Our 2021 visit to China

[MontyMinerWA]

Hi everyone,

Assuming that there are no travel restrictions in place we're thinking of going to China for our summer holidays next year. We may be able to go for up to three weeks. We can't speak any Chinese but would be willing to learn.

In order to see as much of the country as possible we plan to make full use of the railway network. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks very much.

 

[John Hunt]

The 'Man in seat 61' is always helpful....

The Man in Seat 61 | The train travel guide

How to travel by train in Europe & worldwide: Schedules, fares & how to buy tickets.

www.seat61.com

Train travel is a more rewarding, low-stress alternative to flying, which brings us closer to the countries we visit and reduces our contribution to climate change. It's time to rediscover the pleasure, romance & adventure of travel by train or ship. This site explains how to travel comfortably & affordably by train or ferry where you might think air was now the only option. For help with train travel, ask the Man in Seat 61!

 

[Chris Butler]

I have travelled several times by train in China, having visited the country about 20 times, though always on daytime, high speed trains. Some quick comments below. I have limited time right now, but will respond to any follow-ups in a day or so.

• Travelling is straightforward and fairly simple even without being able to speak Chinese.
• Learning to speak Mandarin is not for the faint hearted !
• There is extensive and easily understood information on trains and timetables on many sites online.
• Trains can be booked only 30 days in advance and the trains do fill up completely so consider alternatives when booking.
• Unless you have friends in China, booking direct will be almost impossible, but there are a number of reputable agencies whose fees are very reasonable (a few dollars per ticket) and whose English speaking e-mail service essentially overnight. I can check who I used to book a January 2020 year trip (including Wuhan in the itinerary). The trip was cancelled for the obvious reasons and refunds obtained, with no fuss, overnight. Far easier and quicker than from GWR for example.
• If you tell me where you are travelling and when then I may be able to give more specific advice.
  
  

 

[lachlan]

I used China DIY travel, as recommended by Seat 61 (there was a discount code on his website), and they were very helpful. The trip was booked a couple weeks in advance and even then some of the high-speed services were booked up. They book the tickets and you just show your passport at the station and the staff member will print them.

The map website http://cnrail.geogv.org/enus/about is useful. I wasn't aware of it when I went to China but I imagine it would have been handy.

 

[MontyMinerWA]

Thanks for all your replies, there's loads of information there which I'm sure will prove to be useful.

One last thing. We really know very little about China other than the Great Wall which we definitely want to see. Any other suggestions for things to see and do would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.

 

[FOH]

The one thing I'd say is pace yourself and expect to walk a lot. You can't just rock up and board trains. It's mostly similar to Eurostar. There can be queues to enter stations and pass security, scanners for luggage and metal detector arches for people, though it's not as strict as airports. If your cases are heavy you can feel pressured by the masses.
Once through security you go through ticket barriers similar to the Underground disabled gates.
Then you're in the boarding lounge, like an airport departures hall/Euston concourse - these can be huge, Shanghai Hongqiao as an example has 30 through platforms. Your platform will be shown and when you get there your train will be in yellow. When it's ready for boarding (normally 5 mins or so before) it goes green and there's a rush for the gate, the trains are usually long and normally there are two gates at either side of the concourse. Again you go through ticket gates. Usually it's stairs and an escalator down, one side often has a lift.
On the platform there are boarding point stickers on the floor for each carriage number and people usually queue single file across the platform.
Don't hang around with boarding and doors usually close well before departure time, the trains always leave precisely on time.
On D and G trains Second class is 3+2, First class 2+2 and business class 1+2. I wouldn't bother with Premium sightseeing class where you can look over the driver's shoulder - the window has always been frosted on trains I've been on, YMMV though.
Keep your ticket in case you need it for exit barriers at your destination.

 

[MontyMinerWA]

The one thing I'd say is pace yourself and expect to walk a lot. You can't just rock up and board trains. It's mostly similar to Eurostar. There can be queues to enter stations and pass security, scanners for luggage and metal detector arches for people, though it's not as strict as airports. If your cases are heavy you can feel pressured by the masses.
Once through security you go through ticket barriers similar to the Underground disabled gates.
Then you're in the boarding lounge, like an airport departures hall/Euston concourse - these can be huge, Shanghai Hongqiao as an example has 30 through platforms. Your platform will be shown and when you get there your train will be in yellow. When it's ready for boarding (normally 5 mins or so before) it goes green and there's a rush for the gate, the trains are usually long and normally there are two gates at either side of the concourse. Again you go through ticket gates. Usually it's stairs and an escalator down, one side often has a lift.
On the platform there are boarding point stickers on the floor for each carriage number and people usually queue single file across the platform.
Don't hang around with boarding and doors usually close well before departure time, the trains always leave precisely on time.
On D and G trains Second class is 3+2, First class 2+2 and business class 1+2. I wouldn't bother with Premium sightseeing class where you can look over the driver's shoulder - the window has always been frosted on trains I've been on, YMMV though.
Keep your ticket in case you need it for exit barriers at your destination.

Brilliant stuff. Thanks very much for such a detailed response.

 

[Peter Kelford]

though always on daytime, high speed trains.

There are some 'D-category' EMU services at between 160 and 220 km/h and they are Ok too. I took one as a sleeper and they can be a good alternative to spending the day on a train. It's worth saying though that the only categories I would recommend if you are not used to dilapidated travel conditions are:

G - High Speed
C - Intercity
D - Long-distance modern expresses

General speed is above 160 km/h normally.

