Our QC staff just took the train to Yiwu city, located 300km south of Shanghai.  Yiwu is a very famous commodity market and a vibrant free market city, with many factoriesproducing all types of goods.

When leaving the Hongquiao Railway station the train was slow making a few stops on the outskirts of Shanghai, then about 7 more stops before arriving in Yiwu. The CRH, (China Railway Highspeed), is very practical and comfortable. Only once did the train go its top speed reaching 226km per hour.  It takes a little bit over two hours to arrive at Yiwu railway station from Shanghai! There is also a slower train that goes to Yiwu which takes over four hours. [slideshow] The train is very clean, comfortable and very practical. The only real inconvenience was the tendency for some to yell when speaking on their cell phones.  Other then that there were no major disruptions during the train ride. China’s railway network is still in full expansion and new lines and tracks are continuously being built. It is very important to preserve your train ticket as you may be required to present it when stepping off the train. There appears to be no checking of tickets on the inside of the train but you never know if a ticket controller will not be at the exit of the train station. Check out some more blogs about travelling in China: