My Shanghai That's Shanghai

Suzhou new district railway station

Hoo — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 14:14:38 +0000

Suzhou New District Railway Station is a small station on the new huning intercity rail, and it is located in the town of Hushuguan, Suzhou.

The station has two platforms with four tracks. There are four entrance fare gates, four exit gates, three information kiosks, and one ticket machine for due fare in the station. 50 chairs are available in the station lounge.

In the east of station, there have 3 ticket windows and 2 TVMs to buy tickets for Huning high speed trains only.

There are several buses having stop at new strict station, and they are No. 34, 36, 529, 311, 85, 441, and 306. Three bus routes are starting from station which are bus no. 335, 329 and 326.

If taking a taxi, this is a taxi charge in Suzhou.

Bullet train from Shanghai to Chengdu via Nanjing

Hoo — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 12:15:07 +0000

Finally, bullet train from Shanghai to Chengdu will open later in this year, and the journey time will cut significantly from 30 hours to 10 hours.

Rail from Shanghai, Nanjing, Hefei, Wuhan, Chongqing, and to Chengdu was planned to be completed in 2011. Now it is expected to open advance on August 30, 2010. The rail is 2078km in length, and train speed is 200km per hour.

The rail has been laid tracks in city to city, and actually some rails between cities have already been in use, such as Chengdu to Chongqing, Wuhan to Heifei, and Nanjing to Shanghai. The left rail from Heifei to Nanjing is under construction.

Now trains from Shanghai to Chengdu are K trains which run more than 30 hours. New bullet D trains will plan 10 hours to run from Shanghai to Chengdu, a city in the South-east of China.

After completion, this is the first high speed passenger rail crossing China from east to west.

Related Entries:
1. Train schedule from Shanghai to Chengdu

Latest Bullet Train Schedule from Suzhou to Beijing

Hoo — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:40:38 +0000

Latest Bullet Train Schedule from Suzhou to South Beijing, the biggest train station in China now. (Last update on July 31,2010)

Train no. D386 is starting from Suzhou to South Beijing, and the other two are via Suzhou.

Train No.	From	Departure	To	Arrival	Duration	Distance	Second Class Seat Price	Soft Sleeper Price (Upper/Lower)
D30	Suzhou	07:59	South Beijing	18:18	10h19m	1370 km	309 RMB	–/–
D386	Suzhou	21:38	South Beijing	07:09 (+1)	09h31m	1370 km	309	615/690 RMB
D314	Suzhou	22:03	South Beijing	07:34 (+1)	09h31m	1370 km	309	615/690 RMB

Experience at new Suzhou railway station

Hoo — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 09:43:37 +0000

This is experience or lessons from several local travellers to Suzhou new railway station. I translated into English for tourists reference.

1. North square in the new train station is too rush to meet the deadline of grand opening, which is July 1st. New train station has too many things needed to clean-up. Many places are still under decoration. So for a while, don’t set expectation high about this new station.

2. There is no air conditioners in temporary ticket offices in new station. When queued in long lines to approach to ticket windows, passengers were told no bullet train tickets are sold here. There is no any bulletin board to remind tourists. Please make sure ticket availablity before you join into the queue.

3. Black taxi cabs are everywhere in the station which is really bad to Suzhou, a famous tourist city.

4. Ticket prices skyrocket high. Before high speed, price of bullet D train from Suzhou to Shanghai is 26/31 for second and first class. Now is 41/65RMB. From Suzhou to Nanjing, before 67/81 RMB, now hijiacked to 105/168 RMB. But high speed G train is just 10 minutes faster than D train.

5. TVMs may tell you no any tickets available for train you wish to take, but ticket windows have.

6. You may find difficult to locate ATM machines in new station, so cash is king to travel.

7. Old train station is close to re-model, so everything now in new station is lesson-learned from chaos.

8. If you are new to train station, try to read road sign clearly to keep your direction right. Volunteers in Suzhou train station may not have many as in Shanghai.

