Originally Posted by NgatesSEA

Not sure if I just got lucky but in my experiences boarding trains at Hongqiao, Hangzhou, and Beijingnan, security was awesome, and WAY better than U.S. or Chinese airports (only experienced PVG and PEK in China). At the entrance to the station (curbside), security was quick and efficient: staff ably dispersed passengers into the many open lanes, lines were very short, passports and tickets were checked in-line, and security itself was the opposite of TSA, with no opening of bags, harassing with "random selections", etc. I experienced no security beyond this other than the customary automated gate ticket check to access the platforms.

To be fair, I completely agree with your "China more paranoid than the US about security" at the airports - immigration and security departing PVG and PEK was a mess and (almost, not at all) made me wistful for TSA.