The Jinshan district government launched a new high-speed ferry service to Putuo Mountain in Zhejiang Province Wednesday to make traveling to the popular tourist destination more convenient, local media reported.
The new ferry service will cut at least 75 minutes off the time it takes on the water to travel to the site, which is known for its Buddhist temples.
A total of 5.19 million tourists visited Putuo Mountain in 2011, according to the news website 21cbh.com.
The ferry takes about two hours and forty-five minutes to reach its destination, said Sun Shunlin, a member of the Jinshan New City Management Committee, which operates the service.
The ferry departs from a dock near the district's Jinshanwei Station, which is about a 32-minute train ride away from downtown Shanghai.
"Passengers can take a train from Shanghai South Railway Station to Jinshanwei Station, where a shuttle bus can drive them to the dock in 10 minutes," Sun told the Global Times.
In the past, most travelers heading to Putuo Mountain had to take a four-and-a-half-hour ferry ride from the Luchaogang or Xiaoyangshan ports in Pudong New Area.
The high-speed ferry departs once a day from Jinshan at 8:45 am.
It then sets out from Putuo Mountain at 1:45 pm, according to a report in the Shanghai Evening Post.
Ticket prices range from 238 yuan ($38) to 298 yuan.
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