Shanghai November

[rbth x 0408]

Hi guys
I will be going to shanghai for 8 days in november
and is planning to go hangzhou n suzhou as well

I am wondering if it is better to stay the night in hangzhou/suzhou or train back to shanghai?
am considering shanghai - hangzhou - suzhou - shanghai

and will i have enough time for another day in huangshan?

thanks!!!

 

[g_t2006]

Hi guys
I will be going to shanghai for 8 days in november
and is planning to go hangzhou n suzhou as well

I am wondering if it is better to stay the night in hangzhou/suzhou or train back to shanghai?
am considering shanghai - hangzhou - suzhou - shanghai

and will i have enough time for another day in huangshan?

thanks!!!

if you don't want the hassle of changing hotels and lugging your luggages, then make Sanghai your base. I did Suzhou and Hangzhou in a day each. To me, it's more than sufficient. Depending on what you are doing in Shanghai, there should be sufficient time for Huangshan.

 

[rbth x 0408]

thanks man!!
just done the hotel bookings and will be staying in shanghai throughout.

are there any issues with payment? they still accept cash?

if you don't want the hassle of changing hotels and lugging your luggages, then make Sanghai your base. I did Suzhou and Hangzhou in a day each. To me, it's more than sufficient. Depending on what you are doing in Shanghai, there should be sufficient time for Huangshan.

 

[g_t2006]

thanks man!!
just done the hotel bookings and will be staying in shanghai throughout.

are there any issues with payment? they still accept cash?

Cash is still king.

A lot of places accept Chinese issued credit cards only.

Hotels usually take a refundable deposit from you too.

 

[beanstalk6]

Cash is still accepted. I found Hangzhou to be more worthwhile than Shanghai. 3D2N was barely sufficient. Not sure about Suzhou, as I have never been there. If you are a person for classical scenery, history and literature, Hangzhou and Suzhou will appeal to you more than Shanghai. You can also consider Nanjing.

 

[rbth x 0408]

many thanks again!!

on high speed rail to hangzhou n suzhou, do u guys book in advance or book when u r in shanghai?

 

[beanstalk6]

many thanks again!!

on high speed rail to hangzhou n suzhou, do u guys book in advance or book when u r in shanghai?

You can monitor the ticket situation in advance through online portals like ctrip.

 

[jywy2005]

It is easy to book train tickets using Ctrip.com. They accept payment using credit cards. Their mobile app is good.

 

[getsourmuffins]

Hihi,

Any hotels to recommend? I’m looking at these 2, anybody stayed before?

1. Jinjiang Metropolo Hotel Classiq Shanghai Off Bund
2 The Yangtze Boutique Hotel

Thank you!

 

[dilphinus]

High speed trains, I always buy when I get there. Tickets for high speed trains don't run out as fast as the normal long distance trains. The normal. Long distance trains, best to buy well ahead of schedule.

 

[Desmond_]

i also buy when I get there as long as it is not chinese new year or golden holiday period

 

[rbth x 0408]

if im going to suzhou n hangzhou, i ll be taking the high speed train right? any diff between high speed train n long distance train?

paiseh...i also prefer to make the booking on the spot more flexi on the timing

 

[dilphinus]

if im going to suzhou n hangzhou, i ll be taking the high speed train right? any diff between high speed train n long distance train?

paiseh...i also prefer to make the booking on the spot more flexi on the timing

High speed, as the name suggests, it travels at a high speed, much faster. Not every destination has a high speed train. Say, a normal train takes 12 hours between Shanghai and Beijing, the high speed train for the same route will take approximately 4.5 hours.

Long distance, as the name suggests, the train travels long distance, ie, Beijing to Datong.

For most trains, there's no seats availability if you buy on the spot. Seating tickets could be sold out for the entire week and/or next. It's also very common to have seats, for the riddiculous/non desired timings (like arriving at 3am at your destination). You have to be prepared to only be able to get a 3pm train if you buy on the day itself, say at 8am at the train station. Tons of Chinese commute by trains. It gets really terrible during the achool/uni breaks and holidays.

 

[rbth x 0408]

thanks bro
only intending to travel to suzhou n hangzhou via high speed train from shanghai

these 2 necessary to book before hand?

 

[deathscthe]

Tompang thread, any mountains near Shanghai to see

Sent from OnePlus ONEPLUS A6003 using GAGT

 

[Mergui219067]

Are Shanghai-Hangzhou to & return that bad ?

Seating tickets could be sold out for the entire week and/or next. It's also very common to have seats, for the riddiculous/non desired timings (like arriving at 3am at your destination). You have to be prepared to only be able to get a 3pm train if you buy on the day itself, say at 8am at the train station. Tons of Chinese commute by trains. It gets really terrible during the achool/uni breaks and holidays.

 

[rbth x 0408]

No prob bro
i was reading about huangshan - some atb told me go huangshan the rest of the shan no need see

but 4-6 hrs away from shanghai

Tompang thread, any mountains near Shanghai to see

Sent from OnePlus ONEPLUS A6003 using GAGT

 

[dilphinus]

No prob bro
i was reading about huangshan - some atb told me go huangshan the rest of the shan no need see

but 4-6 hrs away from shanghai

It will be winter and pretty cold for Huangshan in November. Unless you have trekking/hiking experience and likes the cold, I won't recommend it. A lot of Singaporeans have no idea how massive these mountains are. If you barely exercise and/or not fit, don't bother with the mountains.

 

[rbth x 0408]

yep
read that there ll probably be snow hence I scrapped that idea


anyway
shanghai to hangzhou/suzhou is it consider high speed or regular train?
dont mind paying abit more for the high speed and would rather avoid the constraint of booking early

It will be winter and pretty cold for Huangshan in November. Unless you have trekking/hiking experience and likes the cold, I won't recommend it. A lot of Singaporeans have no idea how massive these mountains are. If you barely exercise and/or not fit, don't bother with the mountains.

 

[beanstalk6]

anyway
shanghai to hangzhou/suzhou is it consider high speed or regular train?
dont mind paying abit more for the high speed and would rather avoid the constraint of booking early

Both types are available.
http://www.chinatrainguide.com/shanghai-railway-station/hangzhou.html