Emersyn’s class has been studying magnets. I joined the class on a field trip to the Maglev, the Magnetic Levitation Train which runs to the airport.

The Shanghai Maglev Train or Shanghai Transrapid (上海磁浮示范运营线) is a magnetic levitation train (maglev) line. It is notable for being the first commercial high-speed maglev line in the world—during a test run in November, 2003, a Maglev vehicle achieved a Chinese record speed of 501 km/h (311 mph). The journey was designed to connect Shanghai Pudong International Airport quickly to the outskirts of central Shanghai where passengers could interchange for their final destinations in the city centre. Construction of the line began in March 2001 and public service commenced on January 1, 2004.

The line runs from Longyang Road station in Pudong to Pudong International Airport; both stations provide transfers to Line 2 of the Shanghai Metro. At full speed, the journey takes 7 minutes and 20 seconds to complete the distance of 30 km. A train can reach 350 km/h (220 mph) in 2 minutes, with the maximum normal operation speed of 431 km/h (268 mph) reached thereafter. A one-way ticket costs ¥50/$7 or ¥80/$12 for a round-trip return ticket.

First, we went to the Museum in the basement. The museum was very interested and well done – not always the expectation in China.

I was in-charge of four children for the day as we had five parents from the class to help.

Some of the displays were interactivity.

I thought the following information was interesting – my blow dryer uses more magnetic field.

Next, we rode the maglev to the airport to have lunch. Most of the students had not been on the train, including Emmy. Another interesting fact I learned at the museum is the glass on the train is a special deception glass for the view. If not, the outside scenery would be going by too fast.

We enjoyed our packed lunches at the airport and returned on the train back to the station. It was a fun field trip that I enjoyed with Emersyn,