Originally Posted by
sniles
http://destguides.ctrip.com/Destinat...ainsearch.aspx
Its in Chinese but very simple to use for looking up schedules. Simply type in origin and destination in the obvious boxes provided and click enter. Train options will appear, along with prices, etc.
You best options are the following (there are a few others), as you can see all within 30 minutes of each other. Price for soft sleeper (bed) approx.
499 RMB:
D321 Beijing-Shanghai Dep: 21:15 Arr: 07:22
D313 Beijing-Shanghai Dep: 21:20 Arr: 07:32
D307 Beijing-Shanghai Dep: 21:30 Arr: 07:42
D301 Beijing-Shanghai Dep: 21:35 Arr: 07:47
D305 Beijing-Shanghai Dep: 21:40 Arr: 07:52
Not 499 on these guys. As you'll note from my latest post in the train thread, D tickets are ~711 for the top and presumably ~740 for the top (first figure is what I recall paying for my top and second is guess).
ETA: I just checked tielu.org and noted that they are still quoting 499 as the D "soft bottom" fare. While I can assure you that this is definitely wrong, I fear that my recollection might be a tad high, but was definitely in the $100 range.