Suzhou taxi fare charge rule

Hoo — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 07:53:07 +0000

Suzhou taxi fare charge rule:

1. Minimum charge is 10RMB.

2. If travelling distance from 3km to 5km, every kilometer over 3km will be charged 1.8RMB. Then:
Total taxi fare = 10RMB + (meter mileage - 3km) * 1.8 RMB.

3. If travelling oover 5km, every kilometer over 3km will be charged 2.7RMB. Then:
Total taxi fare = 10RMB + (5km - 3km) * 1.8 RMB + (meter milage - 5km) * 2.7RMB.

4. However, if heavy traffic and waiting time is over 5 minutes, then every 5 minutes in waiting time will be charged as one kilometer.

5. Some taxi cabs will charge as 2RMB per kilometer and 3RMB over 3km because of new models.

For example:
Travel distance in 12km will be charged as: 10RMB + 2 * 1.8RMB + 7 * 2.7 RMB = 32.5 RMB then round up 33RMB.

If you are disappointed about taxi service, you may call 96196 or 12345 in Suzhou for help.

BTW, Suzhou has Dazhong and Qiangsheng taxi comany which parent companies are Shanghai Dazhong & Qingsheng. Dazhong is one of best Taxi company in Shanghai, how about in Suzhou? I hope it is the best one too.

Suzhou new railway station

Hoo — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 07:27:11 +0000

New Suzhou railway station opened to the public on July 1, 2010. It is a major station on the huning intercity rail and future su-jia-hang intercity rail.

The station is located in the north of city Suzhou, and it has five floors which three (B1, B2, and B3) are underground and two (1F, and 2F) are on the ground. By its planning, B2 and B3 is reserved for city metro line 2 and 4, B1 for taxi cabs etc.. Now 1F in the station is a lounge for trains which start from Suzhou to Shanghai, and 2F is a lounge for trains to Nanjing and trains via Suzhou to Shanghai etc..

Station has 32 entrance fare gates and 21 exit fare gates. It has 1200 chairs for passengers, 3 information kiosks, and 2 machines for due ticket fare. However, 500 more chairs have been set up because of crowded traffic. Now New train station transports more than 100K passengers in and out daily.

Station has three ticket offices now, and they are intercity automatic ticket booking office (18 TVMs), Station No. 1 booking office (19 ticket windows), and temporary booking office (15 windows). The first two ticket offices are to sell high speed train tickets only.

New train station is not completed all yet, there have several projects undergoing and they plan to be completed in March, 2011.

New train station is in the north to old Suzhou train station. Due to construction now, passengers who need to transit to high speed trains from old station have to go underpass then elevated bridge to new CRH station.

BTW, new Suzhou railway station is in use, and now old Suzhou main station is close to re-model. It is planned to be completed in 2012.

If you need a taxi ride in Suzhou, this is a taxi charge in Suzhou.

If train tickets are sold out, Suzhou North coach bus station is probably an option to travel in Yangtze delta area. Before coach bus station next to the train station is ready in November, there have shuttle buses from Suzhou railway station to North coach bus station.

Related Entries:
1. Train schedule leaving from Suzhou
2. More train schedule to travel
3. Old Suzhou train station vs. new Suzhou train station by photos
4. Traveller’s experience or lessons-learned from new Suzhou railway station

Latest train schedule from South Shanghai to Zhangjiajie

Hoo — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 04:14:04 +0000

Latest train schedule from South Shanghai railway station to Zhangjiajie, a national park in Hunan province. (Last update on July 30,2010)

Train No.	From	Departure	To	Arrival	Duration	Distance	Hard Sleeper Price (Upper/Middle/Lower)	Soft Sleeper Price (Upper/Lower)
K533	South Shanghai	11:51	Zhangjiajie	07:35 (+1)	19h44m	1573 km	324/335/345 RMB	506/529 RMB
1373	South Shanghai	17:11	Zhangjiajie	14:23 (+1)	21h12m	1573 km	301/312/322 RMB	483/506 RMB

Related Entries:
1. More train schedule to travel

Latest train schedule from Shanghai to Dalian

Hoo — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 04:05:20 +0000

Latest train schedule from Shanghai railway station to Dalian, a coastal city in North-east of China. (Last update on July 30,2010)

