Chinese trains link virtually all main cities and towns in China, and are a safe, comfortable and civilised way to travel, even for families or women travelling alone. They have 4 classes: soft seat, soft sleeper, hard seat, hard sleeper. Short distance trains normally have just hard class seats, although some inter-city trains also have soft class seats.
Long distance trains have soft & hard class sleepers. Soft sleepers have comfortable 4-berth compartments with full bedding provided. Hard class sleepers have bunks in open-plan dormitory cars, usually arranged in bays of 6 (upper, middle and lower) on one side of the aisle, with pairs of seats on the other side of the aisle for daytime use. Soft sleeper is recommended for most visitors to China, but budget travellers often use hard class, which is quite acceptable. The most important trains on the Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Hong Kong, Beijing-Xian and some other routes have deluxe soft class with 2-berth compartments with private toilets as well as the normal 4-berth soft class. Most long-distance trains have a restaurant car serving full meals. The photographs below show modern sleepers and a restaurant car on a typical 'T' or 'K' category express between major cities. The best 'Z' category trains are even more modern, see the pictures further down this page.
Always arrive at the station in plenty of time before the departure of your train. In major cities, especially Beijing, stations can be large and busy, and it may take a while to find your train. In some cases there are security checks (including airline-style luggage checks) to go through before boarding.
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| A typical long-distance express... |
Soft class 4-berth compartment. |
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The restaurant car... Hard class photo courtesy of Peter Haworth. Other photos courtesy of Shuhei Terashima |
The aisle of an air-conditioned hard class sleeper. The bays of 6 bunks are on the left. |
How to buy tickets... |
How to buy tickets - at the station...
You can buy tickets yourself at the station reservation office. In big cities such as Beijing or Shanghai you should use the special reservations office for foreigners. Reservations for the best Z-category express trains open 20 days before departure, reservations for most other trains open up to 10 days before departure, assuming the train you want starts its journey at that station. If the train you want starts its journey somewhere else and calls at your boarding station already well into its journey, tickets may only be available 2 days before departure. The rules vary by city..! You can generally only book a train journey at the station where your journey starts, so (for example) the reservations office at Shanghai can sell you a Shanghai-Beijing ticket but not a Beijing-Xian ticket. Berths are best booked at least 2-3 days in advance, apart from peak periods (the Spring Festival, May Day 1st May, National Day 1st October) when they should be booked as soon as reservations open.
In Beijing, you can buy tickets at Beijing Main station (metro Bejingzhan), or Beijing West station (called Beijing Xi or Xizhan, metro Junshibowuguan). At Beijing Main station, the ticketing office for foreigners is on the north west corner of the 1st floor, accessed via the soft seat waiting room. It is open 05:30-07:30, 08:00-18:30, 19:00-23:00. At Beijing West station, the foreigners ticketing office is on the 2nd floor, open 24 hours. Alternatively, you can buy train tickets at BTG Travel & Tours, on Fwai Dajie between the New Otani and Gloria Plaza Hotels, open 08:00-20:00.
How to buy tickets - via www.chinatripadvisor.com or www.china-train-ticket.com
If you want to book a Chinese train in advance from outside China, you can do this with several agencies, including www.chinatripadvisor.com or www.china-train-ticket.com. Tickets cannot be posted abroad, but can be delivered to your hotel in China to be picked up when you get there. This will cost more than you'd pay at the ticket office, but if you really need to be on a particular train on a particular date, it can be worth booking ahead, especially at peak times, such as around the time of the the Spring Festival, 1st May, or 1st October. Fares are shown below. Both agencies are reputable, and chinatripadvisor has been recommended by at least one seat61 correspondent. If you have any feedback from using either of these agencies, please e-mail me.
How to buy tickets - ask your hotel
Alternatively, your hotel may be able to arrange tickets if you book accommodation with them, and this may be the cheapest way to arrange tickets in advance. Remember that reservations for the best Z-category express trains open 20 days in advance, but for most other trains bookings only open 5-10 days before departure. Even an agency cannot positively confirm your booking before reservations open and they buy your ticket..!
How to buy tickets - departures from Hong Kong
You can book departures from Hong Kong to Beijing and Shanghai by email at no extra charge through KCRC (Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation) Customer Services. Visit their website at www.kcrc.com (the official website of the Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation) for train times & fares for the Hong Kong to Shanghai and HK to Beijing trains. You will be given a reference number and can then pick up and pay for tickets at Hong Kong Kowloon (Hung Hom) station. Note that Hong Kong ticket office does not accept credit cards, only cash. However, there is an ATM just round the corner from the station.
Train times & fares for key routes: |
Here are train times and fares for some key routes. Trains with a 'Z' in the train number are top quality trains with the most modern coaches. Trains with a 'T' in the train number are the next best ('extra fast'). Trains with a 'K' in the train number are 'fast'.
