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The
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The Overlander
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Train operator in
China:
|
|
Chinese
Railways. Train times in English:
www.chinatravelguide.com/ctgwiki/Special:CNTrainSearch?method=1
or
www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/.
Map of Chinese railways. Official sites
(in Chinese only): www.chinamor.cn.net
& www.tielu.org.
Agencies selling Chinese train tickets online:
www.chinatripadvisor.com,
www.chinatraintickets.net, www.china-train-ticket.com.
Website selling tickets for Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Hong
Kong and Shanghai-Hong Kong trains: www.train-ticket.net.
Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (local trains in Hong
Kong plus through trains HK to Beijing
and Shanghai): www.kcrc.com.
|
|
|
|
Time: |
|
GMT+8 all year.
Cheap flights UK to China / China to UK |
Currency: |
|
£1 = 15 Yuan (Renminbi). $1 =
7.4
Yuan. Currency converter |
Tourist information: |
|
www.cnto.org
(US),
www.cnto.org.uk
(UK),
www.cnto.org.au
(Aus) |
Hotels: |
|
Book hotels in China online
Tripadvisor hotel recommendations |
Visas: |
|
UK citizens need a visa for China, see www.chinese-embassy.org.uk.
Visa section of the Chinese embassy: 31 Portland Place, London
W1B 1QD, telephone 020 7631 1430.
Important: The Chinese government changed their visa
regulations in March 2008, making it more difficult to obtain a
visa, so make sure any info you get is up to date.
Hopefully things might return to normal after the Olympics.
You now need a confirmed return ticket to/from China - confirmed
air or train tickets into & out of China will do, even though
the Chinese embassy website only refers to 'air tickets'.
You also need hotel bookings (or sleeper train reservations) for
every night you plan to spend in China, although it's reported
that the London embassy will issue visas to people with just the
first few nights booked, at least for travel after the Olympics.
More advice on Chinese visas. |
Page last updated: |
|
22 June 2008 |
Travelling by train in China...
|
|
|
The entrance to the Forbidden City, Beijing... |
China has one of the biggest
and busiest rail networks in the world, and trains link
almost every town and city. The best Chinese trains are safe,
modern and comfortable. This page will help you plan
and book train travel in China.
On this page:
Train times & fares for main train
routes in China
What are Chinese
trains like?
How to buy tickets
Ferries from China to Japan
Recommended guidebooks for China
On other pages:
London & Moscow to Beijing by
Trans-Siberian Railway
Beijing to Hanoi & Saigon (Vietnam)
Hong Kong to Hanoi & Saigon (Vietnam)
Saigon to Phnom Penh to Bangkok by
bus & train
Bangkok to Singapore by
train
Lhasa to
Kathmandu by bus and on to to Delhi
Sponsored links:
Train times
& fares for popular routes in China:
Maps of Chinese train routes:
www.johomaps.com/as/china/chinarail.html &
www.nordling.nu/schaefer/chinamap.gif
Map of Beijing Metro:
Click for map. Shows Beijing Main (Zhan) and
Beijing West (Xi) mainline stations.
You can find
train times online in English between most major Chinese
cities at either
www.chinatravelguide.com/ctgwiki/Special:CNTrainSearch?method=1
or
www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/.
These are the
best online timetables in English that I've seen, and
ChinaHighLights.com also
gives fares (as charged at the ticket office, shown in US$). The official Chinese
Railways websites are
only in Chinese - www.chinamor.cn.net
(Chinese Ministry of Railways) and www.tielu.org,
but there is a good free downloadable timetable in
English for train times between the biggest cities at
www.connectedglobe.com/travlog/latestctt.pdf. This
is produced by
Chinese Railways expert Duncan Peattie.
Printed
timetables for China:
Train times and route maps for most
mainline Chinese trains are also shown in the famous Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable
-
probably the most adventurous timetable ever produced!
It's published every two months, and has currency, visa and
other travel information as well as timetables for
ships, buses, and trains in China
and all over the world. It
costs £13.50 from the bureau de change inside any UK branch
of Thomas Cook, or buy online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com
(with worldwide delivery). Duncan Peattie
produces an
excellent English translation of the complete 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 and civilised way to travel,
even for families or women travelling alone.
They have 4 classes: soft seat,
soft sleeper, hard seat, hard sleeper. Short
distance trains normally have just hard class seats,
although some inter-city trains also have soft class
seats.
