Speed matters when you are on track for a faster arrival

With more trains, flights, buses and ride-sharing options available from Beijing to Shanghai than ever before, travelers looking to spend some time in China's "Magic City" have plenty of options.

But with most reasonably priced flights already booked or elevated in price last month as I was searching for the best way to get from the capital to the annual Shanghai Masters tennis tournament, I settled on another popular option: the train.

As a foreigner having lived in China for only five months at the time, the option seemed simple enough on the surface. A train is a train, or so I thought.