We had to set an alarm to wake us up this morning, so we could get downstairs in time to enjoy breakfast before we had to leave for the train station.

Breakfast.
Breakfast.

Overnight, the staff at The Peninsula had put up their Christmas decorations, so the hotel was feeling very festive.

Christmas tree in the restaurant at The Peninsula, Shanghai.
Christmas tree in the restaurant at The Peninsula, Shanghai.

We left the hotel just after 9:30 am. We thought that this would leave us plenty of time for a leisurely drive to the train station. However, we didn’t anticipate how heavy the traffic would be on a Shanghai Saturday morning. Luckily, we had access to the VIP check-in at the Shanghai Hongqiao station and, despite arriving about half-an-hour later than planned, we still had a bit of time to spare. A lovely young lady from the train company escorted us to the train, which was just as well because following the directions inside the Shanghai railway station looked pretty daunting!

Andrea, boarding the train for Beijing.
Andrea, boarding the train for Beijing.

The train departed right on time at 11:00 am, and we settled in for the high-speed trip to Beijing.

Andrea and Keith, on the bullet train from Shanghai to Beijing.
Andrea and Keith, on the bullet train from Shanghai to Beijing.

The train trip was very impressive. The train cruised at around 350 km/h, which meant that we covered the 1,300 km trip in around four hours. The lay-flat seats were very comfortable, which made dozing off to sleep pretty easy!

When we arrived in Beijing, we were met at the train door by another young lady who escorted us through the station to make sure we didn’t get lost! She took us to meet our driver, who was waiting for us at the exit of the station. After loading our cases into the car, he whisked us through the (moderately chaotic!) Beijing traffic to The Peninsula Hotel, where we arrived at about 4:30 pm.

Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.
Our room at The Peninsula, Beijing.

We briefly settled into the (rather spacious!) room before going downstairs to meet with the concierge to cement our plans for the next few days. It turns out that we have a pretty full itinerary!

Next, we headed to the hotel’s Chinese restaurant, where we enjoyed a lovely dinner.

Dinner.
Dinner.

After dinner, we headed back upstairs to retire for the evening. Tomorrow we have a big day of exploring in Beijing.