We thought that last train trip was fast...

     On Sunday afternoon we got seats on another bullet train to return to Shanghai from Nanjing.  This time it was a nonstop, so the 190-mile trip took only 65 minutes.  Not only did we shave off almost a third of the trip time compared to a day earlier, the ticket cost about $21, a dollar less than we'd paid Saturday for the 110-minute trip to Nanjing.
     Check out the nice queue in the photo at right.  So much for the Chinese reputation for mobbing instead of lining up.  The train you see here is at the next platform over.  We were waiting with these people for the G15, which arrived a few minutes late.  It stopped for only a few minutes, but that's all it took for everyone to board the 8 cars.

     Terry's first comment when we arrived at this huge new train station in Nanjing was that it was good to see a little effort put into its architecture.  I couldn't get my camera out fast enough when we approached it in a taxi, so you'll have to take my word that it was impressive (or you can google Nanjing South Railway Station and find a picture online).  The photo looking out the windows at left is in the passenger waiting area on the second level.  You can see some of the column detail repeated in the platform area in the photo above.

     Once on our way, I was glued to the scenery out the window most of the way to Shanghai.  Just outside Nanjing were some low mountains and a few quarries.  As the mountains gave way to hills Terry pointed out the plots of low, round tea bushes.  When the land became flat there were lots of small farming plots, rectangular fish ponds, long white plastic tunnels for growing vegetables, orchards, and occasional burial plots.  We also saw coal plants, brick factories and innumerable other small and large factories, power lines and more power lines, and thousands upon thousands of homes clustered together in villages, many quite new-looking and some looking a little forlorn.
  

    Once we arrived at Hongqiao Rail Station in Shanghai we had to wait 20 minutes in a line that was over a block long to get a taxi.  Then it took the taxi 45 minutes to get to Pudong airport (and that was in free-flowing Sunday afternoon traffic).  So it was a little frustrating to take as much time to get across the city from the train to the plane as it took to travel almost 200 miles from Nanjing to Shanghai.