Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with China and train

High speed train between Shanghai and Beijing?

meerkatty — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 08:32:31 -0800

How do I buy train tickets for the new high speed train between Shanghai and Beijing? Have you taken the train? Tips? Need to take it from Shanghai to Beijing in 2 weeks time. Googling getting me nowhere. Suggestions? Thanks.

Riding the Iron Rooster

Pantalaimon — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 10:57:24 -0800

ChinaFilter: How to best get from Shanghai to Wuhan by train and is it a good idea to travel around China during first week of May? I'll be in China for a month and ten days starting in April. For most of April we will be working and attending classes in Wuhan. I have three questions:

1. We've booked a flight to Shanghai Pudong Airport and figure we will catch a train to Wuhan from there. Is it advisable to buy train tickets in advance or is that something we can do easily get tickets once there? Is there high-speed rail link between the two cities now?

2. We originally planned to use the first 10 days of May as vacation time to travel around the country. But I heard that first week of May is Labor Day holiday when a lot of Chinese people take vacations. Given the notoriety of crowded conditions in China, do you think it's advisable to shift our vacation time to last week of April to avoid it?

3. Any general tips for staying in Wuhan? Any local sights or sounds or tastes we shouldn't miss?

FYI, I speak fairly fluent Mandarin so don't anticipate too much problems communicating with locals if that's a concern.

Thanks!

Another ChinaTravelFilter: Help this backpacking newbie becomes a pro.

Carius — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 08:17:08 -0800

Another ChinaTravelFilter: Help this backpacking newbie becomes a pro. I will be in China July doing the history tour.

I will arrive in Beijing

Then by train head to
Datong
Taiyuan
Pingyao
Louyang
Xi'an

then fly out or take train to

Chengdu
Leshan
Emei Shan

then fly out to Shanghai

Sadly, I don't think have enough time so I have to skip Huashan and Wutaishan.

I could speak Mandarin but it's not that good. I could read Chinese but I can't write it.

So far I am overwhelmed by the choice of hostels available. How do you book them anyway? Just call them ahead before showing up? Is there an easy way to book them online? Do you have any recommendation for any of the cities I will be visiting?

Same thing with train tickets, can you book them online? Or should I wait until I'm in China to book?

What do I need to bring with me to China? What should I wear?
I found a packlist online. But do I need to bring any of them?

When to buy tickets for trains in China?

chippie — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:39:19 -0800

I'm going to China in a few days. Should I purchase train tickets in advance on the Web, or wait until I get there? Possibly relevant details:

I will be traveling from Shanghai to Beijing the second week of October. Later, from Beijing to Xi'an. And later still, from Xi'an back to Shanghai. Total time elapsed: about a week. Two of the trips would be overnight on the train, if I'm reading the online train tables correctly.

I don't speak any Chinese.

I am weighing which is the worse scenario: buying tickets in advance on the Web and struggling to sort out some unforeseen problem in person later, or being unable to buy tickets in person later because they're sold out.

Any and all other advice you'd care to share will be much appreciated. I'm adventurous but would like to avoid any obvious snafus. Thanks!

Cheap travel from Hong Kong to Nanjing

msbrauer — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 08:15:21 -0800

What's the cheapest way to get from Hong Kong to Nanjing, China? My girlfriend and I need to travel from Hong Kong to Nanjing next week and would like to do it cheaply. Trains seem like the ticket. What's the best way to do this and is it realistic to buy train tickets a day or two before the travel? The only prices I can find online seem awfully high (US$165 for a soft sleeper from Hong Kong to Shanghai), though maybe those have an agency fee on top of the ticket price.

Trains seem great, but I can't find prices online. Seems like the best way to do this is train to Shenzen, train to Shanghai, train to Nanjing. She speaks Mandarin and I've dealt with train stations in various places in India, so standing in line and fighting for the window shouldn't be too bad. Is there another, better, cheaper way? I've seen reference online that a soft sleeper from Beijing to Shanghai is 499RMB, so can we expect a similar price from the Hong Kong area to Shanghai or Nanjing? Is it realistic to expect that we can buy tickets a day or two before the train trip?