Atlas of China
Shanghai to Xiamen 上海 – 厦门
Door to door, the high-speed train comes out ahead: about 5½ hours against about 4½ hours by flight, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. Fares run ¥566 against about ¥540.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed trainShanghai Hongqiao 上海虹桥 → Xiamen North 厦门北 | 5 h 3 minG257, fastest | 5½ hours | ¥566standard class | 2306:20–15:13 |
| FlightShanghai Hongqiao (SHA) → Xiamen Gaoqi (XMN) | 2 hin the air | 4½ hours | about ¥540varies by day | 2606:55–23:05 |
By train
23 direct high-speed trains a day run from Shanghai Hongqiao to Xiamen North, between 06:20 and 15:13. The fastest, G257, takes 5 h 3 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥566. Coming back, 20 trains a day, the fastest 5 h 5 min (G258, 07:18 to 17:12).
Shanghai: Hongqiao station adjoins Hongqiao Airport (SHA); most international flights use Pudong (PVG). Xiamen: Gaoqi Airport (XMN) is due to be replaced by the new Xiang'an Airport around the end of 2026.
By air
26 nonstop flights a day from Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) to Xiamen Gaoqi (XMN), 2 h in the air, 06:55 to 23:05, with China Eastern Airlines, XiamenAir and Spring Airlines. 24 fly back. Door to door, with the airports at each end, count about 4½ hours; fares vary by day and are typically about ¥540.
Stops on the way
Cities between the two with direct trains from Shanghai and on to Xiamen, so the trip can be broken there.
At the other end
Featured places around Xiamen.
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Gulangyu Island 鼓浪屿
A car-free island of old villas, banyan trees and drifting piano music
Around Shanghai: The Bund & Lujiazui Skyline, Shanghai Disney Resort, Lujiazui, Shanghai Museum, Yu Garden & City God Temple.
On the map
Open either city on the illustrated map, or put both in a trip and let the planner lay out the days and the legs between them, with the same tables these numbers come from.
Book
About Shanghai · About Xiamen · Where Shanghai reaches in a day · Where Xiamen reaches in a day · All routes
Trains are every direct train on 2026-10-28 or 2026-11-11 in the 12306 timetable, with standard-class fares; one weekday, so weekend and holiday services differ, and the fastest train may not run every day. Flights are the airlines' schedules for 2026-10-28, plus routes Wikipedia lists for small airports. Drives are routed on OpenStreetMap roads (extract of 2026-10-21) where the pair was routed, else estimated from the distance. Door-to-door times add about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time to a flight. How to book is in the guide to trains and 12306; the rail times are open data on the data page.