I decided over a month ago to move my 2026 pilgrimage to the Mazu Ancestral Temple on Meizhou Island in Putian forward to mid-January, whereas in previous years it was always during the first lunar month. On one hand, I thought it would be good to worship Mazu at the very beginning of the new year. On the other hand, the round-trip airfare between Shanghai and Xiamen was incredibly cheap—just 130 yuan for a one-way ticket. With an additional 70 yuan for airport construction fee and fuel surcharge, the total one-way cost came to 200 yuan, which was unbelievably affordable.

I will still take the overnight regular-speed train to Shanghai Station. Since this train runs from Luohe to Shanghai, it has a historically low probability of delays and usually arrives at Shanghai Station early, leaving ample time for the transfer to Hongqiao Airport.

The overnight regular-speed train was packed in the hard-seat section. I had been drinking at a bar for a few hours just before departure and am still feeling a bit groggy.

At 04:40, Train K1047 arrived at Shanghai Station, 26 minutes ahead of schedule. Hurry up and leave the station to get to Hongqiao Airport.

At 6:03 AM, after riding a shared bike for over an hour, I finally arrived at Terminal 1 of Hongqiao Airport. However, in my rush to check in, I forgot to lock the bike when returning it. There wasn't enough time to go back and lock it, so I immediately reported the forgotten lock through the app. Fortunately, the backend remotely locked the bike directly. Good service!

Shanghai Hongqiao Airport T1 Terminal Domestic D Area Check-in Zone, check in at the self-service kiosks.

Spring Airlines has also installed self-service check-in kiosks at other domestic airports it serves, so passengers don't have to queue at the manual check-in counters when they're short on time.

Flight 9C8815, heading back to Xiamen.