Long distance
trains have soft & hard class sleepers. Soft sleepers
have comfortable 4-berth compartments with full bedding
provided. Hard class sleepers have bunks in open-plan
dormitory cars, usually arranged in bays of 6 (upper, middle
and lower) on one side of the aisle, with pairs of seats on
the other side of the aisle for daytime use. Soft
sleeper is recommended for
most visitors to China, but budget travellers often use hard class,
which is quite acceptable. The most
important trains on the
Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Hong Kong, Beijing-Xian and some other routes
have deluxe soft class with 2-berth compartments with
private toilets as well as
the normal 4-berth soft class. Most long-distance
trains have a restaurant car serving full meals. The
photographs below show modern sleepers and a restaurant car
on a typical 'T' or 'K' category express between major
cities. The best 'Z' category trains are even more
modern, see the pictures further down this page.
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. In
some cases there are security checks (including
airline-style luggage checks) to go through before boarding.
 |
|
 |
| A
typical long-distance express... |
| Soft class 4-berth compartment. |
 |
|
 |
|
The restaurant car...
Hard
class photo courtesy of Peter Haworth.
Other
photos courtesy of Shuhei Terashima |
|
The aisle of an
air-conditioned hard class sleeper. The bays of 6
bunks are on the left. |
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 trains to Shanghai.
The direct train to Hong Kong and trains to Xian, Guangzhou
& Tibet all use Beijing's newer West station.
-
Both Beijing
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'.
How to buy
tickets: At the station...
-
It's easy to buy
tickets yourself at the station, but remember to take your
passport with you.
-
In
big cities such as Beijing or Shanghai you should look for the
special ticket window for foreigners.
-
Reservations for the best Z-category express trains open
10-20
days before departure, but reservations for other trains
only open
5-10 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.
-
Chinese
Railways don't have a central reservation system, only local
computer reservation systems based in each city that aren't
linked to each other. So a station can generally only
sell you a ticket for a journey starting at that station,
not for journeys starting elsewhere. For example, the
ticket office at Shanghai can sell
you a Shanghai-Beijing ticket but cannot sell you a Beijing-Xian ticket.
However, at major cities you can sometimes buy a return
ticket for key routes - for example, in Beijing you can buy
a ticket from Beijing to Shanghai and also from Shanghai
back to Beijing. But in most cases, you'll need to
book your return journey when you get to your destination.
-
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.
-
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 1st 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. At
Beijing West station, ticket window 1 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,
the English speaking ticket window at the main station is
window 43.
If you want to book a
Chinese train in advance from outside China, you can do this with several
agencies, including
www.chinatripadvisor.com,
www.chinatraintickets.net or www.china-train-ticket.com.
Tickets cannot be posted abroad, but can be delivered to your hotel
in China to be picked up when you get there. This will
cost more than you'd pay at the ticket office, but if you
really need to be on a particular train on a particular date, it can
be worth booking ahead, especially at peak times, such as around the
time of the the Spring Festival, 1st May, or 1st October.
Fares are shown below. All these agencies are reputable, and chinatripadvisor has been recommended by at least one seat61
correspondent. If you have any feedback from using
either of these agencies, please
e-mail me.
How to buy tickets:
Ask your
hotel!
Alternatively, your hotel may be able to arrange tickets if
you book accommodation with them, and this may be the
cheapest way to arrange tickets in advance. Remember
that reservations for the best 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!
How to buy tickets:
Departures from Hong Kong
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.
Here
are train
times and fares for the most important routes in China - you
can check times for other routes at
www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/.
Trains with a 'Z' in the train number are top quality trains
with the most modern coaches. Trains with a 'T'
in the train number are the next best ('extra fast').
Trains with a 'K' in the train number are 'fast'. A
new D-category consists of high-speed 200-250 km/h daytime
electric trains.
Beijing ► Shanghai
| |
|
| Train number: |
D31** |
Z13 *
|
Z7 *
|
T109
|
T103
|
Train number: |
D32** |
Z14 * |
Z8 * |
T104 |
T110 |
| Beijing (main)
depart |
10:50 (day
1) |
19:38 (day 1) |
19:44 |
19:43 |
19:51 |
Shanghai
depart |
10:50 (day
1) |
19:32 (day 1) |
19:44 |
20:02 |
20:10 |
| Shanghai
arrive |
20:49 (day
1) |
07:06 (day
2) |
07:12
|
09:15
|
09:23
|
Beijing
(main) arrive |
20:49 (day
1) |
07:00
(day 2) |
07:12
|
09:34
|
09:43
|
* recommended
sleeper trains, see photos. There are actually five excellent Z-category
sleeper trains between Beijing and Shanghai, all leaving Beijing
between 19:00 and 19:30, but to save space only two are shown here.
