China has a penchant for building things bigger, faster, higher and longer than ever before. And last week, it took one more step towards yet another superlative achievement with the opening of the Shanghai-Nanjing high-speed rail link, which forms part of what will be the "largest high speed rail network in the world."

The service runs out of Shanghai Railway Station but the very fastest trains, the ones that knock 80-minutes off the normal journey time, only run out of the brand new Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, opened July 1 though not quite finished yet.

Yes indeed, Hongqiao International Airport now has its very own train station to add to its ever-growing list of amenities. At present the furthest you'll get is Nanjing, but a few years down the line it'll be a high speed hub for both Beijing and Hangzhou.

Its a beast of a building that's been built with Chinese holiday crowds in mind, but for the moment its relatively calm and peopled by a few commuters, travelers and a whole team of workers busily adding the finishing touches (and taking a nap here and there.)

Local Shanghai gal Cook Hoo has kindly posted a very useful guide on her site covering the layout, long distance buses and metro. For train schedules and prices head to www.cnvol.com.

The West Entrance: A nice big courtyard to hold the overflow of people once full services are up and running. Also loving the Louvre-esque glass pyramid.

The platform is on view through a glass wall as you enter the station through the west entrance).

The most spacious waiting rom in town with only one route (Shanghai-Nanjing) in operation so far.

There's still some unpacking to do at the far end of the station.

Choose your destination - as long as it's on this route, you're laughing!