Beijing - Shanghai trains...
Beijing ► Shanghai
Shanghai ► Beijing
Train number: Z21 * Z1 * T109 T103 Train number:
Z14 * Z8 * T104 T110 Beijing (main) depart 19:00 19:28 19:43 19:51 day 1 Shanghai depart 19:00 19:28 20:02 20:10 day 1 Shanghai arrive 06:58 07:26 09:15 09:23 day 2 Beijing (main) arrive 06:58 07:26 09:34 09:43 day 2 * recommended trains, see photos. There are five excellent Z-category sleeper trains between Beijing and Shanghai, all leaving Beijing between 19:00 and 19:30, but to save space only two of these are shown here. These superb trains are soft class only (no hard class), with brand-new top-quality air-conditioned sleeping-cars and bar-restaurant car (with menus in Chinese and English). Far superior to any flight and saves time over flying, too. In addition to normal 4-berth soft class, trains Z13/Z14 and Z21/Z22 also have deluxe soft class with 2 berths per compartment. Sleeping berths even have their own TV..!
Fares
Beijing-Shanghai one-way per person
Hard sleeper Soft sleeper Deluxe sleeper Bought at reservations office in China: RMB 350 ($43) RMB 500 ($60) ? Booked in advance at www.chinatripadvisor.com: $55 $79 $137 Booked in advance at www.china-train-ticket.com: $88 $108 $165 Children under 110cm tall travel free, 110-140cm tall travel for half fare, over 140cm tall pay full fare.
Beijing to Shanghai is 1,463 km (914 miles).
You can check times & fares at www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/index.htm, you can book at www.chinatripadvisor.com.
Beijing - Xian trains...
Beijing ► Xian
Xian ► Beijing
Train number: T55 T41 T231 Z19 * Train number T232 T42 Z20 * Beijing (west) depart 16:50 18:27 17:33 20:28 day 1 Xian depart 17:31 18:02 19:23 day 1 Xian arrive 06:12 06:50 06:40 07:58 day 2 Beijing (west) arrive 06:20 06:28 06:53 day 2 * recommended train, see photos. This superb train has top-quality brand-new air-conditioned sleeping-cars, far superior to any flight and saves time over flying, too. This train is soft class only (no hard class) with 4-berth ordinary soft class sleepers, 2-berth deluxe soft class sleepers with private toilet, restaurant car (with menu in Chinese and English, beer a reasonable RMB15, the crispy fried prawns are recommended..!) and bar. It is reported that the on-board staff are helpful and speak some English, and the berths are even fitted with small TV screens..!
Beijing to Xian is 1,200 km (750 miles).
Terracotta warriors: These are 40-45 minutes from Xian station by bus 306 or 307, fare about 7 RMB. Minibuses & taxis also available.
Fares
Beijing-Xian one-way per person
Hard sleeper Soft sleeper Deluxe Soft sleeper Bought at reservations office in China: RMB 275 ($34) RMB 420 ($53) RMB 750 ($75) Booked in advance at www.chinatripadvisor.com: $45 $68 $? Booked in advance at www.china-train-ticket.com: $83 $104 $? Children under 110cm tall travel free, 110-140cm tall travel for half fare, over 140cm tall pay full fare.
You can check times & fares at www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/index.htm, you can book at www.chinatripadvisor.com.
What are the Beijing-Xian & Beijing-Shanghai 'Z' category trains like, ..?
'Z' category trains are the fastest and most modern long distance trains in China, running on routes such as Beijing-Shanghai and Beijing Xian. They are composed of the very latest air-conditioned sleepers, plus bar and restaurant. Traveller Jim McCorry reports: "The train journey was exceptionally good; the sleeping accommodation was first class as was the service. We also had the opportunity to meet and enjoy conversations, sometimes only in written form I may say, with a number of Chinese people sharing our compartment both going and returning. Booking in Beijing was relatively painless as they have a special booking office for foreigners."
Above: Each coach proudly carries a destination plate, in Chinese and English... Photo courtesy of Bas de Graaff
Above: Upper & lower berths in a soft class sleeper, complete with individual TV screens... Photo courtesy of Bas de Graaff
Above: 2-berth deluxe soft sleepers have upper & lower berths on one side of the compartment, a wardrobe and armchair on the other side... Both photos courtesy of Bas de Graaff
Above: 2-berth deluxe sleepers have a private toilet & washroom. There are more photos of the excellent 'Z' trains here.
Beijing - Hong Kong & Guangzhou (Canton)...
Beijing ► Guangzhou & Hong Kong
* Train T97 runs Beijing-Hong Kong every second day only. Leaves Beijing for Hong Kong on odd dates in Nov, Dec & even dates in October 2006. You can check days of running & times at www.kcrc.com (look for 'intercity' services & remember that HK is shown as 'Hung Hom').
