China has one of the biggest
and busiest rail networks in the world, and trains link
almost every town & city. Chinese trains are a safe,
comfortable & cheap way to travel around China, and a
Chinese train journey is an experience in itself, a total
contrast with environmentally-unfriendly internal flights. This page will help you
understand & plan train travel in China, & arrange your
train tickets. On this page you'll find:
(1) Train schedules, fares & recommended
trains for popular
routes in China
There is an
excellent free downloadable Quick Reference timetable in
English for train times between the biggest cities at
www.chinatt.org. This
is produced by
Chinese Railways expert Duncan Peattie in .pdf format.
Print it out and take it with you!
As well as his
free summary timetable, Duncan Peattie
produces an
excellent English translation of the whole Chinese Railways
national timetable, available by email from
mail@chinatt.org.
This costs about £9 (US$18 or 15 Euro) in .pdf format, or
£15-18 (US$30-36 or 25-30 Euros) in printed format
(including postage). It covers all trains in the
national timetable between some 850 stations. For more
information, see
www.chinatt.org.
Chinese
trains link virtually all main cities and towns in China,
and are a safe, comfortable & civilised way to travel, even
for families or women travelling alone.
Classes of
seat & sleeper...
Chinese trains
generally have 4 classes, although you won't find every
class on every train:
Soft sleeper:
Most western travellers travel soft sleeper, a comfortable,
civilised & affordable way to travel. Soft sleepers
are spacious 4-berth compartments with two upper & two lower
berths by night, converting to two sofas for daytime use.
All necessary bedding is provided. There's a table
with tablecloth, and usually a vacuum flask of hot water for
making tea (or drinking chocolate or cuppas soups if you've
brought some). The compartment door locks securely,
and a smartly-dressed attendant looks after each car.
The best trains even feature individual TV screens and power
sockets for laptops & mobiles. Passengers share
with other passengers, but this is no problem, and a good
way to meet people.
Hard sleeper:
If you're on a tight budget, there's no reason why you
shouldn't travel in a hard sleeper, as many western backpackers do.
Hard sleeper consists of open-plan carriages with a broad
aisle on one side of the car, bays of 6 bunks (upper, middle
& lower) on the other side. In spite of the name, hard
sleeper bunks are reasonably well padded, and bedding is
supplied. Newer trains even have power sockets for
laptops & mobiles.
Soft seat & hard
seat: Equivalent to first & second class seats on a
European train. Short distance daytime trains often
only have hard class seats, though some inter-city trains
have both soft & hard class. 'Hard' seats are usually
padded and reasonable comfortable, in spite of the name.
You'll also
now find these additional classes on certain trains:
1st & 2nd
class seats: Just to confuse you, the new
high-speed C, D & G category trains are described as having
'1st class' & '2nd class' seats, sometimes translated as
'business' & 'economy'. The Chinese officially
classify these trains as '1st class soft seat' and '2nd
class soft seat', as this allows the Ministry of Railways to
get around government regulations that limit the price of
normal hard & soft class ticket train fares.
Deluxe soft
sleeper: In addition to the normal classes, a
handful of trains also have deluxe soft sleepers, include
Beijing-Hong Kong, Beijing-Shanghai & Beijing-Xian.
These are 2-berth compartments with private toilet.
There are only limited numbers of these 2-berth compartments
are available, often booked by government officials, so by
all means ask for one but don't bang your head against a
brick wall trying to get one, be prepared to travel in
normal 4-berth soft class if necessary. Sharing a
4-berth really isn't a problem, it's the norm in China, and
you might even meet some real Chinese people this way.
Restaurant
cars, toilets, smoking...
Toilets: Chinese trains generally have both western & 'squat'
toilets, but it's always a good idea to take your own supply of toilet paper.
The toilets on the modern D & Z category trains are
immaculate, so no worries there!
Restaurant
cars: Most long-distance trains have a restaurant
car, with waiter service of drinks, snacks & meals.
The best trains on key routes such as Beijing-Shanghai have
menus in both Chinese and English.
Smoking:
Smoking is not permitted in the sleeping-car
compartments or corridors on any Chinese train, or anywhere
at all on board high-speed trains or the pressurised trains
to Tibet. But smoking is
allowed in the vestibules between carriages and in some
restaurant cars on the regular T & K category long-distance
trains.
Categories of
train...
Chinese train
numbers usually start with a letter, which indicates the
category of train. The better the category of train,
the faster it is likely to be, and the more modern &
comfortable the carriages
are likely to be. Slightly higher fares are charged for
the better train categories.
C, D & G trains
(modern high-speed daytime & sleeper trains): These are top-quality high-speed
trains with ultra-modern air-conditioned coaches and
streamlined power-cars at each end. Some are
high-speed 200-300km/h daytime electric trains, a few D-trains are
high-quality
200km/h sleeper trains.
Photos
of D category sleeper train.
Z trains
(high-quality express sleeper trains):
The previous top-quality sleeper train, the 'Z' trains are
now the second best, but still with very modern
air-conditioned coaches.
Photos of Z category sleeper train
T trains
('extra fast'): Trains with a 'T' in the train
number are the next best category, see the photos below.
K trains
('fast'): Trains with a 'K' in the train number
are 'fast'. Slightly higher fares are charged for
better categories of train.
'T' &
'K' category trains may not be as glamorous as the front-rank
'D' or 'Z'
category trains, but even these T or K trains are
usually very comfortable, often modern &
air-conditioned.
A
typical 'T' or 'K' category long-distance express...
The restaurant car...
Soft
sleeper consists
of spacious carpeted & lockable 4-berth compartments,
with
toilets & washrooms at the end of the corridor.
Note the lacy decor & flower in a vase on the tablecloth!
Some trains even have personal TV screens for each
berth. Photos courtesy of Shuhei Terashima
Hard sleeper
consists of open bays of 6 bunks (upper, middle & lower) on
one side of an aisle. In spite of its name, berths are
padded, bedding is supplied, and many budget western
travellers prefer it. There are fold-out seats in the
aisle either side of small tables. Photos courtesy
of Gabriel Chew.
Finding &
boarding your train...
Beijing Main Station. Photo courtesy of
Peter & Janet Jackson
Beijing South Station: The lesser-known
Beijing South Station is now the place to catch the
high-speed 'C' & 'D' category trains from Beijing to
Shanghai or Tianjin. Courtesy of Gabriel Chew
Luggage on Chinese trains: Your luggage stays with you on
Chinese trains, in your sleeper compartment. Here, a
suitcase is stored on the recess over the door in a
2-berth deluxe soft sleeper on the Beijing-Hong Kong
train. Photo courtesy of Andy Brabin.
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. At
major stations such as in Beijing or Shanghai there are security checks (including
airline-style X-ray luggage checks) to go through before boarding.
Departure indicators may be in Chinese, but you can easily
find your train if you know the train number and departure
time.
Boarding trains in Beijing...
There are two
major stations in Beijing, Beijing Main (metro Bejingzhan)
and Beijing West (also called Beijing Xi or Xizhan, metro
Junshibowuguan). Trans-Siberian trains to Moscow &
Ulan Bator use Beijing Main, as do a few remaining trains to Shanghai.
The direct train to Hong Kong and trains to Xian, Guangzhou
& Tibet all use Beijing's newer West station. The
daytime and sleeper high-speed 'D' category trains from Beijing to Shanghai now use
the lesser-known Beijing South station.
Both Beijing
Main & West stations are large and busy, and some people find them
confusing. So arrive in plenty of time for your train!
