In May 2018 I travelled to three provincial capital cities of China – Harbin, Changchun and Shenyang. I took a train from Suzhou to Shanghai and then a Shandong Airline flight from Shanghai to Harbin. In fact, after I came to the mainland China for a postdoctoral job in November 2017, this was the first time I was flying to discover the Chinese cultural heritage. My Suzhou to Harbin trip turned out to be a memorable experience in certain ways. This blog-post is aimed at describing my experience of travelling from Suzhou to Harbin. The article also briefly presents a Shanghai Pudong Airport review in addition to a Shandong Airlines Review.
Do keep in mind that having a basic knowledge of Mandarin Chinese would always make your living/travelling in China lot much easier. I’d also recommend you to use the Baidu Map to find Chinese travel attractions.
If you don’t know how to book flights in China, check out this post – Qunar.com Flight Booking Review. For travelling in China by bus, please jump over to Chinese Intercity Bus Travel Guide.
From Suzhou to shanghai station
Shanghai city is located very close to Suzhou. I used a fast bullet train to get to Shanghai. The travelling time by a high-speed train from Suzhou Station to Shanghai Station was hardly a 30-minute journey. To be more precise, my trip started from the Suzhou Station (苏州站, Sūzhōu zhàn), then I came to Shanghai Railway Station (上海站, Shànghǎi zhàn) by the high-speed rail. If you are not familiar with the Chinese train system, please refer to another blog-post- China High Speed Rail (Fast Bullet Train) Guide.
Shanghai Railway Station to Shanghai Pudong Airport
When I was trying to work out my travel routes, some of my colleagues suggested that the domestic flights usually take off from the Shanghai Hongqiao Airport. But when I booked a flight to Harbin, it turned out that the flights to Harbin were from the Shanghai Pudong Airport (domestic terminal T2).
The big question was – how to get to the Pudong Airport from a railway station in Shanghai?
Well, there is a direct subway line connecting the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway station (上海虹桥站, Shànghǎi hóngqiáo zhàn) to Shanghai Pudong Airport (a couple of stoppage, takes nearly 2 hours, RMB 30). So, I initially tried to book a train ticket from Suzhou to Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station. But I couldn’t buy a ticket as the trains to Hongqiao were already booked. Eventually, I booked train to the Shanghai Station.
After I reached the Shanghai Station, I got into the local Shanghai subway and headed to Shanghai Pudong Airport (上海浦东机场, Shànghǎi pǔdōng jīchǎng). I had to change the subway lines 2 times and it took nearly 2 hours to reach the airport. The subway fare was quite cheap – just some 4-5 yuan (I already had a Shanghai subway card from my previous Shanghai trip).
You should keep in mind that there are multiple railway stations in Shanghai. These stations are connected by both the direct and indirect buses to the Pudong Airport. The bus fares could be around RMB 30-50. However, you’ll need to have a basic knowledge of Mandarin Chinese to conveniently find and use the local Chinese buses. A problem in finding an appropriate bus to the airport may delay your arrival at the airport – and god forbid, you may miss the flight.
Alternatively, the subway routes are more convenient to follow as they are marked in both English and Mandarin. Not to mention, subway could be fast and cheap.
Shanghai Pudong Airport review
From the Pudong Airport I took a Shandong Airlines flight to the Harbin Airport. Now let me tell you a few general observations about the Shanghai Airport as a part of the Shanghai Pudong Airport review.
A clean airport
The airport is very clean– the toilets, waiting areas, boarding pass counters, etc. are well maintained. You’ll feel China’s economic growth in the airport’s infrastructure.
Terminals
Well, the Shanghai Pudong Airport has two terminals – T1 and T2. The Terminal 1 is for the international departures, whereas the Terminal 2 is for the domestic departures (上海浦东国际机场T2航站楼-国内出发, Shànghǎi pǔdōng guójì jīchǎng T2 háng zhàn lóu-guónèi chūfā).
Subway to shanghai airport
Both T1 and T2 are connected by the local subway. So, getting to the Shanghai Airport from the downtown is convenient, safe and cheap.
The Long queues
The queue at the Terminal 2 security check counters were quite long. There were simply too many people (I mean the domestic travelers) travelling out of Shanghai. Well, this shouldn’t be surprising in a country with the largest population in the world.
Baggage Security check
Similar to any other airport, all the checked baggage goes through an X-ray security scan. So, make sure to not put the prohibited items in your bag. My baggage has a power bank (by mistake), and I was asked to remove it and carry in the cabin bag.
Food at shanghai airport
Well, there are a variety of eating options available at the airport. Although prices at the airport are of course expensive, finding food was never an issue. In fact, just near the boarding counter, there are lots of food stalls where one can buy local authentic Chinese food. I bought some snacks before boarding the flight – payments were made using Alipay (you can use WeChat as well).
A huge airport
The Shanghai Airport is indeed a huge airport. For example, after I crossed the security check, it was a long walk to reach the boarding gate. I might have walked for some 15-20 minutes in order to get to the gate.
Asian beauties
The airport was full of beautiful Chinese girls. They dressed really nice. I am of the mind that the Chinese women in general have a good dressing style. I was impressed the way they cared about themselves while going out.
Okay, that’s enough in the Shanghai Pudong Airport Review, now let’s briefly look at the Shandong airlines.
Shandong airlines review
As mentioned earlier, I had booked my flight using Qunar.com. My Shanghai-Harbin flight number was SC1191.
Boarding pass counter
The boarding pass counter staff were friendly, efficient and cooperative. Although they didn’t speak much of English, I didn’t have any issue while obtaining my boarding pass. The queue at the Shandong Airline boarding counter was not at all long.
Food in the Shandong Airlines flight
The food was included in the airfare. We were served hot meals and drinks. The meal included bread, pickles, curry chicken, rice, etc.
There were three options for meat as far I can remember (chicken, beef, pork). Even the drinks had many varieties- I tried pear and orange juices and it was all good experience.
Toilets
The toilets were indeed clean and looked hygienic. However, there was one issue that’s worth mentioning in the Shandong Airlines review. The flight had four toilets. However, only two of them were in the economy class. The rest of the two were in the business class. So, the passengers often had to wait in the toilet queue in the economy class section of the flight. I wonder what could be a solution to this fiasco?
Flight Route
The flight route was consistently displayed in the cabin. Here is the photo for my readers-
Crew members
The air hostesses were very friendly and professional. One of them spoke a relatively better English.
Business class
The Shandong Airlines flight had a separate business class section (I was in the economy class). A blue curtain separated both the classes. The size of the economy class could have been 5 times bigger than the business class – and hence the long toilet queues in the economy class.
flight details
Well, the flight details were provided by the airline throughout the journey. Let me show you the photo I clicked in the flight-
Smooth landing
The Shanghai-Harbin flight duration was nearly 3 hours. We had a very smooth landing at the Harbin Airport. The scenery around the airport looked somewhat dry.
Let me show you a photo that I clicked while my Harbin flight was landing-
Airport shuttle bus
After landing, we saw two airport shuttle buses waiting to take us from flight to the disembarkation area. The buses looked neat and clean. Here is one of the buses-
In summary, I quite enjoyed the Suzhou to Harbin trip. It was a new learning experience. In fact, it took nearly 11-12 hours from Suzhou to get to my hotel in Harbin. I was obviously quite tired after this hectic journey. The long duration was also a reason that I chose to take a 9-hour long train journey while returning from Shenyang to Suzhou.
That’s all in this post about my one-way Suzhou-Harbin trip.
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Wish you loads of memorable trips from Shanghai Pudong Airport!
Cheers!
Last updated: Saturday, July 7, 2018