Route at a glance
- From: Shanghai Hongqiao
- To: Nanjing South
- Distance: 295 km
- Fastest: 59m
- Frequency: Frequent (multiple per day)
High-speed rail · 295 km
Shanghai to Nanjing by high-speed rail
Nanjing's Ming-dynasty walls and Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum are about an hour from Shanghai on the busiest stretch of the Beijing–Shanghai line. Fastest 59m, around US$24 second class on Trip.com (sampled 2026-06-02).
Fare (second class, sampled)
US$24
on the fastest service, via Trip.com. Their USD price includes fees and FX — not the 12306 face fare. Live price and other classes on Trip.com. Snapshot 2026-06-02.
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Decide before you book
- Which station
- Departs Shanghai Hongqiao; arrives Nanjing South. If the city has more than one station, check which one is closer to where you are staying before you pick a train. Station-to-hotel times are not measured on this page.
- On-board vs door-to-door
- 59m is the fastest scheduled on-board time between those two stations. Door-to-door time (getting to the station, ticket and passport checks, boarding) is not included and has not been measured here.
- Seats on your date
- not checked Availability for a specific date is not checked on this site; the booking page shows it for your date.
- Where to stay
- Before paying for a hotel at either end, read foreign-passport hotel check-in and, for Shanghai, which first-night area.Hotels in Nanjing on Trip.com →
Tips for the Shanghai–Nanjing ride
seats: not checked Frequency notes below describe the timetable pattern, not availability on your date. Tickets are sold per train; confirm the train and seat on the booking page before you travel.
- Nanjing South (南京南) is one of Asia's largest stations and connects to metro lines 1, 3 and S1.
- You can chain Shanghai → Suzhou → Nanjing as a single Yangtze-Delta sweep on the same HSR spine.
- Departures are frequent; seat availability for your date is not checked here.
Booking as a foreigner
Compare the official 12306 English entry and Trip.com. Check identity requirements, accepted payment methods, total price and refund rules before choosing.
On a 240-hour transit?
If you're riding this leg as part of a China visa-free transit, your route, ports, and stay window all have to line up. Run it through the checker before you commit to the booking.
Popular high-speed rail routes
- Shanghai to Beijing — 4h 24m, from US$98
- Beijing to Xi'an — 4h 10m, from US$85
- Xi'an to Chengdu — 3h 7m, from US$44
- Chengdu to Chongqing — 1h 15m, from US$19
- Shanghai to Hangzhou — 45m, from US$13
- Shanghai to Suzhou — 23m, from US$6
- Guangzhou to Hong Kong — 48m