Tips on How to Travel By Train in China

 

If you are on a visit to China, a journey by train may seem a daunting task, what with buying tickets, busy trains and not understanding the language, but it is really not as difficult as it may sound, follow these tips and advice on how best to buy train tickets in China and how to travel by train to make your journey by train as simple as it can be.

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Tips on How to Buy Chinese Train Tickets

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You can use an online ticketing agency; there are several that operate in English so it is the most practical way for those that speak little or no Chinese. The China Railway website can be found at 12306.cn but it is only available in Chinese and only accepts payments from Chinese banks. If you speak and understand Chinese to a good level you can book tickets through the hotline, 95105195, you will receive a booking number that you must take to the railway station when collecting your tickets.

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You can go directly to the railway station and buy your tickets directly, or use a China Trains booking office; generally speaking the person that serves you will not speak any English. Another favorable method is to buy train tickets through your hotel if you are already in China, the hotel will then pick up the tickets and deliver them to you at your hotel.

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When buying train tickets, valid ID, usually your passport is required; your name and passport number will then be printed on your ticket. Tickets can be booked online up to 30 days prior to your travel date (it was 60 days, it may change again) and 28 days from a railway station.

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Write down (or have them written for you) in Chinese the train number, class of ticket (seat/sleeper), departure and arrival stations, departure date and show this to the ticketing clerk, it is often a good idea to have alternative choices of trains as some trains are sold out quickly, particularly at peak travel times.

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How to Read Chinese Train Tickets

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There are two types of train tickets in use, a red paper ticket that has to be manually read and a blue magnetic ticket that can be read by an automatic machine at the entry/exit points. Although looking different the information on the tickets is mostly the same.

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Ticket Number- this is colored red and can be found in the top left corner, each ticket has its own unique number.

Boarding Gate- this is shown on the top right of the ticket, older stations may not have this information and you may have to check the large LED boards at the station for this information.

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Departure and Arrival Stations- These are displayed as the largest characters on the ticket, departure to the left, arrival on the right. Below this the station names are printed in Pinyin, so easily understood by English speakers. A railway station is usually named after the city it serves, such as  北京 Beijing. When there is more than one station in a city, the directional locations are often used, such as 东 (dong) east, 西 (xi) west, 南 (nan)south, and ‘北 (bei)north. There are some exceptions to this such as Shanghai Hongqiao.

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Train Number- this is usually made up of English letters and a number, or just a series of numbers, and is found between the departure and arrival stations.

Departure Date and Time- this can be found on the fourth line and reading from the left reads as year/month/date, then time hour/minute. Passengers are usually allowed to enter the station waiting rooms 2 hours prior to the expected departure time, at the departure station gates will open about 30 minutes before departure and close 5 minutes before the train is due to leave, at intermediate stations, larger busier stops have 20-30 minutes, smaller places have just a few minutes.

Carriage/Car Number and Berth/Seat Number- to the right of the date and time is the car/carriage number, followed by the seat or berth number. Seats are numbered, while high-speed trains have a number and a letter. The sleeping berths in first class (soft sleeper) are numbered, while hard sleepers (2nd class) have a number and a location (04号上铺, meaning no.04 upper berth). 上铺(upper berth), 中铺(middle berth), and 下铺(lower berth).

Class of Seat/Berth- this is located on the right of the fifth row, below the carriage/car and seat/berth numbers.

高级软卧: Luxury Soft Sleeper

软卧: Soft Sleeper

硬卧: Hard Sleeper

商务座: Business Class Seat

特等座: VIP Class Seat

一等座: First Class Seat

二等座: Second Class Seat

软座: Soft Seat

硬座: Hard Seat

无座: Standing (no berth or seat)

 

Price- this is found on the left side of the fifth row, below this is a sentence in Chinese stating: Permission only for the specific train of the printed date and time.

Passenger’s ID and Name- this is shown on the seventh row, number followed by name.

Below this are two advertisements for the China Railway Corporation, ticket booking and freight transportation service.

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How to Take the Train in China

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Lots of Chinese cities have more than one station, so read your ticket carefully to ensure you go to the correct one. You should plan to be at the train station at least one hour before your train’s departure time. On arriving at the station, you may well have to join a line of people waiting their turn to go through the security checkpoint to enter the station. Your ticket and ID will be checked at this point. All your bags/luggage will have to go through the x-ray machine; you will most probably be scanned before you collect your bags.

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Finding the Correct Waiting Room

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Once you have completed the security check, locate which waiting room you need and go there. The trains leaving in the next few hours will be listed on a large LED screen, the first column is usually the train number, the next column is the destination (in Chinese), then the departure time and finally the number of the waiting room. If you are unsure, there is usually an information desk nearby, show them your ticket and they will direct you to where you should go.

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In most stations there is a separate area for first class passengers or those travelling on high-speed trains. There are also areas reserved for passengers travelling with small children, the elderly or those needing assistance, in some stations they allow foreign travelers in here as well. All stations have hot drinking water, toilets, stores and food outlets. The larger stations have the greater variety. Outside the station you may find western fast food outlets, although once inside the security area you will not find these options. The LED screen by your departure gate will inform you when to go through the check-in, be ready to show your ticket again at this point, when boarding the train it will be checked again. You just need to find the correct carriage; they are clearly marked with the carriage number. Once on board, find your seat/sleeper and stow your luggage, keep your ticket, it will be checked at the exit of your destination. If you have a sleeper ticket, the attendant will collect your ticket and return it to you just before you reach your destination, this is especially helpful if you reach your destination at night and are sleeping.