Train No.	From	Departure	To	Arrival	Duration	Distance	Hard Sleeper Price (Upper/Middle/Lower)	Soft Sleeper Price (Upper/Lower)
T132	Shanghai	15:47	Dalian	14:48 (+1)	23h01m	2238 km	416/431/446 RMB	656/686 RMB

Related Entries:
1. More train schedule to travel

Cheapest flights from Tianjin to Kuala Lumpur

Hoo — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 02:55:22 +0000

Airasia is famous by its lowest price, and it gained popular in China as well. Following its competitor from South-east Asia - Cebu Pacific Airlines, Airasia is promoting its cheapest flights from Tianjin to Kuala Lumpur now.

From Tianjin to Kuala Lumpur, air ticket price is starting from 599 RMB. It is a good deal to tourists living in the areas around the Tianjin to travel, such as Beijing, and Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province etc.

Promotion is from July 19 to August 1, 2010. Departure time is from August 2 to November 15.

Flight is D7 2613, departure from Tianjin is 15:50 and arrival at KUL 22:15. The journey time is about 06h25m.

Non stop train schedule from Beijing to Changchun

Hoo — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:18:35 +0000

Latest non-stop Z train schedule from Beijing Railway Station to Changchun, a north-east city in Jilin province. (Last update on July 30,2010)

Train No.	From	Departure	To	Arrival	Duration	Distance	Hard Sleeper Price (Upper/Middle/Lower)	Soft Sleeper Price (Upper/Lower)
Z61	Beijing	22:40	Changchun	06:30	07h50m	1003 km	224/232/239 RMB	350/365 RMB

Related Entries:
1. More train schedule to travel

Belle Summer Sales in Shanghai

Hoo — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:03:37 +0000

Belle began its summer sales from July 27 to August 27, 2010 in Shanghai. The shoe brands include Tata, Teenmix, and Bata as well.
The discount is from 50% to 70% off. After discount, most shoes are at price from 200 to 350 RMB.

If interest, this is an address:

Address: 1F, Paris Spring near to Zhongshan Park. No. 1328 Dingxi Road
Date: July 27, 2010 to August 27,2010

Some shoes on discount, photos courtesy from mpdaogou.com

Teenmix - 299RMB after discount

Bata - 350RMB after discount

Belle - 149RMB after discount

Tata - 313RMB after discount

Tata - 199RMB after discount

Crocs summer sales in Shanghai

Hoo — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:42:28 +0000

Crocs will have a summer sales on August 4 to 5 in Shanghai.

The discount is up to 85% off. Crocs beach is from 249 RMB to 79 RMB, and Crocs Malindi is from 209 RMB to 59 RMB.

Address: 3F, Zhaofeng World Trade Building, 369 Jiangsu Road (near to Zhongshan Park)
Time: 10:00am to 19:00pm
Date: August 4 - 5, 2010

Cheap flights from Cebu Pacific Airlines

Hoo — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:30:51 +0000

Can you believe it? Ticket price is only 500RMB from Guangzhou to Manila, and flights to Bankok in two only cost 900 RMB. Even from Shanghai to Manila, it is 50% off from regular price to lowest fare in 415.50 RMB (tax not included). It is way cheaper than others.

This is the cheapest flights from Cebu Pacific Airlines from Philipines.

To promote its flights, Cebu Pacific has a deep-discount sale in Chinese tourism market. It attracts some many frugal tourists to visit South-east Asia region later this year.

If you happen to plan to travel to South-East Asia, then hurry up and secure your cheapest ticket from Shanghai to Manila.

One more good news to tourists is from China Southern Airlines. In order to catch up its competitor in this summer seasons, China Southern Airlines has also lowered its ticket price to about 500RMB from Guangzhou to Manila, and 300 RMB from Guangzhou to Bankok. However, lowest tickets are needed to book from its web and paid via Tenpay, a payment gateway from Tencent.