When you reach
the station, you must first go through airport-style
security controls into the departure area.
For soft
sleeper travel, you must then find the appropriate waiting
lounge for your train. There are a number of different
waiting lounges, and the electronic message boards show
which is the right one for each specific train.
Tickets are checked on entering the lounge, so you can be
sure you are in the right place.
Inside the
lounge, the electronic message boards show the trains
departing from that lounge, for the next 24 hours.
Trains are usually allocated between lounges so there is ½
hour or more between each departure from that lounge.
Most trains are shown as
'on time', but the most immediate
departures are shown as 'waiting'. Once a train is ready for
boarding (normally about 30 minutes before departure) it is shown as
'check in', meaning you can proceed through ticket control
to the platform. About 5 minutes before departure the
barrier is closed and the train is shown as 'check out'.
You take your
bags with you onto the train, and put them on the racks in
your sleeper compartment. At major stations, bags may
be X-rayed before boarding.
In theory at
least, the luggage limit on Chinese trains is 20 Kg for
adults, 10 Kg for children, and the maximum dimension of any
item should not exceed 160 cm (this is reduced to 130cm on
all C, D & G category high-speed trains). However, in reality
no-one will weigh or measure your bags, as long as they will
fit through the security X-ray machines, and as long as you
can carry them all onto the train. If you really want
to transport vast quantities of luggage you can pay for a
baggage ticket for bags in excess of the official limits.
Traveller
Matt Glaspole reports on taking a bicycle on Chinese trains:
"Not every train has a luggage van, but if you mention in
the ticket office that you have a bicycle, the ticket staff
can book you onto a train that has one. If you do have
to take a train without a luggage van, the luggage staff
will send your bicycle on the next train that does have one.
Once you have your ticket, you need to find the luggage
office, which is often hidden around the back of the station
somewhere. You might not find any English spoken here, but
your train tickets should give the staff all the information
they need. The luggage service is a bit old fashioned,
and the charges can involve a few RMB in 'tips' to the
officials involved. The luggage rates are calculated
per kilometre like a passenger ticket, but are not as
expensive. If you take the pedals or anything else off to
prevent joyriding, point this out to the staff so they can
make a note of this on the luggage ticket. This
indemnifies them from the potential that you or someone else
at the other end will accuse them of having lost or stolen
the missing bits. Once, I didn't mention to the staff that
the pedals were missing, and they starting combing the town
near the station to find me, so they could amend the ticket.
Accusations of theft must be very serious! My bicycle
was never damaged in the luggage vans, although other
cyclists have found themselves missing a bungee strap or two
from time to time."
It's easy to
buy tickets yourself at the station. In
big cities such as Beijing or Shanghai you should look for the
special English-speaking ticket window for foreigners.
Take your
passport! Remember to take your passport (and that
of all other passengers) with you. New rules
introduced in June 2011 make it essential to show a passport
to get a ticket for all high-speed C, D and G category
trains. You'll also need your passport to board the
train. A Chinese citizen's ID card, foreigner's
temporary residence permit, exit-entry permit or diplomatic
certificate can be used to buy tickets instead of a
passport.
When do
reservations open? Reservations for the best
C, D, G or Z-category express trains open
10
days before departure, but reservations for other trains
(such as K or T category) only open
5 days before departure. You cannot buy tickets
before reservations open. 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 exact rules vary
by city and by train.
Which routes
can be booked at which stations? Chinese
Railways now have a central computer reservation system, so
you can normally buy tickets for any route, not just ones
starting at the station you're at. Though it's usually
easier to get tickets for a train starting at the station
you're at, rather than one starting somewhere else and
calling at your station en route.
Tickets 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.
There are
self-service ticket machines at main stations but these
cannot be used by foreigners to book high-speed C, D & G
category trains as they only accept Chinese
ID cards, they cannot recognise foreign passports now
necessary to buy tickets for these trains. They can,
however, be used to book tickets for slower T & K category
trains, and they have an English language facility.
In Beijing, you
can buy tickets at Beijing Main station (metro Bejingzhan), or
Beijing West
station (called Beijing Xi or Xizhan, metro
Junshibowuguan sometimes called 'Military Museum').
At
Beijing Main station, the ticketing office for
foreigners is on the north west corner of the ground floor,
accessed via the soft seat waiting room. It is open
05:30-07:30, 08:00-18:30, 19:00-23:00. Only domestic
Chinese tickets are sold, not international tickets.
One or two of the many ticket windows are designated for
foreigners. Allow plenty of time to buy your ticket,
as you may have to queue.
At
Beijing West station, one ticket window in the main hall is
marked 'English speaking', open 24 hours. Service here
is reported as 'fluent & efficient'. 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. To
buy Trans-Siberian tickets from Beijing to Ulan Bator or
Moscow,
see the Trans-Siberian page. To buy tickets from
Beijing to Hanoi,
see
the Vietnam page.
In Shanghai
central station, the English speaking ticket window at
the main station was window 43 though this has now been reported as
changed to window 10 on the ground floor of the main ticket
office to the southeast of the main station. At
Shanghai's new Hongqiao station, from where most fast
trains to Beijing now leave, head upstairs to the departures
area on the 2nd floor. You'll need to go through X-ray
and metal detectors security checks to reach the ticket
office. The English-speaking window will be indicated
by a sign.
How to buy tickets
from outside China...
There are several ways
to arrange Chinese train tickets from outside China. Just remember
that reservations for the best D- & 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!
1.
Ask your
hotel...
Book a hotel, and ask them to arrange train tickets for you.
This may well be the cheapest & easiest option, although
new rules from 1 June 2011 requiring passports to be shown
when buying tickets for C, D & G category trains means it's
not now possible for all journeys. Many hotels will
buy train tickets for you for a small fee, perhaps
RMB 50. The new rules currently don't apply to other
trains such as Z, T or K category, so your hotel may well be
able to buy tickets for these trains for you.
If you want to book a
Chinese train in advance from outside China, you can do this with several
reputable agencies, including
www.chinatripadvisor.com,
www.chinatraintickets.net or www.china-train-ticket.com.
Tickets cannot be posted abroad, but it's more usual for them to be
delivered to your hotel
in China to be picked up when you get there. Buying through
one of these agencies will
cost more than buying a ticket yourself at the ticket office, but if you
really need to be on a particular train on a particular date, it can
be worth paying their fee, especially at peak times, such as around the
time of the Spring Festival, 1st May, or 1st October.
The agencies know the tricks of the trade, and know exactly when
bookings open for the train you want, so they can get your booking
in ahead of the crowd. Sample prices charged by agencies are shown
in the timetable sections below, so you can compare with the cost of
buying yourself at the station. All these agencies are reputable, and
www.chinatripadvisor.com has been recommended by
a number of seat61
correspondents as being helpful and efficient. You will need to supply the names, passport
details and usually copies of passports of all passengers. If you have any feedback from using
either of these agencies, please
e-mail me.
You can book
departures from Hong Kong to Beijing and Shanghai by email at the
official (cheap!) ticket office price through KCRC (Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation)
Customer Services. Visit their website at
www.mtr.com.hk (click
'customer site' then 'intercity passenger services' then 'more
information'. Note that the online booking system on their
intercity trains home page is only for the HK to Guangzhou
intercity trains, for the Beijing & Shanghai through trains you'll
need to email their customer services department. When
looking up times and fares on their website, remember that Hong
Kong is shown as 'Hung Hom').
