Update from Hangzhou, for my final 7 days of Q. I was released from Q in Shanghai after 14 days on May 23. However, no hotel in Shanghai was accepting new guests. I even asked Marriott Ambassador Service to help but to no avail. I called 22 Marriott Bonvoy hotels in Shanghai and I could not find a single one to accept me. The list includes JW Marriott, Ritz Carlton, W hotel etc.

The only option is to continue staying at Shanghai Q hotel which wasn't too appealing to me. Almost ALL cities in China require folks out of Shanghai to quarantine for minimum 14 days. Hangzhou only requires 7. So I decided to go to Hangzhou. Securing a train ticket was challenging since trains are very limited and there is almost zero flights out of Shanghai these days until the end of May. I am a veteran train traveler and skilled user of 12306 app (China railway) and got my ticket on May 24. So I stayed at Q hotel for an extra night. They were kind to let me stay. See pictures below. This is a very nice hotel.






There was almost no public transportation, and I had 5 pieces of luggage. A friend with connection to the local government arranged a van with city permit (a pass necessary to go to various parts of the city and airports). We dropped 2 bags to my in-laws (lot of stuff brought from the US), and directly went to Hongqiao Railway station. 48 hour PCR test and 24 hour RAT were needed to board a train.










It was very smooth ride to the train station. There was zero traffic.

The station was very crowded. Even business class lounge was packed full.










Many people waited months to leave Shanghai.

This looks like Spring Festival traffic jam.










Business class was super nice. I had a comfy ride. Most importantly, it took very little effort to store my 3 bags.

At Hangzhou East Railway station, a government employee was waiting for me at the platform. He led me going through all sorts of inspection stops. The train station exit was a zoo. The waiting lines for COVID test, Q registration, etc. were very long, probably stretched to a mile. Basically I bypassed all these lines and saved at least 1-2 hours. I took a quick RAT. Finally, I was on the bus to my Q hotel, alone. I saw these buses were fully packed with arriving pax to various Q hotels. Pax from the entire train are put on different buses depending on the districts of their home. Needless to say, I appreciated the VIP treatment. Otherwise it's going to be really a rough process for me carrying 3 bags.






My Q hotel is a modern, 5-star hotel. A lovely and spacious family suite was awaiting for me. I was stunned. This could be the best Q hotel room in CHINA. The food offering is better than Shanghai by a mile. I feel that I am on vacation. I prefer not to upload pictures of my nice, roomy, comfy suite because I don't want to upset those who have stayed at crappy, small, ugly and dirty Q hotel rooms.

I look forward to my release on May 31, and have many lavish dinner invitations in Hangzhou already. This is one of my favorite cities in China.

At this point, my China trip has been very smooth and pleasant. It will only get better!