The national railway service within China, which is operated by the Ministry of Railways (website: www.chinamor.cn.net), has developed rapidly and is very extensive. Shanghai Railway Station, 385 Meiyuan Lu (tel: (21) 6317 9090), is the main terminus and point of arrival for the hordes of provincial workers and travellers descending on the city. The station has left-luggage facilities, ATMs, tourist information, shops and restaurants.

Rail services: All long-distance Chinese express trains have four different classes – soft sleeper, soft seat, hard sleeper and hard seat. Tickets are available at the station itself, at the Longman Hotel next to the rail station and at the sales office at 77 Wanhangdu Lu (corner Beijing Xi Lu) near Jing'an Temple. Reservations, especially for sleepers, should be made three to five days in advance. Some of the most popular routes include Shanghai to Beijing (journey time – 8 hours), the overnight sleeper from Shanghai to Hong Kong (journey time – 25 hours 45 minutes) and the short hop to Hangzhou (2 hour 30 minutes).