Train number: T97 * T29 T15 Beijing (west) depart 12:47 day 1 13:28 day 1 18:19 day 1 Guangzhou (Canton) arrive |
11 :56 day 2 16 :25 day 2 Hong Kong (Hung Hom) arrive 13 :10 day 2 -
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T97 & T98 have 2-berth 'deluxe soft sleeper' (but without private toilet), 4-berth soft sleeper, hard sleeper & restaurant car. T29/30 & T15/16 have soft and hard class sleepers and restaurant car.
Hong Kong & Guangzhou ► Beijing
** Train T98 runs from Hong Kong on alternate days only, leaving on even dates in Nov, Dec & odd dates in October 2006. You can check days of running & times at www.kcrc.com.
Train number:
T98 ** T30 T16 Hong Kong (Hung Hom) depart 15:00 day1 - - Guangzhou depart |
10:57 day 1 16:52 day 1 Beijing (west) arrive 15:18 day 2 09:25 day 2 14:58 day 2 You can check Hong Kong to Beijing fares and train times (and book HK departures by email) at www.kcrc.com. Be warned, the Beijing-Hong Kong through train is very popular, and gets booked up well in advance..! The station in Hong Kong is in Kowloon and called 'Hung Hom'. There are also a range of daily air-conditioned trains between Guangzhou (Canton) & Hong Kong, see www.kcrc.com for times, fares and online booking.
Fares
Hong Kong-Beijing one-way per person
Hard sleeper Soft sleeper Deluxe soft sleeper
Bought at reservations office in Hong Kong: HK$ 587 ($70) HK$ 934 ($115) HK$ 1191 ($145) Booked in advance at www.chinatripadvisor.com: $91 $139 $178 Booked in advance at www.chinatripadvisor.com: $91 $139 $178 Beijing-Hong Kong one-way per person
Hard sleeper Soft sleeper Deluxe soft sleeper
Bought at reservations office in Beijing: RMB ? ($70) RMB ? ($115) RMB ? ($145) Booked in advance at www.chinatripadvisor.com: $91 $139 $178 Booked in advance at www.china-train-ticket.com: $135 $200 $280 Beijing-Guangzhou one-way per person
Hard sleeper
Soft sleeper
Deluxe soft sleeper
Bought at reservations office in China: RMB 460 ($55) RMB 705 ($87) ? Booked in advance at www.chinatripadvisor.com: $75 $106 $160? Children under 110cm tall travel free, 110-140cm tall travel for half fare, over 140cm tall pay full fare.
What are the Hong Kong-Beijing & Hong Kong-Shanghai trains like..?
Deluxe soft sleeper (2-berth) on the Hong Kong - Beijing & Hong Kong - Shanghai through trains. Photos courtesy of www.kcrc.com. Soft sleeper (4-berth)on the Hong Kong - Beijing & Hong Kong - Shanghai through trains. Photos courtesy of www.kcrc.com. Hard sleeper (open plan bunks) on the Hong Kong - Beijing/Shanghai train. www.kcrc.com.
Hong Kong: Kowloon to Victoria Island 'Star Ferry'
Regular Star Ferries shuttle between Kowloon (including Hung Hom railway station) and Hong Kong Victoria Island: www.starferry.com.hk
Hong Kong to Guangzhou (Canton)
Air-conditioned intercity trains run every few hours between Guangzhou (Canton) & Hong Kong. See www.kcrc.com for times, fares and online booking.
Hong Kong - Macau...
There are fast ferry services (jetfoils) from Hong Kong to Macau - see www.turbocat.com.
Hong Kong - Shanghai...
Hong Kong ► Shanghai
Shanghai ► Hong Kong
Train number: K100 *** Train number:
K99 *** Hong Kong (Hung Hom) depart 15:00 day 1 Shanghai depart 13:24 day 1 Shanghai arrive 13:38 day 2 Hong Kong (Hung Hom) arrive 13:10 day 2 *** Trains K99 & K100 run every second day (Shanghai to HK on even dates in Nov, Dec & odd dates in October 2006. HK to Shanghai on odd dates in Nov, Dec & even dates in October 2006). You can check times & days of running at www.kcrc.com (look for 'intercity services' and remember that the station in Hong Kong is called Hung Hom). This train has hard sleeper, soft sleeper (4-berth) and deluxe soft sleeper (2-berth), plus restaurant car. If your journey starts in Hong Kong, you can book tickets by email at www.kcrc.com and pick up tickets at the booking office, or just buy them at the station reservations office.
Fares
Hong Kong - Shanghai one-way per person
Hard sleeper Soft sleeper Deluxe soft sleeper
Bought at reservations office in Hong Kong:
