Train from Beijing to Shanghai
By Jian Shuo Wang on 2004-08-01 23:37 · By TrainSchedule
Train From Shanghai to Beijing
Z14 19:00 6:58 with Dinner
Z22 19:07 7:05 without Dinner
Z6 19:14 7:12 with Dinner
Z2 19:21 7:19 without Dinner
Z8 19:28 7:26 with dinner
Train From Beijing to Shanghai
Z13 19:07 7:05 with dinner
Z21 19:00 6:58 without dinner
Z5 19:14 7:12 with dinner
Z1 19:21 7:19 without dinner
Z7 19:28 7:26 without dinner
Above information is in format of
Train code, Departure time, Arrival time (of the next day), Whether dinner is provided
A Picture is Better than Thousands of Words
Today, Wendy took the train (Z5) to go back to Shanghai. I take some pictures of the fabulous train.
Inside the train
The hall way of the new train. Look at the carpet and the nice curtain. You must be wondering whether it is a five star hotel. I did when I stepped into the train.
© Jian Shuo Wang
Wendy lying on her soft sleeper, expecting the wonderful trip with the luxurious trip. The sleeper is quite comfortable and clean.
© Jian Shuo Wang
A label can tell the quality of the room inside. Check what the silver plate of the WC implies inside.
© Jian Shuo Wang
The upper sleeper. There are four sleepers in cabinet. There are as much space as lower sleeper and it is easy to get onto the upper sleeper. It is about 20 RMB less expensive than lower sleeper.
© Jian Shuo Wang
I was surprise to see they also serve new slippers for passengers, similar to hotels.
© Jian Shuo Wang
The decent water pot appeared on the snow white table.
© Jian Shuo Wang
On the back of the door of the cabinet is a oval glass, reflecting the whole cabinet.
© Jian Shuo Wang
The label of the sleepers. Each sleeper is numbered with a unique number.
© Jian Shuo Wang
You can control the strength of the lights, the temperature, the wind of air condition, and the volume of the speaker (or turn the train background music off). There is also an red emergency call button.
© Jian Shuo Wang
There are about 10 such cabinet on a train cart
© Jian Shuo Wang
A fresh flower is placed on the table, making the trip more enjoyable.
© Jian Shuo Wang
Display board showing train status, your cart number and the availability of washroom.
© Jian Shuo Wang
The door of the train cart. After this door is closed in Beijing, the next time it is opened, it will be opened in Shanghai. There is no stops between the two cities.
© Jian Shuo Wang
Hot water is supplied at the end of each train cart.
© Jian Shuo Wang
Z5, leaving from Beijing at 19:14 and will arrive in Shanghai at 7:00 AM the next day.
© Jian Shuo Wang
The Train and the Station
Caution: The view outside remains dirty and crowded as before.
The Beijing station. The trains with code starting of “Z” arrive and depart in this station. If you are interested, there is a bigger station in Beijing - the Beijing West Station.
© Jian Shuo Wang
The train waited on the platform and passengers get there by a viaduct and then go down to the platform.
© Jian Shuo Wang
The head of the new train. It seems every details of the train changed.
© Jian Shuo Wang
The sign outside the train, saying “Shanghai to Beijing”.
© Jian Shuo Wang
The windows of the train look just those windows of high office buildings of Shanghai. You cannot open the windows.
© Jian Shuo Wang
This picture was taken when I meet Wendy at the station at around 7:00 AM Saturday morning. It was very exciting scene - it looked so beautiful to see the train coming from the fogs of morning.
© Jian Shuo Wang
More about the Train
The price for Z5 from Beijing to Shanghai, lower sleeper is 499 RMB. The price should be something less than 500 RMB (but near 500 RMB) for most trains.
5 Reasons this New Train is Better than Plane
- Cheap.
Compare the 500 RMB (clean-cut) and the 1130 RMB full price of a flight ticket! Although you can get discounted flight tickets at as low as 650 RMB, it is still higher. There is no airport construction fee for train (50 RMB), you usually don’t need to take taxi to take train. Both Shanghai and Beijing train station are accessible via Metro. To go Shanghai Airport, you have to pay at least 30 RMB (average. For me, I have to pay 76 RMB). To leave Beijing Airport, when you see the first exit of the Airport Express Way, the meter of the taxi already charged you 50 RMB. So, it is another 200 RMB difference in price.
- Save Day Time.
You go to train station after work at 6:00 PM, sleep on the comfortable sleeper and when you open your eyes again, it is 7:00 AM the next day, exactly the time to go to office of another city. Wonderful! Many business man take train to travel between Shanghai and Beijing not because it is cheap, it is because it saves day time.
- On Time.
Trains are not always on time, but they are much better than planes. I never expect plane to be on time in China. Did you know that the last time I came to Beijing on delayed flight of 4 hours? The reputation of flights is terrible. Trains are much more reliable.
- Save Hotel Fee.
If you put the one hotel price into consideration, you save a lot. Often, I wonder, why I have to be so rush to airport, take the fastest vehicle (civil vehicle) and rush to a taxi, just to go to bed of the hotel. :-D
- More Private Time.
On plane, you cannot use laptop (freely) and it is too short to read a novel. The 12 hours on train give passenger right time to think, to read or simply to sleep.
This entry is posted in Beijing.
Update September 23, 2007
Three years after I posted this entry, let me refresh some information. The following information was extracted from Nick Sung’s comment made on September 23, 2007.
Ticket price for bottom sleeper (adult): 499 RMB
Ticket price for upper sleeper (adult): 479 RMB
Ticket price for upper sleeper (children): 337 RMB
On Z-train (shown in picture of this article), there are only 4 bed room, and there are no 2-person rooms. 2-person rooms are available only on T-train (another type of train connecting Beijing and Shanghai), and the price is 900 RMB per person.
What Nick heard about Z-train is cleaner should be true since Z-train is newer launched, and should have higher standard.
Toilets? Please refer to Nick’s comment, which I think is very true.
The train is generally clean and comfortable. All of the pictures and comments above are accurate. However, the bathrooms become a challenge. Each car has a small washroom at the front with 2 small sinks. Also, each car has 2 toilet rooms at the rear. The right room has a standard toilet while the left room has one of those “kneeling” units which is basically a hole in the floor. The bathrooms all start out clean, but as the trip wears on, the men tend to cover the toilets and floors with urine and spit. Even so, these are still 100X better than the train station bathrooms as they were complete disasters. Remember, China is still a developing country with many uneducated peasants. Cleanliness is no consideration for most locals. But i’m sure this is the best train you can get in this country.
Nick also described the meal and hot water:
There is plenty of hot water available but you need your own cups and napkins. Almost everyone brought a bowl of instant noodles with them. They did sell little “lunch box” meals for dinner and breakfast you could eat in your cabins. They were surprisingly good. Car #9 is the dining car with a little bar area. We had dinner one night and the food was very good. However, it was crowded and you have to share your table with other people, also, they ran out of several dishes early. They served dinner from boarding until 9:30pm when “midnight snack” time started. I think breakfast started at 6am. Overall, an enjoyable experience much cheaper than flying and saving a hotel stay each night.
Thanks Nick for sharing the first hand information with us, and helped me to make this page more helpful for travelers in China.
228 Comments
i tried to book the ruanwo, but didn't get them.
a red emergency
Thank Jianshuo for this article.
This is not unlike airplane travel where you constantly sit with strangers. If you feel like talking great, otherwise you can just shut off to the neighbor(s), be it a Mr. Gates or any other SOB. Just don't let you sit next to Wang Jian Shuo, though. So on a second thought, have some prozac handy, or asprin.
As I recalled we took an AmTrak from Los Angeles to Seattle many years ago, there was two-bed cabin available for us. Of course, it is much expensive, the train named "coast star-light". I think it is more conveniant and relaxed way to travel. Any way, it is a great work. I love those pictures.
Thanks for your service.
Just my 2 cents.
What is best way to book a train from Shanghai to Beijing to Xian and back to Shanghai?