You will be given a reference number and can then pick up and pay
for tickets at Hong Kong's 'Hung Hom' station in Kowloon. 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.
Without a
doubt, the best way to
travel between Beijing & Shanghai is by train. A
new Beijing-Shanghai high speed line opened on 1 July 2011,
speeding up the journey to as little as 4 hours 48 minutes.
And of course a train ride in China is a genuine Chinese
experience in itself. In addition, the trains are
generally very punctual and reliable, avoiding the many
delays that affect flights on the Shanghai-Beijing corridor.
New
high-speed service from 1 July 2011...
As of 1 July 2011,
brand-new CRH380 'G' category trains
with a distinctive pointed nose-cone link Beijing South and
Shanghai Hongqiao at up to 300km/h (186 mph) in as little as
4 hours 48 minutes, as
fast as a flight once check-in and airport travel times are
added (and likely to be far more reliable than a flight,
too!). Beijing to
Shanghai via the new high-speed line is 1,318 km (819
miles), a little shorter than the classic route, which is
1,454 km (909 miles).
All the 'G'
category high-speed trains have 2nd class, 1st class, VIP class seats,
and a dining car. VIP class has individual
reclining seats with footrests. 1st class
seats (sometimes referred to as 'business class') are
2-abreast each side of the aisle, 2nd class ('economy')
seats are 3-abreast one side, 2 abreast the other.
Other
'D' & 'T' category trains: Several 'D' trains taking 7 hours also use
the high-speed line, with cheaper fares. However, they
are not shown here. One or two sleeper trains remain:
Trains T109/T110 have soft and hard sleepers and hard seats.
Train D302 has 2nd class seats and soft sleepers.
Beijing ► Shanghai (New
high-speed service from 1 July 2011)
Train number:
G101
G11
G31
G105
G1
G111
G113
G13
G115
G117
G15
G35
G123
G125
G127
G129
G131
G133
G137
Beijing (South
station)
depart
07:00
08:00
08:05
08:10
09:00
09:05
09:17
10:00
10:05
10:10
11:00
11:05
11:15
11:20
11:45
12:03
12:25
12:40
13:06
Shanghai (Hongqiao)
arrive
12:23
12:55
13:29
13:40
13:48
14:29
14:45
14:55
15:29
15:34
15:55
16:27
16:45
16:50
17:09
17:33
17:48
18:04
18:35
Beijing ► Shanghai
(continued...)
Train number:
G3
G37
G141
G143
G17
G149
G19
G153
G155
G39
G21
G159
G161
G163
G165
T109
D311
D321
D313
Beijing (South
station)
depart
14:00
14:05
14:16
14:22
15:00
15:20
16:00
16:10
16:15
16:26
17:00
17:05
17:25
17:39
17:57
19:28**
20:52**
20:58**
21:11
Shanghai (Hongqiao)
arrive
18:48
19:33
19:39
19:50
19:55
20:50
20:55
21:40
21:45
21:50
21:55
22:35
22:47
23:01
23:27
10:25*
08:40*
08:46*
08:52*
Shanghai
►
Beijing (New high-speed service from 1 July 2011)
Train number:
G102
G104
G106
G12
G110
G32
G2
G114
G116
G118
G14
G122
G124
G16
G128
G130
G132
Shanghai (Hongqiao)
depart
07:00
07:10
07:20
08:00
08:05
08:15
09:00
09:05
09:15
09:27
10:00
10:10
10:15
11:00
11:05
11:20
11:40
Beijing
(South station) arrive
12:20
12:40
12:50
12:55
13:28
13:41
13:40
14:26
14:44
14:49
14:55
15:33
15:42
15:55
16:35
16:45
17:04
Shanghai
►
Beijing (continued...)
Train number:
G124
G138
G140
G142
G4
G38
G10
G150
G152
G20
G156
G158
G22
G160
G162
G164
G166
T110
D312
D322
D314
Shanghai (Hongqiao)
depart
12:10
12:43
13:00
13:20
14:00
14:19
15:00
15:05
15:20
16:00
16:05
16:21
17:00
17:05
17:17
17:50
17:55
18:14*
20:01*
20:07*
20:13*
Beijing
(South station) arrive
17:40
18:12
18:30
18:43
18:48
19:49
19:55
20:35
20:48
20:55
21:29
21:44
21:55
22:28
22:45
23:20
23:25
09:23**
07:46**
07:52**
07:52
Trains on a
darker shaded background = overnight
sleeper trains. Trains on a light background are
high-speed daytime trains.
* These
trains arrive/depart Shanghai main station in central
Shanghai, not Hongqiao. ** These trains arrive/depart
Beijing main station, not Beijing South.
In fact, there
are more trains in addition to those shown here, but as
these are slower and/or overtaken by faster trains, they
aren't shown. You can confirm the times for all trains using the online Chinese
timetable websites listed here.
What are the new high-speed 'G' category trains like?
High-speed trains: The 'G' category trains on the new
Beijing-Shanghai line are operated by sleek CRH380
high-speed trains. Photo
courtesy of Rick Wong.
VIP
sightseeing class seats on a high-speed CRH380 'G'
train from Beijing to Shanghai. Photo
courtesy of Rick Wong.
The
video shows a journey from Beijing South to Shanghai
Hongqiao aboard train G2.
Which train should you take?
New G category 300 km/h (186 mph)
trains: These started running on 1 July 2011, fastest
journey time 4 hours 48 minutes. Some slower D-category trains will also use the
new line at up to 250 km/h, taking 7 hours 56 minutes.
Trains D311-D322
are top-quality high-speed sleeper trains,
see the photos below.
It's an immaculate 200km/h sleeper train introduced in
December 2008, with 4-berth soft sleepers, restaurant/bar
car & hard class seats. Fully air-conditioned, each
sleeper berth even has its own TV screen & there are power
sockets for laptops or mobiles. Expect the train to be
very punctual.
Trains T109 & T110 are
cheaper overnight sleeper trains with soft & hard sleepers plus a few deluxe
2-berth sleepers with private toilet & washroom. If you are on a tight budget and want to save money, travel
hard sleeper on one of these slower 'T' category trains. Hard sleeper is
still a comfortable and safe way to travel.
See the T category train photos above.
They'll save a hotel bill, too.
How much does it cost?
Fares for
high-speed daytime trains
Beijing-Shanghai one-way
per person
By 'G' category
300km/h train (from late June 2011)
Children
under 120cm tall travel free, 120-150cm tall travel for half
fare, over 150cm tall pay full fare (140cm was changed to 150cm in Dec 2008,
and 110cm to 120cm in Dec 2010)
The sleeper
fares shown here are for lower berths. Upper berths
(and middle berths in hard sleeper) are a fraction cheaper.
How to buy
tickets...
See the
how to buy tickets section
above. Tickets cannot be bought online, at least not
in English, so you will need to buy from a station ticket counter or
pre-book through a recommended Chinese train ticketing agency, see the advice here.
Don't leave it until the last minute to buy a ticket, as the
trains are often busy - A typical report said "I went to
Beijing ticket office on Wednesday to buy Beijing-Shanghai
tickets for the following Saturday. The first 3
departures from Beijing were full, but there were tickets
available for later trains." There are self-service ticket machines
at major stations with
an English language facility, but they can no longer be used
by visitors as new regulations introduced in June 2011
require ID to be shown to buy tickets for C, D and G
category trains. The machines will accept Chinese
citizens ID cards, but not passports.
Which station
in Shanghai?