Tips:
1. Because its lower price, flights won’t provide any meals or drinks. And passengers should pay for foods if need.
2. Cheap flights also have some conditions on ticket, please do read carefully before you book.
3. In hot seasons, some flights may be oversold, so going to airport early is a safe way to board on airplanes.
4. Flights schedule is 00:30 leaving from Shanghai Pudong Airport and 04:00 arriving at Manila. Flight No. is 679. When back from Manila, departure schedule is 20:20 and arrival is 23:45, and flight No. is 678.

Fresh graduate salary guideline in Shanghai

Hoo — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:20:41 +0000

Shanghai social welfare bureau published 2010 salary guideline to local employers about hiring fresh graduates. It is a guideline to 230 jobs, and based on data from graduate students in 2009 who has worked at least for half year.

Here I list some jobs for reference: (salary by monthly)

Jobs	High Level	Median Level	Lower Level
Management Trainee	5475 RMB	3203 RMB	1699 RMB
Accounting Assistant	3873	2684	1440
Account	5727	2619	1566
Cashier	4043	2465	1460
Administrative Assistant	5059	2660	1427
Japanese Interpretor	4048	2449	1800
English Interpreter	4648	2302	1728
Secretary	6766	2867	1555
HR Assistant	4225	2421	1533
Sales Assistant	5102	2304	1306
IT network engineer	5022	2564	1463
IT system administrator	6206	2698	1351
IT hardware engineer	4255	2373	1656
Software Testing Engineer	5557	3157	2357
Software Engineer	8581	3640	1864

So best wish to all new graduates in 2010, and hope all you are above median.

Domino’s Pizza Stores in Shanghai

Hoo — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:09:15 +0000

Domino’s Pizza stores in Shanghai and delivery menu is here.

Stores in Pudong:
1. Huamu Restaurant
Address: 876 Huamu Road, Pudong New Area (near to Century Park Gate no. 7)
Phone: 6146-1336
Delivery is available

2. West Weifang Restaurant
Address: 120 West Weifang Road, Pudong New Area (near to Pucheng Road and Nextage Shopping Center)
Phone: 6859-1368
Delivery is available

Stores in Xuhui District:
1. Huating Restaurant
Address: 1F, Mega Mart, 2368 West Zhongshan Road, Xuhui District (near to iKea)
Phone: 6125-6069
Delivery is available

Stores in Jingan District:
1. Wuding Restaurant
Address: 1050 Wuding Road, Jingan District (near to Jiaozhou Road)
Phone: 6150-4001
Delivery is available

Stores in Yangpu District:
1. Huangxing Restaurant
Address: 800 East Guoshun Road, Yangpu District (near to Huangxin sports park)
Phone: 6150-4010
Delivery is available

Stores in Putuo District
1. Zhenghua Restaurant
Address: 1F, Carrefour, 1500 XinChun Road, Putuo District (near to Zhenghua Road)
Phone: 5635-8177
Delivery is available

Related Entries:
1. Domino’s Menu
2. Pizza Hut Delivery Menu

Domino’s Pizza Menu

Hoo — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:26:23 +0000

Domino’s Pizza menu in Shanghai - To those who love Pizza. Want to eat? then restaurants or delivery in Shanghai here.

Thick Crust Pizzas

Food	Price (A-la-carte)
Seafood Pizza with shrimp, crabs, peas, and onion	59/88 RMB (9″/12″)
Tomato Meat Lover with diced tomato, sausage, ham, bacon, pepperoni, and onion	59/88 RMB (9″/12″)
Super Deluxe with green pepper, pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, ham, and onion	59/88 RMB (9″/12″)
Bacon Tuna with green pepper, bacon, tuna, corn, and onion	59/88 RMB (9″/12″)
Tuna Deluxe with pepperoni, ham, tuna, corn, and sausage	59/88 RMB (9″/12″)
Beef Special with corn, beef, green pepper, and onion	59/88 RMB (9″/12″)
Hawaiian Pizza with pineapple, and ham	49/76 RMB (9″/12″)
Tomato Chicken with smoked chicken, corn, peas, diced tomato, and onion	59/88 RMB (9″/12″)
Super Hawaiian with ham, pineapple, and shrimp	59/88 RMB (9″/12″)
Tomato Vegetable with corn, mushroom, peas, and diced tomato	59/88 RMB (9″/12″)
Italian Herb Pizza with extra sausage, corn, mushroom, diced tomato, and onion	59/88 RMB (9″/12″)
All American Pizza with pepperoni	49/76 RMB (9″/12″)
Quattro with 1/4 seafood, 1/4 tomato chicken, 1/4 hawaiian, and 1/4 tomato meatlover	59/88 RMB (9″/12″)
Super Maxican with pepperoni, beef, jalapeno, and onion	59/88 RMB (9″/12″)
Lobster Salad Pizza with lobster squid, spawn, onion, and japanese salad dressing	79/108 RMB (9″/12″)