The trains look great just hope I can book on these
Andrew
Toll free booking number 8008207890
Telephonen 95105105
They will send the ticket to you.
thnx for that helpful information for the train Shanghai-Beiijing which my chinese friend Greg and me have planned to take beginning of October '04.
Best regards from Munich
Stefan Fritsch
cheers
I understand the Shanghai to Beijing train does not have compartments with only 2 bunks, but these can be had on the Kowloon to Beijing train, and they come complete with private toilet. Am I correct?
We tookt eh SH to Beijing train too, it's nice, but hte most memorable thing is the menu in the dining car - "The Oil Explodes the Shrimp" was the first course LOL!
i'm a backpacker travelling from nepal(katmandu)to shanghai and want to go straight up to beijing. could you please advise me of what the best thing to do is?do you arrange accomadation in shnaghai and if so what is the starting price?the above train sounds fab, what do i need to ask for?
i await your response
thanks
sarah
in 3rd week of Jan.05
Now I need to read all your other information.
We are travelling from Santa Barbara, CA.
James Chen
Does anyone knows the name of the station in Shanghai where this trains depart?, and also, wich is the name of the company?....in order to go there and book a ticket as the web page is in chinese.
thanks a lot!
Your website is interesting with pictures of China's latest train, I am trying to purchase train tickets from Shanghai to Beijing.
How and where can I do so as I have try to get this information from Malaysia's local travel agents but fail as most of them told me that their local agent in Shanghai does not offer such service!!
Please help!!!!!
Jennifer Lim
Malaysia
Renu
Thanks for the information and pictures on the Z trains between Shanghai and Beijing. You have persuaded me that is the way to get from one to the other city. Good pictures. Are there singles or doubles in addition to the 4 bed sleeper compartment? I will be docking at Qingdao in late September. Can we make reservations in the US? Is there a website I should be looking at to answer these questions? Tnaks again for your help.
Ken Mueller
Hope this helps,
Alex
I checked the prices at http://www.china-train-ticket.com. Wow, I thought the prices would be a bit cheaper than this, 108USD (125.384 CAD) for one way ticket?????
I can buy a airplain ticket in Canada for Bejing to Shanghai for 660RMB(including the taxes) (95.2054 CAD). Are these guys for real???
Is it possible that the ticket will be sold for cheaper price within China?
Thank you for this information.
Would you know if we could book the sleeper so that it is only occupied by two people?
My wife and I are quite private and would like to take the train from Shanghai to Beijing but would prefer a private sleeper.
Thanks for your consideration.
John Mitchell
I have lived in China for about 5 years in several cities and after experiencing the old green Chinese trains that are smoky and so slow, I always chose air travel. I now live in Shanghai and after viewing the pictures and description here, I decided to book a train trip to Beijing. I went to the Shanghai Rail Station at about 3pm on Friday, April 21, 2006 and booked 2 tickets on the Z14 train to Beijing departing just a few hours later. There is no longer a 'foreigners' ticket window at Shanghai Station, but anyone wanting to book a soft seat or sleeper ticket can do so inside the 'Soft Seat Ticket Office'. If you were walking into the main entrance, this would be on the left about 50 meters (on the outside of the station). It is a large office with a place to sit in front of the ticket agent. This will save time and there is always someone who can speak at least basic English.
I travelled with another person and we booked our soft berths in a 2-person compartment. The entire train is composed of soft sleeping compartments (no 'seat only' tickets). This applies to all 'Z' train lines, apparently. The train has 18 cars, but only 2 of the cars have 2-person compartments. I have read online that only the Z13/14 and Z21/22 trains have the 2 bed comparts.
The prices that Wang Jian gave for the 4 -person berth ticket is still correct. We paid 893 RMB (lower) and 921 RMB (upper) for our tickets. The train arrives at the main Beijing Station. Since we were returning from Beijing on Monday the 24th, we bought the return ticket upon arrival in Beijing. There is a soft class ticket window on the front of the station, but he attendant did not speak English. There is also a large ticketing hall. If you speak some Chinese or have a Chinese friend with you, then no problem. Otherwise, you should probably ask your hotel to book the tickets for you.