Almost all
Beijing-Shanghai trains now use Shanghai's new
Hongqiao station, some way out of central Shanghai
near the old airport. One or two trains are still using Shanghai's
more convenient main central station (Shanghai Zhan). Please make
sure you know which station your
departure from Shanghai will use.
A 'D' category sleeper
train about to leave Shanghai. Even if
you can't read Chinese, the indicator clearly
shows the train number & departure time. Courtesy of James
Fletcher
A 4-berth
soft sleeper on a 'D' category sleeper train. Each berth has
a TV and all bedding is supplied.
There are power sockets for laptop & mobiles.
Clean western-style toilets at the end of the
corridor. Courtesy of James Fletcher
The restaurant
car on a 'D' category sleeper train. Photo courtesy of James
Fletcher
The bar on
a 'D' category sleeper train.
Photo courtesy of James Fletcher
What are the
Beijing-Shanghai D-category daytime trains like?
The best way to
travel between Beijing & Xian is by train, using a
time-effective sleeper train.
Beijing
► Xian
Xian
► Beijing
Train number:
T41
T231
T43 **
Z19 *
Z53 *
Train number
T232
T42
Z54 *
Z20 *
T44 **
Beijing (West)
depart
15:52
16:55
20:48
19:57
20:03
day 1
Xian
depart
18:32
18:20
19:21
19:30
19:00
day 1
Xian
arrive
05:34
06:46
09:00
07:50
08:10
day 2
Beijing (West)
arrive
06:28
09:02
08:24
08:18
08:12
day 2
* recommended trains,
see the photos below. These
superb 'Z' category trains have top-quality air-conditioned
sleeping-cars, far superior to any flight and saves time
over flying, too. Hard sleepers, 4-berth soft class
sleepers, 2-berth deluxe soft sleepers (on Z19/Z20 only),
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.
** Trains T44 & T43
have 2-berth deluxe sleepers with private toilet as well as
normal 4-berth soft sleepers, hard class sleepers & restaurant car.
Children
under 120cm tall travel free, 120-150cm tall travel for half
fare, over 150cm tall pay full fare (140cm was changed to 150cm in Dec 2008,
and 110cm to 120cm in Dec 2010)
The sleeper
fares shown here are for lower berths. Upper berths
(and middle berths in hard sleeper) are a fraction cheaper.
Traveller
Graham Dawes reports (April 2009): "I successfully
used "English Spoken" booking hall window (which appears to
change so look carefully over booking hall windows for the
sign) in Beijing Xizahn (West) to book return tickets to
Xian on the Z19/Z20 last week for travel this week.
Soft sleeper in a 4 berth cabin cost Y417 each way.
Only cash accepted at window, no credit cards. Lower berths
seem slightly longer (about 2 metres) if you are tall.
Pillow and duvet provided in each berth. Travelled
both ways (solo) and shared with Chinese ladies and men and
had entertaining conversations in adequate English. Train
crew attendants also spoke some English and recorded
announcements on board made in English as well as Chinese.
Slept reasonably well and train ran punctually to the minute
both ways. Excellent value, even the toilets were fine
at the end of the trips. No sign of individual berth
TV's in the coaches in which I travelled. In both
stations used the Soft Class Waiting Lounges where there are
excellent electronic display boards (in English & Chinese)
for departures. You leave this lounge to board the
train via a ticket inspection. Retain tickets for
inspection at arrival stations."
'Z' category trains are the fastest and most modern long
distance trains in China, running on routes such as
Beijing-Xian, though now superseded by D-category sleeper
trains on the Beijing-Shanghai route. 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.
If you're
spending a few days in Beijing, you'll probably want to
visit the Great Wall of China. Badaling is the
most-visited section of rebuilt Great Wall, an easy day trip
61km (38 miles) north of
Beijing. Most people go there on a one-day bus tour,
but this often only gives
30 rushed minutes to see the Wall. It can be better to visit the
Great Wall independently, taking a
comfortable train from Beijing
up into the mountains to Badaling,
exploring and taking photographs at your leisure for an hour
or two, then
returning by train at a time to suit you. These trains
are modern & air-conditioned with soft & hard seats.
Beijing
► Badaling for Great Wall of China
Train number:
S201
S203
S205
S207
S209
S211
S213
S215
S217
S219
S221
S223
S227
Beijing North station
depart
06:12
07:58
08:34
09:03
10:57
12:43
13:14
13:33
15:25
17:11
17:41
18:01
21:30
Badaling
(for Great Wall) arrive
07:30
09:19
09:43
10:14
12:11
14:00
14:23
14:46
16:42
18:29
18:55
19:18
22:43
Badaling for Great Wall of China ► Beijing
Train number:
S208
S210
S212
S214
S216
S218
S220
S222
S224
S226
S230
S232
Badaling (for
Great Wall)
depart
08:23
10:53
11:21
11:51
13:03
15:19
15:51
16:23
17:34
19:55
20:46
21:53
Beijing North
station
arrive
09:46
12:13
12:41
13:12
14:20
16:43
17:25
17:39
18:54
21:15
22:16
23:16
You can
double-check these train times using
www.cnvol.com.
The final destination of these trains is Yanqing, 1 stop
beyond Badaling.
Fare:
RMB 13 (£1.30 or $2) each way hard seat (2nd
class), or RMB 19 (£2 or $3) in soft seat (1st
class).
How to buy
tickets: No reservation is necessary, simply turn
up at Beijing North station and buy a ticket at the upstairs ticket
office, not the downstairs one. One report says it's
ticket window 8 for Badaling tickets. Then head for the platforms
through the ticket check and hop on the next train. Buying tickets is
normally fairly easy, you are given a ticket with 'S2' printed on it and you
can use this on any train with a train number beginning
'S2', meaning any of the trains shown above. It's
easiest to buy your ticket back to Beijing when you get to
Badaling. Although several travellers say that buying
a ticket was easy with short or no queues, one traveller
reports very long queues at the
ticket office at a weekend when many Chinese were visiting
the Wall. So for travel on weekends or holidays, allow plenty of time to buy a ticket or buy one
the day before.
Feedback would be appreciated.
Beijing North
station (Beijing Bei Zhan in Chinese) is at metro stop
Xizhimen on metro lines 2 & 4. On exiting the metro
follow signs in English to Beijing North Station, and look
for the upstairs ticket office, window 8.
Beijing metro map.
Street map of Beijing showing stations.
Badaling
station: On arrival at Badaling station, leave the
station and turn left and walk up the hill, following
everyone else. The Great Wall ticket office is about
800m away on the right, you can't miss it. Entrance
fee is around RMB 45 (£4.50 or $7.50). Signs are in English,
no guide is required.
Taking the
train to the Great Wall of China...
For the first
20 minutes, the train negotiates the Beijing suburbs, then
it accelerates for a brief sprint to its first station
stop. After stopping briefly at this station, the
train starts climbing at slow speed into the mountains to
Badaling. You start to see parts of the Great Wall as
soon as you leave the station stop, so have your camera
ready! The train reverses direction at the stop before
Badaling, so don't be surprised when this happens. 2
hours at the wall is enough for most people, but when you
take the train, how long you stay is up to you!
The easy, independent
way to the Great Wall...
A train to Badaling about to leave Beijing North
station... Photo courtesy of Robert Mortell.
Inside the train... Hard
class seats on the regular air-conditioned train linking Beijing
with Badaling...
Photo courtesy of Barnaby Hornshaw.
Above:
The Great Wall of China at Badaling. The town &
ticket office are in the valley in the background.
This photo was taken at almost the highest point of this
bit of Wall.
Above: Looking
beyond that high point, the Great Wall of China
stretches into the distance across the mountains...
High-speed 350
km/h 'C' category trains (sometimes known as 'Hexie' trains) link Beijing
South Station & Tianjin every 10-20
minutes, taking just 30 minutes for the 120 km (75 miles)
journey. Simply use
www.chinatravelguide.com to find specific train times.
The fare is around RMB 58 (£6 or $9) for a 2nd class seat, RMB 69
(£7 or $10) in a first class seat. It's easy enough to buy
tickets at the station on the day of travel.
Above: Soft seats on the Beijing-Tianjin 'Hexie'
train. Photo courtesy of Gabriel Chew
Above: The business end of a 350km/h
Beijing-Tianjin 'Hexie' train. Photo courtesy
of Gabriel Chew
All trains run
daily, and have
4-berth soft sleepers, hard sleepers & restaurant car.
You can check times for other routes at
www.chinatravelguide.com.
Train T189/T190
also has 2-berthd eluxe soft sleepers.
Children
under 120cm tall travel free, 120-150cm tall travel for half
fare, over 150cm tall pay full fare (140cm was changed to 150cm in Dec 2008,
and 110cm to 120cm in Dec 2010)
The sleeper
fares shown here are for lower berths. Upper berths
(and middle berths in hard sleeper) are a fraction cheaper.
* Train T97 runs Beijing-Hong Kong on odd dates in Jan,
April, May, Aug, Nov, Dec 2011 & even dates in Feb, March, Jun, July, Sep, Oct
2011.
You can check days of running, times
& fares at www.mtr.com.hk (click
'customer site' then 'intercity passenger services' then 'more information' & remember that Hong
Kong is shown as either 'Kowloon' or 'Hung Hom').
Every 2 days *
Daily
Daily
Train number:
T97
T15
T201
Beijing (West)
depart
13:08
day 1
11:00
day 1
18:10 day 1
Guangzhou (main)
arrive
|
07 :32
day 2
15:04 day 2
Hong Kong (Hung
Hom)
arrive
12:56
day 2
-
-
On board accommodation:
T97 & T98 have 2-berth 'deluxe soft sleeper' with
private toilet,
normal 4-berth soft sleepers, hard sleepers & restaurant car. T15/16
& T201/202 have 2-berth deluxe soft sleepers, 4-berth
soft sleepers, hard class sleepers & restaurant car.
How to buy tickets, starting in Hong Kong: You
can book tickets by email via
ipsc@mtr.com.hk (see
www.it3.mtr.com.hk)
and pick up tickets at the booking office, or just buy them
at the station reservations office. You can also
arrange tickets starting in Hong Kong through Tiglion
Travel, www.tiglion.net,
which one seat61 correspondent has recommended. Don't
be surprised if they ask for a scan of your credit card.
How to buy tickets, starting in Beijing or Guangzhou:
See the
advice on buying tickets.
Be warned, the Beijing-Hong Kong through train is very
popular, and gets booked up well in advance.
Traveller Roddy Flagg reports: (Feb 2009) "I bough a
Beijing-Hong Kong hard sleeper ticket at Beijing West at
around midday, for departure the next day - so in this case
at least there was no need to purchase too far in advance.
Purchase was very easy - into the ticket office, find window
16 with it's 'English spoken' sign, and there was only one
person ahead of me in the queue. Can't attest to the quality
of the English as I was speaking Chinese. Was in and
out in a couple of minutes, but Beijing West is, as you no
doubt know, a massive place, so it could well take longer if
you get lost. Buying at the more central Beijing main
station might be better."
Departure formalities:
Departing from Beijing, you should arrive at Beijing West
station 90 minutes before departure for passport control &
exit formalities. Departing from Hong Kong, you should
arrive at Kowloon's Hung Hom station 45 minutes before
departure for passport control & exit formalities.
The station in Hong Kong is in Kowloon and called 'Hung Hom'.
It can help to know that the Chinese refer to Hong
Kong/Kowloon as 'Jiulong'.
Hong Kong
& Guangzhou
► Beijing
** Train T98 runs Hong Kong to
Beijing on even dates in Jan, April, May, Aug, Nov, Dec 2011 & odd dates in
Feb, March, Jun, July, Sep, Oct 2011.
You can check days of running, times &
fares at
www.mtr.com.hk (click
'customer site' then 'intercity passenger services' then 'more information' & remember that Hong
Kong is shown as either 'Kowloon' or 'Hung Hom').
Every 2 days **
Daily
Daily
Train number:
T98
T16
T202
Hong Kong (Hung
Hom)
depart
15:15
day1
-
-
Guangzhou
depart
|
16:48
day 1
09:47 day 1
Beijing (West)
arrive
14:51
day 2
13:18
day 2
06:34 day 2
There are also a
range of daily air-conditioned trains between Guangzhou
(Canton) & Hong Kong, see www.mtr.com.hk for times, fares and online booking.
Discounts may
be available at off-peak times of year, if bought at the
reservations office in Hong Kong.
Children
under 120cm tall travel free, 120-150cm tall travel for half
fare, over 150cm tall pay full fare (140cm was changed to 150cm in Dec 2008,
and 110cm to 120cm in Dec 2010)
The sleeper
fares shown here are for lower berths. Upper berths
(and middle berths in hard sleeper) are a fraction cheaper.
What are the Hong Kong-Beijing
& Hong Kong-Shanghai trains like?
Hard sleeper
berths on the Hong Kong - Beijing/Shanghai train.
www.kcrc.com.
A 4-berth soft sleeper
compartment on the
Hong Kong - Beijing & Hong Kong - Shanghai trains. Photo courtesy of
www.kcrc.com.
A deluxe soft sleeper (2-berth
with toilet) on the Hong Kong -
Beijing & Hong Kong - Shanghai trains. Photo courtesy of
www.kcrc.com.
Welcome aboard... Train
T98 from Hong Kong to Beijing boarding at Kowloon's
modern
station.
These three photos courtesy of
Andy Brabin.
A tasty Chinese meal in the
restaurant car of the Hong Kong to Beijing train...
Kowloon to
Victoria Island 'Star Ferry'
Regular Star Ferries shuttle
between Kowloon (including Hung Hom railway station) and Hong Kong Victoria
Island, see www.starferry.com.hk.
The Star Ferry from Kowloon Hung Hom pier to Victoria Central area pier costs
HK$6.30, runs every 20 minutes and takes 15 minutes.
There are fast ferry services (jetfoils) from
Hong Kong to Macau, see
www.turbocat.com. These run every 15 minutes throughout the day, and
every few hours at night, journey time 55 minutes. Fares from HK$134 (£12
or US$19) in economy class. The jetfoils depart from the Hong Kong Macau
Ferry Terminal, Shun Tak Centre, 200 Connaught Road Central.
* Train T100 Hong Kong to Shanghai runs odd dates in Jan, April, May, Aug, Nov, Dec
2011 & even dates in
Feb, March, Jun, July, Sep, Oct 2011.
** Train T99 Shanghai to Hong Kong runs on even dates in Jan,
April, May, Aug, Nov, Dec 2011 & odd dates in Feb, March, Jun, July, Sep, Oct
2011.
You can check times, fares
& days of running at
www.mtr.com.hk (click 'customer site' then 'intercity
passenger services' then 'more information' & remember that Hong
Kong is shown as 'Hung Hom' or 'Kowloon').
On board accommodation: T99 & T100 have 2-berth
'deluxe soft sleeper' with private toilet, normal 4-berth
soft sleepers, hard sleepers & restaurant car.
How to buy tickets: If your journey starts in Hong Kong, you can book tickets by
email at www.mtr.com.hk
(click 'customer site' then 'intercity passenger services')
and pick up tickets at the booking office, or just buy them
at the station reservations office. You can also
arrange tickets starting in Hong Kong through Tiglion
Travel, www.tiglion.net,
which one seat61 correspondent has recommended. Don't
be surprised if they ask for a scan of your credit card. If your journey
starts in Shanghai, buy at the ticket office (there's an
English-speaking window) or pre-book through an agency, see advice on
buying tickets.
Departure formalities:
Departing from Shanghai, you should arrive at Shanghai
station 90 minutes before departure for exit formalities.
Departing Hong Kong, you should arrive at Hung Hom station
45 minutes before departure. The station in Hong Kong
is in Kowloon and called 'Hung Hom'. It can help to
know that the Chinese refer to Hong Kong/Kowloon as 'Jiulong'.
Children
under 120cm tall travel free, 120-150cm tall travel for half
fare, over 150cm tall pay full fare (140cm was changed to 150cm in Dec 2008,
and 110cm to 120cm in Dec 2010)
The sleeper
fares shown here are for lower berths. Upper berths
(and middle berths in hard sleeper) are a fraction cheaper.
Children
under 120cm tall travel free, 120-150cm tall travel for half
fare, over 150cm tall pay full fare (140cm was changed to 150cm in Dec 2008,
and 110cm to 120cm in Dec 2010)
The sleeper
fares shown here are for lower berths. Upper berths
(and middle berths in hard sleeper) are a fraction cheaper.
Train Z94 to Shanghai boarding at Xian.
Photo courtesy of Roger Keenan.
A soft sleeper on train Z94 from Xian to Shanghai.
Photo courtesy of Roger Keenan.
Above: Destination
board on the Shanghai-Lhasa
train. Photo courtesy of Mary Kitchen.
Above: Modern
& comfortable. A soft class 4-berth sleeper on the
daily Beijing-Lhasa
train. Photo courtesy of Frances Partridge
The first regular passenger trains started
running over the new railway to Lhasa in Tibet on 1 July 2006. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the highest
in the world, climbing from 2,829m above sea level at Golmud (Geermu) to 3,641m
at Lhasa, much of it built on permafrost. Its highest point is in the
Tanggula Pass, at 16,640 feet (just over 5,000m) above sea level. Because of the lack of
oxygen at that altitude, all passenger coaches have extra oxygen pumped into
them, and oxygen is
available to passengers through tubes if they have problems. Before
the railway was built into Tibet, travellers had to take a train as far as Golmud
(which the railway reached in 1984) followed by a gruelling 48 hour bus journey to Lhasa.
Now there are direct air-conditioned trains from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou &
Xian to Lhasa.
Regular passenger trains to Lhasa from Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Guangzhou...
There are several trains a day to Lhasa, including a
daily express from Beijing to Lhasa (a 2-night journey, 3,753km) and other
trains running every second day from
Xian, Shanghai & Guangzhou (formerly called Canton, near Hong Kong) to Lhasa. These are modern air-conditioned Chinese Railways trains, with soft & hard class sleepers, soft & hard class seats &
a restaurant car.
Photos of the new Beijing-Lhasa train interior.
Train times & fares for these trains are
shown below.
How to buy tickets...
Bookings open
10 days in advance. In the first months of operation of the new line, tickets
were
reported as selling out almost as soon as bookings open, with no sign of demand
diminishing.
However, it's become easier to get tickets, and you can now arrange
tickets & tours through
www.chinatraintickets.net
or
www.chinahighlights.com.
Alternatively, you can try buying tickets yourself at the station, arranging a permit
separately, see how to buy tickets.
Getting a permit for Tibet...
In
addition to a normal Chinese visa, foreigners require a special permit to enter Tibet,
although there is talk of discontinuing this requirement in the near future, so
please check. The only way to get a permit is through a Chinese travel agency,
for example www.chinatraintickets.net
or
www.chinahighlights.com who can arrange both trains and tailor-made tours.
The permit is valid to enter Tibet and reach Lhasa, though a further permit is
required to travel any further. There's a good article about Tibet permits at
http://kekexili.typepad.com/life_on_the_tibetan_plate/2007/02/travel_in_tibet.html.
Deluxe
tourist trains were due to start running from Beijing to Lhasa in spring 2009,
later postponed to spring 2010 because of the recession. The launch may
well be postponed again or even cancelled, certainly their website is no longer
working as I write this. The trains were to feature luxurious sleeping-cars featuring double beds, private shower & toilet,
restaurant cars and lounge-observation cars. Exact dates, times and
fares will be announced later, but the Beijing-Lhasa train will run year-round,
with about 75 departures a year. The trains will be marketed as Tangula
Luxury Trains, see
www.tangulaluxurytrains.com
for more details, if indeed their site is still working. The trains are a joint
venture between Chinese Railways (Qinghai-Tibet Rail Corporation) and a Canadian company called RailPartners.
All trains are air-conditioned with extra
oxygen available, and have soft class & hard class sleepers & seats, and restaurant car.
The soft sleepers have 4-berth compartments, complete with personal LCD
televisions, occasionally showing English language movies.
Beijing metro map.
Street map of Beijing showing stations.
Guangzhou = Canton, a few hours' train ride
from Hong Kong.
x = the train stops, but exact time
not known.
* = runs every 2nd day, on odd dates in some
months, even dates in others. The only way to double-check which days
the non-daily trains run is to look at the .pdf timetable at
www.chinatt.org/download.htm.
The Beijing-Lhasa train was
speeded up from 11 January 2011 as it now uses a new bit of
railway, but no longer calls at Xian. The fare got
cheaper, as the new route is shorter, at 3,753 km.
Another train (not shown here) runs daily
between Xining & Lhasa, extended to Lanzhou on alternate days. Many other
trains link Beijing, Xian, Lanzhou and Xining. Beijing-Lhasa is 4,064 km,
of which 1,110 km are over the newly-built Qinghai-Tibet railway.
Shanghai to Lhasa,
bought at
the station reservations office:
RMB 845 ($125)
RMB 1,314 ($198)
Guangzhou to Lhasa,
bought at
the station reservations office:
RMB 923 ($147)
RMB 1,530 ($221)
Chengdu to Lhasa,
bought at the station:
RMB 704 ($103)
RMB 1,112 ($163)
Xining to Lhasa,
bought at the station:
RMB 523 ($77)
RMB 810 ($119)
Children
under 120cm tall travel free, 120-150cm tall travel for half
fare, over 150cm tall pay full fare (140cm was changed to 150cm in Dec 2008,
and 110cm to 120cm in Dec 2010)
The sleeper
fares shown here are for lower berths. Upper berths
(and middle berths in hard sleeper) are a fraction cheaper.
Traveller Brett Ackroyd reports (spring 2010): "I took the train
from Lhasa to Beijing. It departed absolutely on time from Lhasa and arrived at
Beijing’s West Station on time two nights later. During the first 36 hours or so
the buffet car (where I spent most of time) served only buffet for lunch and
dinner and a set breakfast menu. It seemed that once the train cleared Tibet in
to China things changed and a food menu was provided. Smoking rules also
appeared to relax once the train entered China, a fact backed up by the Lonely
Planet’s entry regarding the train. As far as I could tell oxygen wasn’t
pumped in to the carriages, and although there were ports at all seats and beds
for an oxygen mask to be attached I never saw a mask itself. I and all other
passengers had to sign a health declaration form that before boarding that
confirmed we hadn't any heart conditions and related problems!"
