Day 23: Zhangjiajie to Shanghai, Monday 13th October 2025

20°, rain in Zhangjiajie, 25 and 25°, cloudy in Shanghai

NZ$1 = Y4

Y1=NZ$0.25

Time for the last train of the trip…and the longest.

Up at 9am, out to Starbucks for breakfast ( Y112 ) then back to the hotel at 10:30am. Checked out at 12pm, and caught a Did to the train station ( Zhangjiajie West , Y13 ), into the station through the rain, through security then up to the waiting area at 12:20pm. The station has 14 tracks, running both North and South form the station, but most train terminate here. When we arrived in Zhangjiajie we came in from the south, but today we would leave from the north before looping around to the south, on a completely different line to the one we arrived on. But both lines go through Changsha…

Relaxed for a bit, got McDonalds for lunch ( double fillet-o-fish and double cheeseburger combos (Y120 ) ) then grabbed some snacks for tea ( train arrives at 10pm in Shanghai so tea will be on the go ).

Our train today was the G471, starting in Zhangjiajie, then changing number to the G470 in Huaihua, and terminating at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station. We booked two 1st class tickets for this trip for NZD$711.

Waited then were called to Platform 1 at 2:30pm, walked to the far end of the train for coach 1 then into 1st class. Left on time at 2:38pm

Heading out in the rain

Zhangjiajie West Station

Entry lobby

Waiting area above the tracks

If you wondered what a McD's looks like in China

Lunch

Down to the platform

Our train, on the left

Our carriage, No 1

The 1st class cabin

1st Class Seats

At speed in the gloom

A complimentry snack bag

Train timetable

Our route for the day

Where we are in China

Ok trip in a pretty quiet carriage, but people getting on and off along the way. The weather was cloudy/misty/rainy the whole way, only clearing a bit when we got to Shanghai. We go up to to speed of 350kmph after we had been through Huaihua ( which is a major train hub ) .

Entering Huaihua

Arrived on time at 9:57pm, walked down from the platform and through ticket check, then walked through an underground tunnel / mall complex for about 10 minutes to our hotel for the night: Cordis Shanghai Hongqiao.

We had booked this hotel for 1 night as we knew we would be coming in to Shanghai late and the Hongqiao Train station was about ½ an hour from the hotel we had booked for the rest of our time in Shanghai. We checked in and up to our room ( Room 658, NZD$244 for 1 night , including 1 breakfast only ( see the next blog for how that went ) ). Very flash business hotel with a large well appointed room.

Rested then bed.