There is a large waiting hall for soft class passengers on the first floor, but the Z trains depart from the middle concourse on the second floor. Be aware, the old station is downtown. It is called 'Beijing Zhan' and it is an old building. Although it is equipped in a modern way, there is an extreme bottleneck at the main entrance at popular departure times because x-ray machines are adjacent to the entry doors and all luggage/packages must go through. As usual in China, there is no single line (queue), so a person must simply 'ride the wave' and seize every opportunity to squeeze further into the mass of humanity toward the door. You should plan to arrive at least an hour before the train is scheduled to leave, in my opinion. We did not face this difficulty in Shanghai, which has several entrances around the station building.
We had checked out of our hotel, but the train didn't leave until 7pm and we didn't want to carry our heavy bags around for the day. Luggage storage is available at an all-day rate of approximately 7 RMB per piece. Although there is an official storage room on the front of the station (far-right side as you face the building on the outside), there are also several smaller stalls nearby. Someone may try to take you over to one of these (the official storage personnel will not do this). We went to one of these small competing storage places and were quoted a price of 30 RMB for 3 pieces of luggage. Thinking this was too expensive, we went to the official one which was 20 RMB.
The Beijing Station area was quite pleasant. Gone are the days of rundown buildings and drifters camped out. Although there were some beggars and people trying to promote local hotels, we were not bothered much. There is a large shopping mall adjacent to the station. It has several restaurants including a KFC and several noodle shops. Also there is a Watsons Drug Store and many other places you would expect at a mall. The mall is attached to a very large Howard Johnsons Hotel. The gift shop of the hotel opens into the mall and sells baked goods. After 5 pm, everything is buy 1 get one free. We got 2 pieces of delicious apple pie for 5 RMB each. The line 2 subway stops in front of Beijing Station.
I have a brochure about the express trains. I'm willing to scan it, but I don't have a place to post the pictures. Anyway, here are the station points for the 'Z' trains (all of them leave around 7pm and 11 pm, averaging about 150 km per hour. The Shanghai-Beijing trip is 1.463 km (914 miles) and takes almost exactly 12 hours. Here are the cities served. The first number is Beijing (or Tianjin) to the other city; the second number if from the other city to Beijing (or Tianjin).
(Z1/2, Z5/6, Z7/8, Z13/14, Z21/22 Beijing-Shanghai) : (Z3/4 West Beijing-Hankou) : (Z9/10 Beijing-Hangzhou) : (Z11/12 West Beijing-Wuchang) : (Z15/16 Beijing-Haerbin) : (Z17/18 West Beijing-Changsha) : (Z19/20 West Beijing-Xi'an) : (Z29/30 Beijing-Yangzhou) : (Z37/38 West Beijing-Wuchang) : (Z41/42 Tianjin-Shanghai) : (Z49/50 Beijing-Nanjing) : (Z61/62 Beijing-Changchun) : (Z72/73 Beijing-Hefei) : (Z85/86 Beijing-Suzhou)
I don't have fare info on these routes, but they should not cost more than the Beijing-Shanghai fares described already.
Sorry for such a long reply, but I hope it will help someone. Thanks.
The 4-person compartments share communal toilets and lavatories at 1 end of each car. Even the the 2-berth compart. cars have the public toilets, so if 1 is occupied, you should be able to walk until you find a vacant one. The lavatories have 2 small wash basins and no door, so you might be brushing teeth with another person at the same time.
The 2-person compartments have a small washroom with a basin and toilet. There is no shower, although if you are adventurous, you would use a bowl or cup to dish warm water from the tap and pour it over your head, since there is a drain in the floor. Pillows, sheets, and blankets are provided, but there are not wash cloths or bath towels. Toilet paper and toilet seat covers are provided. Surprisingly to me, the toilets empty on to the train tracks even in these new trains. If it is daytime and you flush the toilet, you can see the ground below. The toilets do have water flowing in them, though, and they do not smell bad. There are no showers on the train.
