Question: Is there a reliable train service that connects Hangzhou and Wenling? I will be visiting Wenling in the next few weeks and i would like to travel from Hangzhou to Wenling by train or airplane if possible.
Update 2022-02. There are many trains everyday running between Hangzhou and Wenling. Travel time range from 1h45m to 2h30m. Most trains depart from Hangzhou East Railway Station, and just a few from Hangzhou South Railway Station.
Answers: Wenling is not connected by railway. The easiest way to travel from Hangzhou to Wenling would be long distance bus. There are quite a few Wenling-bound that depart from Hangzhou from morning into early evening. You should be able to find these buses at Hangzhou Qiche Dong Zhan (Hangzhou Long Distance Bus Station East). Hangzhou Bus Station East is located at No. 71 Genshan Xi Lu (No. 71 Genshan West Road). Tel.: 0571-86964011. A new bus station recently opened in Hangzhou, called or Hangzhou Keyun Zhongxin Zhan(Hangzhou Passenger Transportation Center). It is located east of the city center, close to the beltway. There are a few other long distance bus stations in Hangzhou, but the East and the Center are the bigger ones.
The distance between Hangzhou and Wenling, by highway, is approximately 300 km. Buses can cover the distance in four hours. Make sure you get on one of those "express buses" (Kuai Ke) rather than the "ordinary buses" (Pu Ke); it takes longer for the latter to get to the destination as they make local stops. Bus fare is in the range of 110-130 Chinese dollars.
There is train service between Hangzhou and Wenzhou, but Wenzhou is about 80 km or so south of Wenling, plus the trains are slow ones - 7 to 8 hours to cover the 450 km between Hangzhou and Wenzhou. So this does not really work for you.
There are air services between Hangzhou and Taizhou Huangyan Airport. The airport is about 30 km north of Wenling. Given the relatively short distance from Hangzhou, this will be a rather short flight. If you are coming in to Wenling from some other farther away cities in China, then flying to Huangyan Airport (also known as Luqiao Airport) makes more sense. Huangyan Airport is a small airport but it does have air links to Hangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, among other major Chinese cities.