Shanghai was not the only city we would be staying in for our China Trip. Considering the proximity of Shanghai to Suzhou and Hangzhou, we planned to visit these two cities after staying in Shanghai for three days.
To get to these cities in the shortest time, the best is to take a CRH – China Rail High-Speed train at the Shanghai Railway Station.
Taxi Ride to Shanghai Railway Station
Early in the morning, we packed our bags and waited outside of the hotel for our booked taxi. To prevent ourselves from missing the train, we specially allocated at least 1 and a half hour before the timing of the train. Travelling to the station requires about 30 minutes and we aimed to reach the Shanghai Railway Station at least 1 hour before the train departure.
Arriving there at the taxi stand, we still had to walk a long way through a passageway and up a flight of stairs before reaching the outside of the main Shanghai Railway Station.
Entrance to Shanghai Railway Station
Just to go in, we had to walk along three queuing lines with metal fences. At the entrance, we were stopped by a queue again. There was a security check where we need to show our passports and train tickets before they would allow us in. Thus, please do allocate enough time to reach the Shanghai Railway Station. One is not able to just rush in the station and board the train at the last minute.
Shanghai Railway – Train Tickets
If you are a foreigner and had not gotten your tickets, it would be more troublesome as we would need to visit an admin office with our passports to purchase. As seen from the pictures above, the automatic ticket machine is only available to residents.
Seeing this, we felt fortunate that we had bought it online before we left our country, using the service of this website: China Highlights. (Read “How We Travel China – Tips and Experience“). Even though it was more expensive, we saved a lot of hassle as we just had to walk to the boarding area for our train.
From this electronic signboard on top, we noted our train number and the platform area to board the train. From then, we kept walking on to find the platform. It turned out to be quite far in and on the way, we passed by many shops selling things, food and souvenirs.
Shopping at the Railway Station
Since we were still early, Vin decided to buy some dumplings to eat while I walked into this bookshop to browse.
CRH High-Speed Rail Model
Dar was so excited when he spotted the model of the CRH High-Speed Rail which we would be taking. I bought a “I Love Shanghai” magnet bookmark since it looked quite nice. Just when we were walking out, I spotted the soft toy from Peppa Pig and was introduced to purchase this set of Peppa Pig Storybooks in Chinese. It became a nightly routine to read it to my girl during our trip.
Shanghai Railway Station- Amenities
Meanwhile, Vin took a stroll around the station and discovered them having warm water for people to fill and drink. He also took note of the luggage deposit machine because we planned to deposit our luggage on our way back from Hangzhou in Shanghai Station.
Shanghai Railway Station – Lockers / Luggage Deposit
This is how it looked like and how it worked. A few important things to note:
- The Cost is $20 for 8 hours. If you exceed the time, you have to pay $2 per hour.
- Only the person depositing the luggage can collect it as they would take your picture with the camera.
- Safe-keep the ticket generated after collecting your luggage. They state they would not be responsible for the ticket loss and the consequences.
- You can only use the ticket with bar code once.
- You cannot deposit cash or expensive items.
Shanghai Railway Station -Ticket Gantry
This was how the ticket gantry looked like.
Boarding the High-Speed Rail
The time for boarding came but we were mistaken and entered for a slightly earlier train. It was a bit of confusion as we went through with one staff checking us but another staff stopping us, saying it’s not time to board yet. Thus, we waited inside the gantry for a while before moving down to the platform, taking the escalator.
Dar just had to take a picture with the China CRH High-Speed Rail. He was excited because he finally get to take this.
On Board the CRH High-Speed Rail
We kept moving forward to find the right carriage to board. It was such a long walk from the start until we finally found it.
We were able to squeeze our luggage in front of us behind the seats. I placed some luggage at Ling’s seat since she did not need a lot of space. There was luggage compartment above our heads but it was not possible to place our huge luggage. There might be luggage compartment in between cabins but we feel safer to have all our luggage with us.
Video: Inside the CRH Train
Suzhou Station Reached
We reached Suzhou Railway Station at 1025, about 25 minutes. The platform was so far and we took a while to roll our luggage to the escalator. Just when we thought we were going to take it, a staff was there telling us to take the lift further down.
Entering the huge station, we looked for signs pointing to the taxi stand. It was easy to spot – “出租车” （chu zu che ). Again, it was walk and walk.
Suzhou Railway Station Taxi Stand
When we finally boarded the taxi stand (no queue), it was already after 15 minutes of walking.
Suzhou Taxi – Luggage Problem
We encountered a slight problem when trying to board though. The luggage compartment could not fit in our two medium size luggage (24″) and one small luggage (20″)! Their taxis use natural gas and the natural gas tank took up most of the space. It could only fit in one 24″ luggage!
The taxi driver then thought of an idea to arrange 1 medium and one small luggage in the left backseat. Dar sat in the middle while I sat on the right, squeezing together with Ling. Fortunately, he was a child and Ling always sit on my lap. If we had three adults, it is definitely not possible to take one taxi with the luggage. It was not safe as we could not buckle up at all and the luggage stacked high, crashing into Dar with certain movements, but we did not have a choice.
Fortunately, our hotel was 20 minutes away so we reached Pace Hotel at 11am, ready to check-in and begin our 2 days 1 night sight-seeing in Suzhou.
Suzhou Sights
Old and New China
Suzhou captured my heart once our taxi moved into the city. It was a huge contrast to the modern Shanghai with its low and traditional buildings. The bus stops had a traditional look and I was excited to see historical gates. Finally, I get to see “Old China”! Yet, as we moved further down, we could see shopping malls with lots of modern shops. (Click Gallery to view Larger Images)
Separate Lanes For Different Vehicles
The most interesting thing was that, the road was separated into different lanes. One lane for cars, one lane for bus and one lane for bicycles and e-scooters. Even though this ensures more safety for the cyclists, the main road became narrower and it was difficult for us when we called taxis for the next two days. Most of the time, it was a mad rush to run through the two lanes with two kids (trying not to get hit), to reach the taxi at the vehicles lane. The driver we booked could only stop very minimally because the road is narrow and cars are coming fast from behind.
Over the next two days, I enjoyed our short stay in Suzhou, strolling through beautiful gardens and enjoying the good food. Suzhou became my favourite city out of the three we visited for this China Trip.
>> Read more about our First Itinerary – Ruiguang Pagoda in the next post.
Our 3 days 2 nights Suzhou Itinerary
Day 1
- Pace Hotel
- Panmen Scenic Area
- Ruiguang Pagoda (Inside Panmen)
- Canglang Pavilion
- Suzhou Silk Museum
- Explore Guanqian Street
- Dinner at De Yue Lou Restaurant in Guanqian Street
Day 2
- Lingering Garden
- Suzhou Museum
- Humble Administrator’s Garden
- Lunch at Pingjiang Road Restaurant – Su Guan Nong Jia Cai
- Shantang Street / Boat Ride in Shantang Street
- Dinner at Song He Lou Restaurant in Shantang Street
>> Read A Summary Detailed Itinerary of Our China Trip: 9 days in Shanghai Itinerary, Hangzhou and Suzhou Itinerary
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