Adventures in China

I love trains and the trains in China are no exception. The ones I have been on have been smooth, clean (enough), close to on time, and cheap. Trains are the best option for long distance travel, especially since they are safe. However, for short distances (under 3 hours) a minibus may be faster.

There are 4 ticket classes in China: hard sitter, soft sitter, hard sleeper, and soft sleeper:

Hard sitter is the cheapest ticket. It is an open car with lots of crowded seats in it.

Soft sitter is still an open car, but assigned seats that are more comfortable and spacious.

Hard sleeper is an open car with 3 level bunk beds.

Soft sleeper is enclosed rooms with four to six beds. All classes have access to bathrooms and hot water.

Whatever class you ride, expect varying temperature and bad overpriced food. Be prepared for hot or cool in summer and hot or cold in winter. Bring your own food to eat, though you can buy prepackaged food from roaming salespeople.

Anyways, here is how to ride a train in China. Please note that all classes have a luggage limit of 20kg per person and you will be charged more if you bring more than that. Never leave your valuables unattended in any class.

1. Get a Ticket
Train tickets rarely sell out, but it does happen occasionally, especially for soft sleeper tickets. It may be worth buying your tickets ahead, but most people just get them when they go to the station. There are advanced booking offices and many nicer hotels will help travelers get tickets, if using the office at the train station seems too difficult. Check your handy travel guide for further information where you are.

2. Figure Out What Your Ticket Means
From the top! In the upper right corner is printed where you got the ticket. The first full printed line is your starting city, then an arrow, then your ending city. After this, on the right side, is your train number. The next line is the date of departure, the time of departure, assigned car, and assigned seat number. (all classes except hard sitter have assigned seats). The next line includes the price of the ticket.

3. Get to the Train Station
Trains to not leave early, but it is still worth getting to the train station a half hour to hour before you leave.

4. Find Your Waiting Room
There are special waiting rooms for soft sleeper passengers. Everyone else goes to large open waiting rooms. Find the billboard showing which line is for your train (match it to your train number).

5. Go to the Train
It may be a bit of a guessing game to figure out when you get to go down to the platform. Ask someone in a uniform by showing them your ticket. They may be annoyed that you don't know what you're doing, but they will give you an answer (or drag you down when it is time). There are usually attendants along the route to the train to insure that people do not sneak onto another platform, so you probably won't get lost.

Car numbers are posted on the outside of the cars. There will be an attendant who wants to see your ticket to make sure you're getting onto the correct car.

6. Relax
OK, the hard part is over, you're on the train and in the correct car. Find your seat and get your things situated. Some people try to make sure that someone in their travel group is always awake, to make sure nothing gets stolen, but I do not know if this is a reasonable fear or not.

An attendant will come through and ask what your destination is. Someone may also come through and ask to see your passport if you look foreign.

7. Get Off
Trains may never leave early, but they sometimes arrive late. Assume that you will arrive on time, but do not just jump off the train without looking at the station signs. The signs are clearly visible from every window. But hurry, the train does not stop for very long at each station.

8. Get Out
Following the crowd out of the train station is easy. You will need to show your ticket to actually get out of the station, though.