Smoking is allowed in the corridors between cars. The sleeping compartments have doors, but if you are sharing with strangers, you may find that someone wants to keep the door open until bedtime. In that case, smoke could drift inside. This is true in the 4-berth cars because, but the 2-berth cars have electronic doors that seal off the main hall from the toilets and space between cars. There was no cigarette smoke in our car during either trip except in corridor (outside the sliding doors).
There are many other trains between Shanghai and Beijing. They are a bit slower because they stop along the way, taking about 14.5 hours (instead of 12). These are much cheaper and have hard seat, soft seat, hard sleeper, and soft sleeper tickets. In theory, smoking on these is also limited to corridors, but the trains are not sealed and often compete with a crowded bar for smokiness. They also tend to be worn, and fairly unclean by most international standards. On a very tight budget they are the tranport of choice, though.
Is it dangerous for 1 lady to travel alone in the train ?
Thanks
Ros
How to go to the mission impossible shooting location in Shanghai? where the last scene TOm cuise to save his wife?
I didn't watch the MI3 yet. I heard it is at Lujiazui 陆家嘴. You can take Metro Line #2 and exit at the Lujiazui Station. People told me the final scene is shot at China World Financial Tower. You can see it right after you get out of the metro station.
I am going to China for the first time, and have a few days free. While I will be in Shanghai on work, I really want to visit Beijing and the forbidden city as well.
I came across your blog while searching for trains / planes between Shanghai and Beijing. Can you help me out with any information on how to book train tickets, etc.? And is it possible to visit the Forbidden City in 1 day? Is there anything else you would advise me to do / see while I'm there?
I would really appreciate an email in response,
thanks!
Progga
Thanks,
progga
The moment I stepped on the train was like in Matrix, moving to another planet. From the India messy like train station in Beijing to an extended part of modern Shanghai. That feeling continued as I arrived at the clean station in Shanghai and when I used the metro (there is a second precision count down display above the tracks and the train opened its doors 2 seconds before 0). Quite a difference from biking in the Hutongs of Beijing, which I did a few hours before taking the train! The personel on the train is slightly too cool but correct.
And is the Z8 a newer version than the Z5 and do they have these from HK to Shanghai ?
Thanks
Darren
Thanks for the info.
Also,
I arrive on the 23rd, want to take a train on the 25th - should i book in advance?
(found this website: http://www.chinatripadvisor.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34&Itemid=47)
costs a bit more - but worth the peace of mind ...
thanks again.
Tim
Does anyone know if the Deluxe Soft Sleeper compartments have electrical outlets that can b eused to recharge computer batteries? (An earlier post said the single person compartments had TVs and power outlets. It was unclear if this was also true for the 2 person sleepers.)
Warnings:
1. When you arrive by taxi at the Shanghai station, several porters will grab your bags from the trunk of the taxi before you know it and then try to charge you up to 50RMB per bag to take them to your gate. They are very aggressive and intimidating. Just take you own bags and you can easily find your way to the gate without their help.
2. The train ride is cost effective, but somewhat noisy and cramped quarters, but still semi-comfortable. I would do it again, but now will set lower expectations.
3. When you get off the train at Beijing - expect a mass of people. It seemed to me that 20 trains must have all arrived at the same time.
4. There are attendants at the exit of the train station that wanted to see your ticket and would tear them to indicate you had left the station. I didn't have my tickets handy, so I just walked past the attendant. She didn't seem to want to mess with an obvious Westerner and let me go.
Final note - the Shanghai famous shopping market has been shut down, but the shopping in Beijing is still fantastic with bargains everywhere.
1. No power ports in the cabins. There are two outlets in the hallways - directly across from beds 3/4 and 11/12. I had beds 5/6 and my Dell power cord just barely reached my cabin and allowed me to watch DVDs in my cabin throughout the 24 hour period.
2. They sell food from carts and have a dining car.
3. You are leaving China to go to Hong Kong so you have to go through customs at the Beijing West Station. This is located to the right side of main entrance hall. Instead of going into the main hall, do not go into the building but stay outside and go down to the right until you see the Customs entrance.