There is a class called 'business class' if you want comfortable airline long-haul premium-style seats, the same as 'long-distance sightseeing' but with a less claustrophobic environment. On shorter routes, mostly C-category trains 'special class' seating behind the cab may be worth forking out for but don't expect it to be like the identical velaros in Germany where you can see the driver.

 

[rf_ioliver]

I was in China in 2016, so some experiences and a huge thanks to "The Man in Seat 61" for the information there. After your trip please send him any updates.

Most stations and Beijing metro have security checks and X-Ray at the entraces and you will have to put any bags through the machine. However it is quick and waiting is little more than the time it takes for the bag to go through the machine. You get used to this and if you immediately take your bag and put it through the machine it'll very appreciated by the security staff. On entry to Beijing West station I was asked for my passport - again this was more or less cursory and the official bid me good day and wished me a pleasant journey in broken English with a smile.

Beijing metro and the railway stations were immpresively clean, however outside might be a different matter - I found the pollution outside Beijing main station was "impressive". Avoid rush hour if you can.

I bought a first class Beijing West-Xian ticket. At Beijing *Main Station* there is a counter explicitly for English speaking staff. Make sure you have cash (there is an ATM there) as cards might not be accepted (at least I couldn't use Visa or Diners there for some reason). Queues are very long but surprisingly quick - I think I waited 15 minutes in a queue 50 people deep!

I didn't check out the food on board the trains though, I took supplies with me; though in first/business class I got a bag with some sweets and a drink.

The journey was impressive with long stretches of 300kmh stopping at some surprisingly large cities (million+ population) that you will never have heard of. Huge amounts of constrution going on too. The ride quality of the train I could only describe as perfect.

I've also travelled Beijing-Badaling for the Great Wall.

People are very polite and often want to talk to you - had many conversations with the use of translation apps and wikipedia. DO NOT talk about politics and religion and avoid anything involving Hong Kong, Tianamen Square, Tibet etc. Any attempt to speak Mandarian, Cantonese etc will be very appreciated and cause great amusement as you get the intonation on the words wrong

Safety - honestly, I felt a lot safer there than I have done in parts of the US. However avoid leaving electronic equipment unattended, especially in hotel rooms.

Amazing place - would love to go again.

 

[Peter Kelford]

I didn't check out the food on board the trains though, I took supplies with me; though in first/business class I got a bag with some sweets and a drink.

Food is the sort you'd expect on an airline. Vacuum packed boxes of food.

 

[185]

Travelled extensively in China. We used Ctrip (now called trip.com) to buy tickets. Do note we had to collect tickets at the counter, but all 10 for the entire visit were collected at once. We started off in Beijing, next on via a one night stop at Pingyao in Shaanxi then on for a three day stop in Xi'an. After we headed down to Jiangsu for a week to visit Suzhou (a lovely Chinese Venice), see friends in Wuxi, family in Taizhou then down into Shanghai. Afterwards, we traveled south to Guilin for a couple of days, some amazing scenery by the river in the mountains. Finally after moving on to Guangzhou to briefly see more friends, we ended the trip in HK for a few days including cable car up to the Buddha and walking down to the historic fishing village of Tai O, for a boat back.

 

[Royston Vasey]

Trip.com is a reliable way to buy tickets, you can request an aisle, window or middle and get allocated a seat depending on availability. You may have to queue for quite a long time to collect them, and anyone jumping the queue is likely to be military or ex-military and that is allowed. Expect to queue multiple times, you go to the window with your passport and the Trip.com printout and they will recognise it and issue your tickets. Major stations have ticket offices clearly marked in English with an obvious symbol. If you have to buy at the desk, come prepared with the train you want written down. They will use a calculator to show you the price.

Even first class on the high speed trains can be quite inexpensive by our standards. The 3+2 standard class I took from Beijing West to Wuhan was spacious enough, even in the middle seat. There is enough English on displays, platform indicators etc to get around, and your trains will have an ID in the Latin alphabet and Arabic numerals at the very least. They have a mixture of Siemens, Bombardier, Alstom and Shinkansen-derived as well as locally designed high speed stock. I haven't travelled on the classic stock and unless you're really scrimping or want the authentic experience, I wouldn't!

As with anywhere in China, the carriages are quite noisy with people watching videos on phones and piped music and adverts. It's quite irritating although you get used to it. I could tolerate it better than I would a noisy phone user in the UK as you have to accept the culture and you take it and observe it differently. Noise cancelling headphones would be a good idea for longer journeys.

The food on train is pretty ropey looking, take your own, pretty much anything can be bought from major stations. Many people bring noodles and make them on-board with boiling water from the free dispensers in each carriage. You may drink alcohol on trains.

Shanghai and Beijing metros are extremely clean, modern and relatively easy to navigate, even having English announcements and displays. You won't need to learn any Mandarin, and I wouldn't even try, there's little chance of getting the dialect anywhere close anyway. Know what please and thank you are, and use the Google Translate app for menus etc.

Carry your passport everywhere and expect to have to show it to officials on a regular basis, but I would say Beijing has become much much friendlier than it was when I first visited about 8 years ago.

 

[Peter Kelford]

Carry your passport everywhere and expect to have to show it to officials on a regular basis

To be fair some of them will just be curious about a new face or wanting to try and practice their English but can't think of a better way of doing it.