 End 1991KM