These superb trains are soft class only (no hard class), with brand-new top-quality
air-conditioned sleeping-cars and bar-restaurant car (with menus in Chinese
and English). Far superior to any flight and saves time over flying, too.
Expect them to be punctual.
All sleeping berths have their own TV! Trains Z13/14 & Z7/8 (but not
the other Z trains) give passengers complimentary meals in their compartment.
Train T109 & T110 also have deluxe
2-berth compartments with private toilet & washroom. There are now no
2-berth sleepers on any of the 'Z' category trains.
** recommended daytime train.
This is a new D-category 200-250 km/h express electric train, introduced in April
2007. It has 1st and 2nd class seats and bar-restaurant car. 1st class seats are 2-abreast
each side of the aisle, 2nd class seats are 3-abreast one side, 2 abreast the
other.
Photographs of this train, inside and out.
There are also photo on the
Beijing-Shanghai train page of
www.chinatripadvisor.com.
Beijing-Shanghai
fares
|
|
Beijing-Shanghai one-way
per person |
By Z-category
sleeper train... |
Deluxe sleeper
(only T109/110) |
By D-category
daytime train... |
|
Hard sleeper |
Soft sleeper |
Soft class seat |
Hard class seat |
|
Bought at
reservations office in China: |
RMB 350 ($46) |
RMB 500 ($66) |
RMB 921 ($122) |
? |
RMB 327 ($44)
|
|
Booked in advance
at
www.chinatripadvisor.com: |
$55 |
$79 |
$137 |
$68 |
$55 |
|
Booked in advance
at
www.china-train-ticket.com: |
$88 |
$108 |
$165 |
? |
? |
Children
under 110cm tall travel free, 110-140cm tall travel for half
fare, over 140cm tall pay full fare.
Beijing to Shanghai
is 1,463 km (914 miles).
You can check times
& fares at
www.chinatravelguide.com or
www.chinahighlights.com, you can book at
www.chinatripadvisor.com.
Beijing
► Xian
|
|
Xian
► Beijing
|
|
Train number: |
T55 |
T41 |
T231 |
Z19 * |
|
Train number |
T232 |
T42 |
Z20 * |
|
| Beijing (West) |
depart |
16:50 |
18:27 |
17:33 |
20:28 |
day 1 |
Xian |
depart |
17:31 |
18:02 |
19:23 |
day 1 |
| Xian |
arrive |
06:12 |
06:50 |
06:40 |
07:58 |
day 2 |
Beijing (West) |
arrive |
06:20 |
06:28 |
06:53 |
day 2 |
* recommended train,
see photos. This superb train
has top-quality brand-new air-conditioned sleeping-cars, far
superior to any flight and saves time over flying, too.
This train is soft class only (no hard class) with 4-berth
ordinary soft class sleepers, 2-berth deluxe soft class
sleepers with private toilet, 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..!
Beijing to Xian
is 1,200 km (750 miles).
Terracotta
warriors: These are 40-45 minutes
from Xian station by bus 306 or 307, fare about 7 RMB.
Minibuses & taxis also available.
Fares
|
|
Beijing-Xian one-way
per person |
Hard sleeper |
Soft sleeper |
Deluxe Soft sleeper |
|
Bought at
reservations office in China: |
RMB 275 ($36) |
RMB 420 ($56) |
RMB 750 ($100) |
|
Booked in advance
at
www.chinatripadvisor.com: |
$45 |
$68 |
$122 |
|
Booked in advance
at
www.china-train-ticket.com: |
$83 |
$104 |
$? |
Children
under 110cm tall travel free, 110-140cm tall travel for half
fare, over 140cm tall pay full fare.
You can check times
& fares at
www.chinatravelguide.com or
www.chinahighlights.com, you can book at
www.chinatripadvisor.com.
What are the Beijing-Xian & Beijing-Shanghai 'Z'
category trains like, ..?
'Z' category trains are the fastest and most modern long
distance trains in China, running on routes such as
Beijing-Shanghai and Beijing Xian. 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.
Beijing ► Guangzhou
& Hong Kong
|
|
* Train T97 runs Beijing-Hong Kong every second day
only. Leaves Beijing for Hong Kong on odd dates in Jan, Mar,
June, July, Sep, Oct 2008 &
even dates in Feb, April, May, Aug, Nov, Dec 2008. You can check days of running
& times at www.mtr.com.hk (click
'customer site' then 'intercity passenger services' then 'more information' & remember that Hong
Kong is shown as 'Hung Hom').
|
| Train number: |
T97 * |
T29 |
T15 |
| Beijing (West)
depart |
12:00
day 1 |
13:28
day 1 |
18:19
day 1 |
| Guangzhou (Canton)
arrive |
| |
11 :56
day 2 |
16 :25
day 2 |
| Hong Kong (Hung
Hom)
arrive |
13 :05
day 2 |
- |
- |
T97 & T98 have 2-berth 'deluxe soft sleeper' (with
private toilet),
4-berth soft sleeper, hard sleeper & restaurant car. T29/30 & T15/16 have
soft & hard class sleepers & restaurant car.
