Over the recent years, as cities in the Yangtze River Delta region have become more and more closely connected, travelling from Shanghai to Jiangsu or Hangzhou to work has become more common. Data shows that the number of inter-city commuters in the region has exceeded 57,000.

Lu Ping (pseudonym) is one such kind of long distance commuter. He has been commuting from Suzhou to Shanghai by train for four years. Every morning, he departs from his home in Suzhou at 6:40 and takes a taxi to Suzhou Railway Station or Suzhou Industrial Park Railway Station. 110 minutes is the maximum time he leaves for his journey, so he must plan the least time-consuming route by considering the taxi, railway and walking parts carefully.

Lu works in the financial industry in Shanghai’s Lujiazui, almost a Mecca for white-collar workers, —and he works at the high end of the service industry, in a high intensity job with high returns. He is expected to put in long hours in order to earn his high wage, so not spending too much time commuting is essential.

Since the idea of cross city commuting seems incompatible with working long hours, Lu never tells others about his commuting and even asked us for anonymity.

Although Lu bought a small house in Shanghai’s Changning district last year, he does not intend to end this kind of dual-city life. "They don't understand why I spend 1/6 of my life on the road, but I think that I have used the resources of both cities. Shanghai gives me good development opportunities and allows me to enjoy first-class cultural facilities, while Suzhou can guarantee that I have a less fast-paced and more relaxed life. Why not?" said Lu.

Currently, Lu’s biggest wish is that in 2020 there will be more high-speed trains from Suzhou to Shanghai to make buying tickets much less difficult. He is even looking forward to a day when the travelling time between the two cities is shorter and "commuting across cities is no longer too embarrassing to speak about".