4. The beds in the 2 person sleepers are both lower berths (no upper berths) and no private bathrooms in the cabin. This is a better arrangement than the Shanghai to Beijing train since it provides a much more spacious environment. Going down the hall to the bathroom was not a problem.
Travel by train takes a little more time and is a little cheaper than air and saves a night of hotel cost. If I ever do a vacation to China again, I would likely repeat the train travel.
2 grandsons 10 &11 yrs intend to do just that in the later part of September 06.
I think it will be a great experience for all of us. We are
quite confident after reading all your messages so that we
now know what to expect etc. Hope we are lucky enough to get a 4 berth cabin to ourselves. I will get on to it as soon as I arrive in China in the begining of September.
Can you advise us how to book a reasonably priced, and fairly central hotel (2-3 stars rating would do) in Beijing for about 2-3 nights? Thanks! Lily Hsu
I would like to travel by sleeping car from beijing to shanghai
as below:
07aug06:beijing-shanghai
10aug06:shanghai-beijing or 10aug06:shanghai hong kong
please quote your rates and if there is a special rate for airline- staff
thank you and best regards
Gershon Mashiah
I am hoping someone can help answer 3 quick questions -
We will be taking the overnight Z train from Beijing to Shanghai around Oct. 10th, can you tell me when the national holiday is? I am wondering if we will have trouble booking train tickets.
We are a family of 4, when we book the tickets how do we guarentee we are all in the same soft sleeper cabin?
Last question, we will each have a large suitcase - is there a service to check these in elsewhere on the train?
Thank you again for your help. Without your web site we probably would have flown and missed out on this experience.
Regards,
Shelley
Highly recommend the 2 person just for a peace of mind to get away from the masses, but it sounds like the 4 person isn't too bad if you're a little more adventurous. the cabins had a funky smell, probably because the bathroom is right next to the sleeping area. it is interesting to read that yes, they dump the toilet waste right onto the tracks. i thought i saw daylight down there! i bought our tickets on www.chinatripadvisor.com, for $134 usd one-way each. so, basically, they add a $30 service charge to buy the tickets and then deliver them to your hotel a day or two before you leave. on our shanghai-beijing return, we were just coming through shanghai from suzhou, so we didn't have a hotel where they could deliver the tickets. we were told to pick them up at their delivery office, and that was no problem, as it's an easy 15 minute cab from the main bus station in a main area of shanghai near the shanghai center. felt a little like amazing race. they also had great follow-up when i had questions regarding purchasing the ticket via paypal.
since all beds are assigned (i didn't know this until we got on the train since i couldn't read the ticket), there's no reason to join the insane mass of people trying to go through the line when they open up the train in beijing or shanghai. just wait till it clears out as your bed is reserved. in beijing, on the ground floor to the right is a soft-class only waiting area which is a little less crowded than the humid/hot general hard-class waiting area up by the pllatforms. and yes, arriving in beijing, there is a giant mass of people all at once, so perhaps, wait a little when you arrive for everyone to get through.
sorry for a long reply. the previous comments were so helpful for me, i thought i'd share some more.
you people really rock! iam from india, i use internet to see the development of your country in the infrastructure arena, its mind blowing. china now have magnetic levied trains which mark a top speed of 430 kmph. whereas in india, the top speed of the train is only 150 kmph(max.). moreover the facilities you provide in the trains are more than a 4 star hotel treatment in india. its really cool ,continue your progress............ as a indian iam jealous about the development of your country.
Yours thankfully, Marlon
They show the train number as T14 & T22 and they say they will deliver to your hotel just a little bit in advance?
Are tickets easily available anytime? are trains not full?
sorry for so many questions :-)
We took soft sleeper, low berth, Z14 from Shanghai to Beijing. They also served us delicious dinner with one set of bread & fruit. I'm the kind of people who scared for dirty toilet. But in this train, I considered it as acceptable. The train had arrived on time at Beijing.
After we spent 3 days at Beijing, we took soft sleeper, low berth, Z19 from Beijing to Xian. The train is a bit better than Z14 since they provided individual TV set each berth, but no meals offer. We spent two days there.