Traveller Frances Partridge reports (Nov 2008): "Just
completed the 48 hour Lhasa to Beijing train ride. Lhasa station is awesome;
very modern, very beautiful; maybe a bit of a showcase? No one seemed to mind my
photographing anywhere. We left dead on time. The attendant came to my
compartment and gave me the oxygen tube to attach to the outlet in case of need.
Having been in Tibet for a week already, I was fine, just coughing a lot like
most Tibetans were. There were about eight other Westerners on the train,
a handful of Tibetans and lots of Chinese people. To be honest, not the most spectacular scenery, compared to crossing Tibet, but
what an engineering achievement! The highest railway in the world, much of it
constructed on permafrost. At night the inside of the carriage doors froze
hard but the carriages themselves were very warm and comfortable. Outside
we were above the tree line but under the yak line. Endless moss, frozen
rivulets of old ice, yak herds and what I thought were eagles but a Tibetan told
me were 'eagle's nephews'. I booked soft class (for a nice change) but the
hard sleeper was almost as good according to my companions down the train.
I had the cabin of four beds to myself all day until late in the evening when an
elegant Chinese lady appeared at my door. She looked appalled to be
sharing with a foreign backpacker, especially one who had spread out all over
the adjoining bunk, but soon settled in and was civil (in Chinese). The
car attendants were pleasant; the waitresses in the restaurant car were surly
with a habit of whipping away the ashtray after one cigarette. Trying to
make them smile was a good, if fruitless, way to spend time. One morning
we arrived for breakfast at 9.30 am to be told that for us, breakfast was over.
Annoying when the car is full of train personnel eating their heads off.
Travel, eh? The train stopped at stations twice a day so we could stretch
our legs and have an unhindered smoke and buy snacks. I was tempted to
jump off at Xian to go see the terracotta warriors but restrained myself, as
there's always next year. We stopped at one station late at night, where
it seemed that half the Chinese Army were saying goodbye to the other half.
From the hugging and sobs and photography I assumed they had finished their
posting in the Tibet Autonomous Region and were heading home to Beijing.
They were very young boys and girls. On the second day trees appeared outside
and farms and cows. Suddenly I stopped coughing and could breathe much
more easily. Then into the chaos and noise of Beijing. I am so very
glad I took this train - if you get the chance, go for it!"
Traveller Keith Crane reports: "We had great trouble finding
somebody who could book me a ticket independently (we were in Guangdong province
- and tried calling Beijing) as all the agents wanted to offer a fully inclusive
tour for between 5,000-7,000 Yuan. Finally we found an agent in Chengdu,
www.dreams-travel.com, who could book the ticket and our Tibet pass
very efficiently. They also run the very good Wen Jun Mansion Hotel, a
recommendable, cheap place to stay. Chengdu is also the home of China's
Panda research and breeding base so you can see the cuddly black and white
creatures close while you wait for your train! Chinatripadvisor was pretty
slow off the mark, not knowing much more than anyone else before bookings
opened. Anyway our combined ticket (soft sleeper and Tibet pass) came to
about 1,700 Yuan each in the end and off we went. Despite reading stories
of altitude sickness we suffered none - and if the train was pressurised, we
found the toilet windows open throughout the journey. The soft class
accommodation is comfortable - there are western-style toilets - but the
catering facilities are limited - a 44 seat dining car for a 15 carriage train!
And not enough refrigeration for cold beer.!"
Beijing
► Ulan Bator (Mongolia) ► Moscow (Russia) ►
Central & Western Europe
Two weekly trains link
Beijing with Moscow, one via Mongolia, one direct into
Russia, see the Trans-Siberian
page. From Moscow, daily trains run to Cologne &
Amsterdam, with connections for London, see the
London to Russia page.
Beijing
► Japan
Ferries link Shanghai
several times a week with Kobe and Osaka in Japan. For ferry connections
between China & Japan,
see below.
Beijing
► Taiwan
You can travel between
China and Taiwan by ferry. For details see the
Taiwan page.
Beijing
► North Korea
For the direct train
between Beijing & Pyongyang in North Korea, see the
North Korea page.
Beijing
► South Korea
For ferry connections
between Beijing & South Korea, see the
South Korea page.
There's a comfortable twice-weekly soft sleeper
train with restaurant car from Beijing to Hanoi taking 2 nights and 1 day. For
train times & fares, see the 'International links' section
on the
Train travel in Vietnam page.
You can book the twice-weekly
Beijing-Hanoi sleeper train in Beijing at the reservations office, or in advance
from outside China with
www.chinatripadvisor.com.
You can travel overland by train & bus from
Hong Kong to Hanoi in Vietnam, quite cheaply and comfortably. You take an
intercity train from HK to Guangzhou, the overnight sleeper train from Guangzhou
to Nanning, a connecting train to Pinxiang then a bus to the border and on the
Hanoi. For details of how to do this, see the 'International links' section on the
Train travel in Vietnam page.
There's no
railway from Tibet through the Himalayas to Nepal, at least
not yet, but the Lhasa to Kathmandu journey can be done by
bus.
Weekly Tibet-Nepal bus
service? The internet is full of reports of a
Lhasa to Kathmandu bus service starting, then being
withdrawn, then starting again. However, the most
reliable information suggests that there is
indeed a weekly Lhasa-Kathmandu bus service, running since
April or May 2010. It leaves Lhasa every Friday at
10:00, and it's possibly open to foreigners, but
possibly not. It's bookable by contacting a suitable
Chinese travel agency. The fare is 520 RMB (£54 or $81),
children under 140cm half price. It's a 955km trip,
but journey time not known. Departure times in the
opposite direction are also not known. If you find out any more,
please email me!
Organised
tours between Tibet & Nepal: Apart from this
weekly bus service (if indeed it is running and equally
importantly, if it's open to foreigners), the only way
foreigners are legally permitted to travel between Lhasa &
Kathmandu is with an organised tour. The
cheapest tours cost about $400 and take 8 days (7 nights) for
the 955 km journey. Try
www.heiantreks.com, who normally run Lhasa-Kathmandu
overland tours twice a week,
www.trekkingtibet.com (recommended by one seat61
correspondent),
www.visitnepal.com/getaway (weekly, $450) or
www.richatours.com or do a Google search for other
agencies. In 2005, there were reports of a new
twice-weekly bus service from Kathmandu to Lhasa but apparently
this service folded soon after it started. If you have any
feedback or recommendations,
please email me!
For onward travel from Kathmandu to Delhi or Varanasi in
India by a combination of bus & train, see the Nepal page.
Beijing
► India
The direct route from China
to India is not particularly practical. Most if not
all border crossings are officially closed to foreigners,
and you need some serious permits to be in those border
regions. You can, however, go from Beijing to Lhasa in
Tibet by train (see here), then
take regular organised tours from Lhasa to Kathmandu, see
the Nepal page.
You can then get by regular scheduled bus and train to Delhi
or Varanasi in India, also see the
Nepal page.
Beijing
► Bangkok (Thailand), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and
Singapore
Start by taking
the twice-weekly Beijing to Hanoi train, details on the
Vietnam page.
You can then either go to Saigon and across Cambodia to
Bangkok, then by train to Malaysia and Singapore, or take a
24 hour bus ride from Hanoi to Vientiane in Laos, then by
overnight train to Bangkok.
