Photos of Hong Qiao Railway Station

I didn’t make a mistake here. It is NOT Hong Qiao Airport, it is the Hong Qiao Railway Station.

Before many people know it, the Hong Qiao Railway Station at the new Hong Qiao Airport Terminal 2 has operated for quite some time. It is the new station serving the highspeed trains from Shanghai to Nanjing, Hangzhou, Beijing and future destinations.

Location

It is exactly at the west side of the Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2. It shares the same building with the Hong Qiao Transition Center (Metro Line #2, and Line #10, and future Maglev, if they are lucky to be able to build it), and the T2. You can basically walk from the railway train station to the Hong Qiao airport terminal 2, but it is a pretty long walk. You can also take the Metro for one stop (got the idea about how far it is to talk at the basement of the building?)

How many Train Stations in Shanghai?

There are many, but only three of them really matters.

The Shanghai Railway Station, which serves most of trains from the north and west for Shanghai; the Shanghai South Railway Station, which serves most trains from the south, and the Hong Qiao Railway Station, which is built just for the high-speed trains. They are not strictly divided by destination. So do check your ticket before get onboard a taxi or metro train.

The Photos

This train station is, again, as most Chinese buildings, the newest, biggest, and nicer train station, even better than the recently build modern Shanghai South Railway Station.

Below is the B1 level of the station, where all passengers arrive. Unlike all the design of train station I saw in China, this tunnel is not just a tunnel. It is a shopping center by itself. On the right hand, you can see a row of glass doors. That are the exit from each platform, and on the left, are the food court, and shops.

Photograph by Jian Shuo Wang

The departure area of the station is at level 2. It is a big area of seats, with check-in gates arranged on the both side. Thanks to the transparent high ceiling, it is pretty pleasant to wait there for a train trip.

Photograph by Jian Shuo Wang

From the top, where they have a McDonald’s floating somewhere near the ceiling, you can see the seats better.

Photograph by Jian Shuo Wang

This is the McDonald’s I was talking about – hard to recognize – somewhere near the ceiling.

Photograph by Jian Shuo Wang

Photograph by Jian Shuo Wang

Photograph by Jian Shuo Wang

From the middle of the runway on the top, it is a symmetric view.

Hong Qiao Long Distance Bus Station

Besides the Hongqiao Airport, Maglev Station, Metro Station, and Railway Station, it is also a big Long Distance Bus Station. Here is the roof of the station, which is on the west side of Railway Station.

The ticketing office is at the B1 of the station – passengers can directly get here after getting off train.

Good luck!

More Hongqiao Airport T2 Photos

I took the photo of T2 two weeks ago. Let me share the rest of the photos in this blog.

Below is the arrival hall of Hongqiao Airport T2. It is hard to distinguish it from the arrival hall of Pudong Airport T1, and T2. The three halls are very like each other.

In my memory, this is the few decorations I found in the four airport terminals in Shanghai – the paper airplane on the top of the pole.

The new display board of flight departure information.

The path from the Hongqiao East Transportation Building (metro and taxi!) to the check-in counter.

For a list of airlines in this airport, check this table:

This is the diagram of the airport:

Bund Re-opened

The biggest local news in Shanghai today is, the new Bund re-opened. There are two part of it. The first part is the new Bund Tunnel – they put all the through traffic into the two-layered tunnel. The other part is the new Bund – they renovated the whole area in the last two years.

I haven’t visited the area yet. Will find time to be there to take some photos to share with my readers.

Complicated Roads to Hongqiao T2

The new Hongqiao Transportation Hub (including Hongqiao Airport T2) is a big project, with Airport, Maglev, and train station integrated in the same structure. There are many roads to this big hub, making it one of the most complicated road system in Shanghai.

Let me share with you some photos I took in my last visit to Hongqiao. If you are new to Shanghai, and rent a car at the new terminal, guess whether you know which road you choose to use when you first see these signs.

There are at least 5 choices you need to pick the right one from. Hard, isn’t it?

Here are more signs. Enjoy the puzzle!

Below: The arrival roads.

There are no good map about the area so far. The Google Maps has not been updated – there are nothing in that area yet. Let’s wait for few months, before we have a nice map about it.

I Love the Garage in Hongqiao T2

The highlight of the new Hongqiao Airport T2 is the garage. There are plenty of them – not worried about parking any more.

Where is the Garage – P7 and P6

Look at this diagram below:

The horizontal yellow area on the right is the Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2. The yellow area in the middle is the East Transportation Hub, where the Parking Area P6 (at north) and P7 (at south) is located. At the B1 of this giant building is the Metro Station of Hongqiao Airport T2 for Metro Line #2 and #10 (opened Q4 this year).

Below are the few highlights of this new garage.

Fruit Signs

I love the designs that shows caring for people, although it does not cost too much.

Since there are so many parking lots in the Hongqiao Transportation Hub (not only the Hongqiao Airport, but also the future Maglev Station, and the Hongqiao Train Station), it is so easy to forget where the car is parked.

They designed signs like fruits and animals to help people to remember where the car is.

The first floor of P7 is banana – my favorite fruit!

© Jian Shuo Wang

I don’t know if other people feel like myself – I feel happy to park my car in a banana area, instead of F1 of P7.

Below: Goudnaner and my favorite fruit: banana. This way, there is no way for me to forget where the car is at. I even guess the next time, I will intentionally choose to park at banana level, not the water melon level.

© Jian Shuo Wang

Courtyard

Another great design I like for this new garage is the courtyards. In the middle of P6 and P7, there is a courtyard. It is like a well, allowing sun light to pour down into the garage. It also gives people a little bit sense of direction to help them find their cars quicker.

They also have nice plants in the courtyard – absolutely the highlights of this new terminal.

Trolleys

They also have plenty of trolleys lined up in the parking lot. You can easily get a trolley to move your luggage out of the car to the check-in counter.

Nicely Arranged Cars

Look at this: the garage looks clean and nice. I give 5 star out of 5 for it.

Below are the cars in the garage – many very nice cars. I know this is not a feature of the garage itself.

Another Simple Feature: Pedestrian

They have designated pedestrian path in the garage! The nice little sign for pedestrian and direction of signs. They list the signs like those hotel rooms – it guide you step by step along the way.

It first let you know all parking lots between 3000 and 3100 should go this way, and give you branches with numbers to the left, and the rest to the right. Very nice job indeed!

P6

P6 and P7 is a little bit different in garden design, AND fruit/animal signs, making it easier to distinguish the two.

Stairs

The stairs of the parking lots used the design common in US, but not very common in Shanghai: the stair cases with stripes.

It can be scary if you look down, and you always worry about the installation of the tiles. But, it is simple and cool.

Summary

Although I have many negative comments, like the taxi lines, for Hongqiao Airport T2, I will give my two thumbs up for this garage design. I have a feeling that the garage is designed by a different company than other buildings. Can anyone confirm or deny it? I love this garage – definitely one of the best one in Shanghai at this scale.