The station in its present form opened on 1 August 2008 and mainly serves high speed trains.

[5] It was built from more than 60,000 tons of steel and 490,000 cubic metres (17,304,000 cu ft) of concrete by 4,000 workers in less than three years.

The glass ceiling is outfitted with 3,246 solar panels to generate electricity.

The structure spreads out like a ray or trilobite and covers 320,000 square metres (3,444,000 sq ft), more than the Beijing National Stadium's 258,000 square metres (2,777,000 sq ft).

[2] Its 24 platforms have the capacity to dispatch 30,000 passengers per hour or almost 241 million a year.

On the elevated departures concourse, there are designated waiting areas and VIP lounges (with better seating and, in the lounges, free food and snacks) for passengers travelling in CRH Business Class, and a number of restaurants and corner shops.

To the sides are two taxi stands, and separated West and East parking lots for private cars (including a mezzanine level).

In 2011 and 2012, new restaurants, fast food stalls, and corner shops were added.

To cut queues, traditional counters at the arrival level were replaced with ticket machines.

In July 2013, travel time to Hangzhou was cut by one hour for direct services that skip Shanghai.