How to Book Train Travel From Shanghai to Nanjing

The historic city of Nanjing served as the capital of China during six different dynasties, earning the city a place among the ''Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.'' Second only to Shanghai, Nanjing is one of the most important commerical cities in the eastern part of the country. The landscape of Nanjing possesses a natural beauty, with many lakes enclosed by the Yangtze River and mountain ranges.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Passport and appropriate visa
• Computer with Internet access to book train travel reservations

Book Your Train Travel From Shanghai to Nanjing

1. Open the China National Tourist Office Web site (see Resources below). Look to the middle of the page for the section labeled ''Trains Depart and Arrive Shanghai.'' Under this heading, you'll find a link for ''Shanghai--Nanjing.'' Click on this link to open the new page.

2. Note that there are numerous trains that service these two cities daily, most of them being ''T'' trains. Jot down one or two that depart at a time that works best for you.

3. Launch the China Trip Advisor Web site (see Resources below) to begin to book your train travel reservations. The first thing to do is to open the link for the ''Help Desk'' located from the top menu of the index page. If you have any problems, you can call 011 (+86) [phone] for assistance.

4. Complete the inquiry form by selecting ''Train Tickets'' as the topic. Make sure to include all fields marked with an asterisk. In the body of the message, you may reference the prefered train numbers and times you wrote down from the Web site of the China National Tourist Office.

5. Check your email frequently over the next 24 hours, since you can expect to receive a response from an agent within that timeframe. Follow all instructions given by the agent to complete your train reservations.

Tips & Warnings

• Online booking is generally the easiest way to make travel arrangements for countries where English is not a primary language. Ask your China Trip Advisor agent any questions about services on the train or information about Nanjing before traveling.

• Bottled water isn't always available on the train, so plan to bring some along with you.

• Pack some extra tissues with you to bring on the train. The public toilets generally do not supply paper products.

• If you need to modify or cancel your travel plans, notify your assigned agent at China Trip Advisor as soon as possible. Depending on your reserved departure date, you may be accessed a 10 percent reservation cancellation fee.

• You can have your ticket delivered to you in Shanghai. The service charge is included in the moderately priced tickets.

• All phone numbers include the United States international prefix "011." When calling internationally from outside the United States, check which prefix to use. All country codes are within parentheses and begin with a "+" sign.