Nanjing to Shanghai runs about 6 times a day, with the first departure around 06:26 and the last around 14:13. One passenger pays between €31.41 and €38.29, every fee included, depending on the operator and the way you travel. The fastest door to door is 2h 38m over 273 km, on services run by 2 operators across 2 modes.
What one seat costs
The spread between the cheapest and dearest typical fare on this corridor, across 2 operators and 2 ways of making the journey. The operator sets the price on the day.
Typical fares
€31.41 to €38.29
- 186%Moves across the booking window
When it runs, leaving Nanjing
No operator has filed a timetable for this direction yet, so the first and last departure below follow the pattern of the corridor. Read them as the shape of the service day rather than as times to turn up for.
- 06:26First departure
- 14:13Last departure
- 6Services per day
- 33%Run direct
China Railway runs this service and does not sell it here. Bookaway takes the payment.
Buying this journey
Bookaway lists departures for Nanjing to Shanghai on your date, and you pay on their side.
See Nanjing to Shanghai on Bookaway
Or compare on Trip.comOr compare on 12Go
Partner link. We do not sell this ticket, and we earn nothing from this one.
Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about €55.60Tue15
- about €61.50Wed16
- about €81.19Thu17
- about €60.32Fri18
- about €67.40Sat19
- about €50.39Sun20
- about €55.89Mon21
- about €36.13Tue22
- about €37.31Wed23
- about €49.70Thu24
- about €47.09Fri25
- about €46.54Sat26
- about €43.80Sun27
- about €34.95Mon28
- about €31.41Tue29
- about €37.74Wed30
- about €40.26Thu1
- about €37.74Fri2
- about €34.36Sat3
- about €33.34Sun4
- about €34.44Mon5
Based on what this route has cost recently. The operator sets the price on the day, and the live fare is confirmed when you book.
The flight gets you into Shanghai. It does not get you a bed, and neither do we.
A room in Shanghai for the night the flight gets in
Sort by distance from Shanghai railway station and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
Search Shanghai on Trip.comOr compare on Booking.com
Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Nanjing to Shanghai
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €34.9990 days
- €28.9460 days
- €38.8445 days
- €28.3930 days
- €34.4421 days
- €34.9514 days
- €55.897 days
- €81.193 days
- €55.601 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 30 days ahead, at €28.39.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 186 percent. The dearest point is €81.19, 3 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 30 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 30 days ahead. You are inside that window.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Nanjing to Shanghai and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
Both ends keep the same time, so the arrival is the departure plus the journey.
The shape of it
273 km
270 km as the crow flies, 1% further by the route services actually take. The bearing runs east.
Who lives at each end
9,314,685 → 24,874,500
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
How we know
2/4
2 of these connections were inferred from service-area overlap rather than observed in a timetable. We would rather say so.
The route
What the journey actually looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 43% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 57% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 273 km against 270 km in a straight line, a detour of 1 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- Where the change is
- Connections are made at Wuxi, Changshu, Kunshan, Changzhou. The gap between arriving and leaving is 49 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 19 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is ours to fix and you are rebooked at no charge.
Who runs this route
The flight gets in hours before any room is ready. Holding a bag is not what we sell.
Left luggage near Shanghai railway station
Most of the points near Shanghai railway station open before the first train and shut after the last one.
Check Shanghai on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We do not run these networks. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Nanjing to Shanghai
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Nanjing to Shanghai?
The fastest journey from Nanjing to Shanghai takes 2h 38m door to door, of which 2h 1m is spent moving, on the train. Most services take around 3h 10m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from Nanjing to Shanghai?
The cheapest fare from Nanjing to Shanghai is €31.41, as of 14 September 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €47.34. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Nanjing to Shanghai?
The cheapest way from Nanjing to Shanghai is by flight, at €34.95 for one passenger on 29 September 2026. That journey takes 3h 57m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
What is the fastest way to get from Nanjing to Shanghai?
The fastest way from Nanjing to Shanghai is by train, at 2h 45m door to door. Only 2h 1m of that is spent moving; the remaining 44m is reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end. The cheapest fare on that mode is €38.29.
When should I book Nanjing to Shanghai?
Fares from Nanjing to Shanghai bottom out around 30 days before departure, at €28.39. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 186 percent, measured on 14 September 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Nanjing to Shanghai?
Monday is the cheapest day to depart from Nanjing to Shanghai, at €34.95. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 14 September 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Nanjing to Shanghai?
February is the cheapest of the next 6 months to travel from Nanjing to Shanghai, at €27.29 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from Nanjing to Shanghai?
2 operators sell services from Nanjing to Shanghai across 2 modes: China Eastern Airlines, China Railway. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Nanjing to Shanghai?
43 percent of the services we sell from Nanjing to Shanghai are direct. The rest connect at Wuxi, Changshu, Kunshan, Changzhou, with about 49 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
How much CO2 does the journey from Nanjing to Shanghai produce?
Travelling from Nanjing to Shanghai by train produces about 8.9 kg of CO2 per passenger, the lowest of any mode on this corridor. The same journey by Flight produces about 68.4 kg, roughly 8 times as much for one passenger.
Which station or terminal do services from Nanjing to Shanghai use?
Services from Nanjing to Shanghai by train leave from Nanjing railway station and arrive at Shanghai railway station. Allow about 44m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Nanjing to Shanghai?
1 of the 2 operators we sell from Nanjing to Shanghai allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Observed service A carrier record shows this named operator serving this named pair, and we carry that through unchanged.
Where no operator publishes a fare for a corridor, the price here is our own estimate, worked out from the real distance and the real operator through a fare curve that follows lead time, day of the week and season. It tells you roughly what the journey costs. It is not a seat anyone has agreed to sell, and the payment step will not take it.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Nanjing to Shanghai on 14 September 2026: 273 km of route against 270 km in a straight line, 7 services a day, 2 operators a cheapest fare of €31.41, and 2h 38m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
Being on the water gives Shanghai a set of days out that do not start at a station. We do not sell those either.
Day trips out of Shanghai and across China
Day trips that leave Shanghai in the morning and cover a good part of China by evening.
See Shanghai on KlookOr browse GetYourGuide
Partner links. We do not sell tours or tickets. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.
The two ends, compared
Nanjing reaches 121 places in 14 countries on services we hold, over distances from 44 to 11,363 km. Shanghai reaches 232 places in 48 countries, from 40 to 11,859 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Nanjing
- 121Places you can leave for
- 14Countries
- 41Operators
Arriving in Shanghai
Leaving Shanghai
- 232Places you can leave for
- 48Countries
- 88Operators