that's not surprising about the TVs; i've seen them on beijing-changchun so it was only a matter of time before they put them on the more important route.

also, the z train window is closer to 30 minutes (first one leaves at 7; last one leaves at 735)

Let me add my vote for the trains. That was one of the many fun experiences I had in China, riding on the sleeper train between PEK-SHA.

Very comfortable and convenient. And it saves you the cost of one night's hotel. ;)

The only downside for me was that there are no showers on the train. So if you are used to jumping in the shower when you wake up, you'll need to wait until you get to the hotel in the morning, and hope they'll let you check in early. After both trips we took on the train, we had no problems checking into the hotel at our destination at 8-9AM. So it wasn't an issue.

If the timing works out for you, give it a try.

ctrip? Try elong
 

As for air tickets, I would recommend that you try elong.com - They are owned by Expedia and have far better english customer service than ctrip (in my experience).

Tickets can be bought online and charged to your credit card (you need to fax them a CC auth form which they provide), and you just walk up to the airline/elong counter at the airport.

No need for hotels to clean up, just look up moondog's spa thread for information and choose your favourite Chinese, Japanese or Korean style bathhouse.

也可以! :)

There's another option on the Z trains that hasn't been mentioned yet, too. If there are two of you traveling together, you can get a 2-bed cabin for a little more money. Personally, I prefer the trains to the expensive, lengthy cab ride out to PVG (although taking the Mag Lev is great fun if you've never done it). Flying out of Hongqiao is good advice if you want to avoid the overnight train trip.