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.
Hong Kong
& Guangzhou
► Beijing
|
|
** Train T98 runs from Hong Kong on alternate days only, leaving
on even dates in Jan, Mar, June, July, Sep, Oct 2008 & odd dates in
Feb, April, May, Aug, Nov, Dec 2008. You can check days of running & times at
www.mtr.com.hk (click
'customer site' then 'intercity passenger services' then 'more information' & remember that Hong
Kong is shown as 'Hung Hom').
|
|
Train number: |
T98 ** |
T30 |
T16 |
| Hong Kong (Hung
Hom)
depart |
15:16
day1 |
- |
- |
| Guangzhou
depart |
| |
10:57
day 1 |
16:52
day 1 |
| Beijing (West)
arrive |
15:41
day 2 |
09:25
day 2 |
14:58
day 2 |
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'.
You can check Hong Kong to Beijing fares and train times
(and book HK departures) at
www.mtr.com.hk (click 'customer site' then 'intercity
passenger services' then 'more information' & remember that Hong
Kong is shown as 'Hung Hom').
Be warned, the Beijing-Hong Kong through train is very
popular, and gets booked up well in advance. There are also a
range of daily air-conditioned trains between Guangzhou
(Canton) & Hong Kong, see
www.kcrc.com for times, fares and online booking.
Fares
|
|
Hong Kong-Beijing
one-way per person |
Hard sleeper |
Soft sleeper |
Deluxe soft sleeper |
|
Bought at
reservations office in Hong Kong: |
HK$ 587
($75) |
HK$ 934
($120) |
HK$ 1191
($155) |
|
Booked in advance
at
www.chinatripadvisor.com: |
$91 |
$139 |
$178 |
|
Booked in advance
at
www.chinatripadvisor.com: |
$91 |
$139 |
$178 |
|
Beijing-Hong Kong one-way per person |
Hard sleeper |
Soft sleeper |
Deluxe soft sleeper |
|
Bought at
reservations office in Beijing: |
RMB ? ($70) |
RMB ? ($115) |
RMB ? ($145) |
|
Booked in advance
at
www.chinatripadvisor.com: |
$91 |
$139 |
$178 |
|
Booked in advance
at
www.china-train-ticket.com: |
$135 |
$200 |
$280 |
|
Beijing-Guangzhou
one-way per person |
Hard sleeper |
Soft sleeper |
Deluxe soft sleeper |
|
Bought at
reservations office in China: |
RMB 460 ($55) |
RMB 705 ($87) |
? |
|
Booked in advance
at
www.chinatripadvisor.com: |
$75 |
$106 |
$160? |
Children
under 110cm tall travel free, 110-140cm tall travel for half
fare, over 140cm tall pay full fare.
What are the Hong Kong-Beijing
& Hong Kong-Shanghai trains like..?
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
| Deluxe soft sleeper (2-berth) on the Hong Kong -
Beijing & Hong Kong - Shanghai through trains.
Photos courtesy of
www.kcrc.com. | |
Soft sleeper (4-berth)on the
Hong Kong - Beijing & Hong Kong - Shanghai through
trains. Photos courtesy of
www.kcrc.com. | |
Hard sleeper (open plan
bunks) on the Hong Kong - Beijing/Shanghai train.
www.kcrc.com. |
Hong Kong: Kowloon to
Victoria Island 'Star Ferry'
Regular Star Ferries shuttle
between Kowloon (including Hung Hom railway station) and Hong Kong Victoria
Island:
www.starferry.com.hk
Air-conditioned intercity trains
run every few hours between Guangzhou (Canton) & Hong Kong. See
www.kcrc.com for times, fares and online booking.
There are fast ferry services (jetfoils) from
Hong Kong to Macau - see
www.turbocat.com.
Hong Kong ► Shanghai
|
|
Shanghai ► Hong Kong
|
| Train number: |
T100
*** |
Train number: |
T99
*** |
| Hong Kong (Hung
Hom)
depart |
15:16
day 1 |
Shanghai
depart |
17:09
day 1
|
| Shanghai
arrive |
11:10
day 2 |
Hong Kong (Hung
Hom)
arrive
|
13:05
day 2 |
| |
