Originally Posted by
emma dog
That's a little of my thought process.
Shanghai-Xi'an by plane... 45 min to the airport, arrive 2 hours early, 2.5 hour flight time, 45 minutes to city center = 6 hours by plane vs 7 hours + in town transit by train.
Xi'an-Beijing by plane. 45 minutes to the airport, arrive 2 hours early, 2.5 hour flight time, 45 minutes to the hotel = 6 hours by plane vs 4-5 hours + in town transit time by train.
Shanghai to SHA is an hour (same as to the train station), unless really off-peak then can be done in 30 min by taxi (PVG is longer). Arrive an hour before - no need for 2h. 3h flight time. 30 min to get off the plane (assuming no bags) + 1h to the destination (assuming no traffic) as the airport is faaaaar from the city. Total: 6.5h+
XA to BJ: 1h to XIY airport by taxi (vs. 25 min to the train station), arrive 1h before the flight, 2h flight, 1-2h on the other end. Train is faster to BJ-West.