See this
interactive route map and click each part of the route
you want for details.
Two ferry companies sail weekly year-round
from Shanghai to either Kobe or Osaka in Japan, from where
there are 'bullet trains' to Tokyo. A third shipping line links Tianjin
(only half an hour hour or so from Beijing by high-speed train) with Kobe.
Option 1: The
Shanghai Ferry Company...
Website www.shanghai-ferry.co.jp, look for the 'English' button. They sail weekly from Shanghai to Osaka, taking two
nights.
Shanghai ► Japan
Japan ► Shanghai
Shanghai Ferry Company:
Shanghai Ferry Company:
Shanghai depart:
Tuesdays
11:00
Osaka depart:
Fridays
12:00
Osaka arrive:
Thursdays
09:00
Shanghai arrive:
Sundays
12:00
So far, their ship has received
very good reports from one 'seat61' correspondent. You can
book a ticket on the Shanghai Ferry Company by e-mailing them at
pax@shanghai-ferry.co.jp
for a departures from Japan, or at
zhangyz@suzhaohao.com for departures from Shanghai.
You will be given a reference number and can pick up and pay for your ticket at
the port. Fares start at around 20,000 Japanese Yen (about £105) for
a one-way ticket in an open-plan economy room, 22,000 Yen in a standard cabin
(4-berth) or 40,000 Yen in a deluxe 2-berth cabin. Return
tickets are available costing 50% more than one-way fares. Check both
sailing dates and fares at
www.shanghai-ferry.co.jp.
Option 2: The
China-Japan International Ferry Company...
The other
shipping company is the China-Japan International Ferry Company,
www.shinganjin.com, which also
sails weekly from Shanghai to Japan, going alternately to Kobe or Osaka.
Fares start at 20,000 Japanese Yen or RMB 1,300 (£140 or
$195) one way for a berth in a shared Japanese-style room accommodating 8-15
passengers or 25,000 Yen / RMB 1,600 for a berth in a western-style 4-berth
cabin. There's a 10% discount for students, children 6-11 half fare. A range of cabins is available
on board, with restaurants, cafe, etc.
You can book via their online
application form less than 2 months but no less than 7 days before departure at
www.shinganjin.com.
Alternatively, for sailings from China, the
telephone number for the Shanghai branch is +86 2165 957 988. There
is someone who can speak English and the only information you need to give is
your name, date of birth, class of travel and passport number. They will
then make a reservation and you can buy the ticket at the port. The
telephone number for people travelling from Japan to China is +81 3 5489 4800.
This is their Tokyo branch, as unfortunately nobody can speak English at their
Osaka office.
If you are booking a Trans-Siberian train through an agency such as
The Russia
Experience, they can also book either of these ships. Prices start at around UK
£230 in a 2nd class cabin (8-berth), £250 in a 1st class 4-berth, or
£375 in a deluxe 2-berth.
Traveller's reports...
Traveller Mark Cundall used the
Japan-China International Ferry Company in 2006: "The ship was first
class, clean and absolutely no problem. If anyone wants to get from China
to Japan, I'd recommend this company. One key point is that when you get
dropped in Osaka you need a bus to get to the metro, costing 300 yen, although
there are no money exchange facilities at the port. Also, all vending
machines on the ship use Japanese yen, although Chinese RMB are accepted in the
gift shop, cafe and so on. So change some money into yen before you board
the ship!"
Option 3: China Express Line...
This ferry links Tianjin (near
Beijing) in China
with Kobe in Japan every week, taking 2 nights. See
www.celkobe.co.jp for
more information and to confirm sailing dates. Tianjin is only 30 minutes (120km) from Beijing
South Station by frequent 350km/h 'Hexie' train,
see above for Beijing-Tianjin train info.
Tianjin ► Japan
Japan ► Tianjin
China Express Line
China Express Line
Tianjin depart:
Monday
11:30
Kobe depart:
Friday
10:30
Kobe arrive:
Wednesday
14:00
Tianjin
arrive:
Sunday
14:00
Fares for the ferry start at 22,000
yen one-way or 33,000 yen return for a basic passage, and you can book by email
to pax@celkobe.co.jp.
The ferry terminal in Tianjin
is a long way from the station, one report says the terminal is far out of town
and the taxi journey takes 1.5 hours, so allow plenty of time.
Traveller's report:
Traveller Simon Patterson travelled from Japan to
China with China Express Line in November 2007:
"I sailed with China Express from Kobe to Tianjin. It took the best part of a day to cruise the Inland Sea,
which was spectacularly beautiful in the bright December sunshine; the
surrounding islands shone in the browns and greens of late autumn. This is the
most serene way possible to glide out of Japan, and the sea was flat as a
mirror the day we sailed. The ship itself was comfortable enough with the
crew friendly and helpful - there were only 40 passengers that day so perhaps
that contributed to the relaxed atmosphere. Food was Chinese and a bit basic
but OK. Bring Japanese Yen, although they will normally change Chinese
currency too. For booking, you can call China Express to check
availability, but the easiest way to book is through any JTB (Japanese Tourist
Board) office in Japan - they can issue tickets on the spot."
Train travel within Japan
For
information about train travel in Japan, see the Japan page.
To check Japanese train times online, see
www.hyperdia.com (English
button upper left).
www.hotelscombined.com
is probably the best hotel search system I've seen, a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites (Opodo, Expedia,
Booking.com, Hotels.com, AsiaRooms, Travelocity, LateRooms and
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates. Set up in
2005, it's probably the best place to start for booking any
hotel online in any country, worldwide.
I
strongly recommend investing in a decent guidebook. It may seem an unnecessary expense, but it's a
tiny fraction of what you're spending on your whole trip.
You will see so much more, and know so much more about what
you're looking at, if you have a decent guidebook. For independent
travel I'd recommend either the Lonely Planet or the Rough
Guide, both provide an excellent
level of practical information and historical and political background.
You definitely won't regret buying one..! Seat61 gets a small commission if
you buy through these links.
Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable
insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover
cancellation and loss of cash (up to a limit) and belongings.
An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself). Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
Columbus Direct or
Go Travel Insurance, or go to
Confused.com to run a price comparison on a whole range of
travel insurance providers for your dates of travel, seeing
their policy's features at a glance..
Get a spare credit card, designed for foreign travel with no currency
exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...
It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.
If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're
not left stranded if
your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself. In addition,
some credit cards are significantly better for
overseas travel than others. Martin Lewis's
www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which
UK credit cards
have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something
overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when
you use an ATM abroad. Taking this advice
can save you quite a lot on each trip compared to using your
normal high-street bank credit card! You can save money on ATM charges and exchange rates using a
Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or indeed the
multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card,
find out about these cards & sign up here.
Get an international SIM card...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're
not careful you can return home to find some huge bills
waiting for you. I've known people run up a £1,000 bill
in data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a
simple trip to Europe. However, if you
buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company
such as
www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and
limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid. It
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries. It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills
when you get home. It also works for laptop or PDA data
access. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.
Overland travel
around China by train is an essential part of the experience,
so once there, don't cheat and fly, stay on the ground!
But if a long-haul flight is unavoidable to reach China in
the first place, try
Virgin Atlantic who fly direct from London to
Beijing, Shanghai or Hong Kong, a great choice
for both price and service...
Or use the Skyscanner search tool
to compare flight prices & routes
worldwide across 600 airlines...
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
If
you're resident in
Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try
If you're resident in the USA or Canada, try