Side dishes

Food	Price (A-la-carte)
Popcorn Chicken	12 RMB
BBQ Wings (8 PCs)	35 RMB
Fried Wings (4 PCs) (Original or Spicy)	18 RMB
Itallian Spaghetti	20 RMB
Tater Tots (12 PCs) deep-fried patato rolls, ketchup available upon request	10 RMB
French Fries	12 RMB
Twisty Breads (4 PCs) with garlic butter	8 RMB
Coca Cola	6 RMB
Soup	18 RMb
Green Salad	18 RMB

Average salary in China

Hoo — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 02:55:01 +0000

What are average salary in Shanghai, Beijing, Tibet, Zhejiang, Jiangshu, Guangdong, and Tianjin etc.? Let’s check data released by government on July 16, 2010.

In 2009, the top three industries for average salary in China are finance, IT, and academic sectors. Average yearly incomes in three sectors are 30453, 28166, and 26187 yuan respectively in private sectors. But in non-private sectors, yearly pays are almost double to 70265, 59919, and 50866 yuan respectively. The lowest salary is agricultural sector about 15,000 yuan per year.

By region, Shanghai is No. 1 for avarage salary in the country. Yearly income in Shanghai is 63549 yuan in non-private sector. The following regions are Beijing in 58410, Tibet in 48750, Tianjin in 44992, Zhejiang 37395, Guangdong 36335, and Jiangshu 35890 yuan.

China Unicom iPhone 4 price

Hoo — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:50:28 +0000

iPhone 4 from China Unicom is expected to release to market on September 10, 2010.

Although iPhone 4 Hongkong version is just on Hongkong market in about 4500RMB, iPhone 4 from China Unicom will not be lower than 5880RMB, and it is the same sale strategy as last year for iPhone 3GS.

China Unicom is a sole wireless carrier to work with Apple in China, and buying its iPhone will include some data plan with a minimum two year contract. However iPhone 4 from China Unicom has no Wi-Fi enabled.

Related Entries:
1. Overseas iPhone 4 price in Shanghai
2. iPhone 4 price in Hongkong

Latest Shanghai to Lushan Train Schedule

Hoo — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:20:39 +0000

Latest CRH bullet D train schedule from South Shanghai railway station to Lushan, a scenic mountain in Jiangxi province. (Last update on July 29,2010)

Train No.	From	Departure	To	Arrival	Duration	Distance	Hard Sleeper Price (Upper/Middle/Lower)	Soft Sleeper Price (Upper/Lower)
K11	South Shanghai	19:21	Lushan	07:18	11h57m	933 km	208/216/222 RMB	325/338 RMB

Related Entries:
1. More train schedule to travel

Imax 3D screen has unveiled in Stellar cinema city

Hoo — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:53:22 +0000

The largest imax 3D screen in China has unveiled in Shanghai on July 22. This is the second imax 3D screen in Shanghai. Stellar cinema city is the owner of this big screen.

The imax screen is 25 meter wide, and 14 meter tall, and 421 audience could watch movies simultaneously. The price of imax 3D is from 130 to 150 yuan, and audience could enjoy the favorable price in 80 yuan from Monday to Wendesday. The cinema will have 5 to 6 imax movies daily.

Stellar cinema city is located in 8F, Super Brand Mall. Audience could reach it via metro line 2 stop at Lujiazui station.

Superman from imax - photo courtesy from pconline.com