China Getting Around

Getting Around

General tips: If you are travelling by land you need to remember that you can only buy tickets (rail and bus) to your next destination at the place you will be departing from. For example if you start in Shanghai and plan to go to Guilin followed by Kunming, unless you are flying, you can only buy your ticket to Kunming when you get to Guilin.

It is worth bearing this in mind if you are on a tight schedule. Tickets sell very quickly on popular routes, especially if you want a seat better than infamous Hard seat...As soon as you arrive in your destination, it would be sensible to book your ticket out of there as fast as possible (even as soon as you arrive since you will already be at the station!).

The legendary 'queuing system' can prove quite trying at times. Jostling your way in a queue with easily a hundred people in a non air conditioned room with a backpack on your back having just got off an overnight train journey is no walk in the park!

When you get to the booth, unless your Chinese is fairly decent, try and have some chinese characters written/copied down for the seller as they rarely speak English and in a noisy environment it is difficult to get them to hear you. Usually the date you want to leave, the class you want to travel (e.g. hard sleeper), and the time you want to go (with the actual train number if you know it) should be sufficient to get you a ticket.

This is a useful site if you want to find out before you get to the country what trains you want to get. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/index.htm

It is possible to get your hostel/hotel to book your tickets for you with a booking fee, but part of the fun of being in China is attempting to buy a ticket!! You'll no doubt get frustrated and even irrate at times but it's a good experience if you go prepared!

Before you depart, get there in enough time! At least 45 mins is recommended if you do not know the language as navigating your way to the platform can be tricky.

Train: China has a very big network of railways, linking every provincial and regional capital to Beijing, with the exception of Lhasa and Haikou . Comparatively tickets are cheap and travelling overnight is a fun experience!

Hard seat is exactly how it sounds. Not recommended for long overnight trips. Soft seat is a bit better but again, not really worth it if you are travelling long distances (pretty likely in China!).

Soft sleeper consists of 4 beds in a separate compartment. You have more room and privacy.

Hard sleeper is more than enough for most people however, where there are rows of bunk beds in a carriage. Try and book a lower berth bunk because you can sit there during the day and avoid having to climb up to the top bunk (there are 3 levels) where you are close to the ceiling and can't really sit up.

It is best to bring your own snacks although sellers of food and drink roam the aisles and there is usually a food selling carriage.

Squishing your bags onto the high up shelf requires some help. Getting it down again in time for your stop is a wise move as it takes some time in the narrow aisles. An inspector will collect your ticket at the beginning of your journey and will give it back to you before your stop comes so you needn't worry too much about missing your stop. Asking people if you are not sure is also fine.

Beware, you will be woken at about 7am by random Chinese rap/pop/classic music (or if you are really lucky, some english language songs such as Boyzone...). Toilet facilities are OK and there is a sink for washing. If you like an experience then travelling on an overnight train in China is fully recommended.

Bus: There are overnight buses with beds. Quite satisfactory and as usual, jolly good fun if you have the right attitude! Tickets pretty good value. Travelling in the day is also OK, although it can get quite hot in the summer unless you have air conditioning.

Flying: There are many domestic airlines in China and since the country is so huge it makes sense to use them. Air China, China Southern and China Eastern are the three large state-owned entities that remain after the consolidation of the old carriers. Recent liberalisation of the airline market have seen newer airlines, like Shanghai Airlines, which offer newer planes. Service, while improving, is still far from what you would expect from regular international airlines. Be prepared for delays and flight cancellations, which still seem to be a regular occurence.