Since the train ticket from Xian to Suzhou cannot buy in advance at Shanghai Train Station, so we need to book ticket at Xian. Finally we can get only hard sleeper, which make us a different experience & feeling. Not too bad lah!!
This is what our travelling plan by train.. How about you?
I plan to travel by train again by November... It was great memory for Thai people like us for China train (especially Z-category).
Very nice site, btw, I'll be reading it more in the future.
You don't need to buy the ticket too many days in advance. Typically, you can get a ticket the same day or the previous day, if it is not in holidays.
First, Jian Shuo Wang, this is a great source of information! Thank you for keeping this up!!!
My family and I (4 people) are hoping to travel from Suzhou or Shanghai to Beijing on 10/26 and return to Suzhou or Shanghai on 10/30.
My main questions are:
1. We want to get on the Z trains (cleaner, newer, more comfort--we will have our 3 1/2 yr. old son) what is the best Z train to book for Suzhou/Shanghai to Beijing and Beijing back to Suzhou/Shangai?
2. We need a 4 bunk room, do the 4 bunks have doors that lock?
3. Do all 4 bunk cars share a communal bathroom? Or do the 4 bunks have private baths?
4. Another person on another forum suggested bringing bed bug spray...honestly that suggestion freaked me out!! Are the trains clean....are bed bugs something we should be concerned about?
5. Is it best to buy tickets in China or online through a website?
Also, if you have other suggestions please feel free to share!
Thank you!
Amanda
It convinced my wife and I to travel via Z train in November to Shanghai. We actually had our hotel in Beijing do the booking for us.
I have a question though. We are travelling on the Z5 and it suggests that it is with Dinner. Do you have that in a Dining Car or in your compartment? What would the dinner consist of?
Thanks
John
Any information you have would be helpful
This is a wonderful site...great pictures and loads of information. Thank you.
I am with Air Canada and will be travelling to Shanghai in January with my daughter and husband. We would like to take the train to Beijing on Jan 10th. Do you know if there is an airline rate? Do we have to book in advance for a soft sleeper? Can we get a refund if we can't get to Shanghai as we are on standby with our airline? I would appreciate any info you can give me. Thanks you for you website. It is very informative.
Donna Kyliuk
best regards.
SUNIL JAIN
And since we will be going through Kazakhskan and Russia, any information on that area would be great.
Thanks all!
and because i have little time ,i can't see this clearly
but when i see that there are may comments i say that abve!!
On next march, we will travel to beijing. We want to visit also Shanghai.
Whant can be the fare for 2 poeple from Beijing to Shanghai go and back?
Where we can buy the tickets and how long before the travel ?
Thanks for your useful informations and your blog.
Thanks for all your info.
I know you receive alot of questions like this. But I still need to confirm it to you.
Which is better, to book though an internet or directly (around 2-3days before departure).
Me n my husband plan to go to Beijing from Shanghai.
Thx alot
thanks a lot!
all the best,
ady :D
we (my wife and I) will go with an economic train (or some wath economic) from beijing to shanghai. what could we do?
Best Rigards
I will be travelling to Shanghai in a few weeks and I was curious about the best way to book tickets from Shanghai to Beijing (return). Am I okay to book them when I arrive. we arrive in Shanghai on the 12 and want to travel on the 17th.
What do you recommend?
Thanks
Z trains look great, I'll be making the trip in November. It's going to pain me to do so but I think I'll have to pay the extra to have a hotel book the tickets for me... am I chicken for not wanting to risk buying at the station?
I want to take that Lhasa train to 16,000 feet! Contributions strongly welcomed!
So, it appears my choices are:
1. Book a soft sleeper (sleeps 4) at 79 US$ on the lower berths on a more modern, faster Z train and hope no one books the upper berths and book it 20 days in advance or
2. Book a deluxe soft sleeper (sleeps 2) at 137 US$ on a less modern, slower T train and book it the day before we travel.
Has anyone beek on the T 110 and have a recommendation about which way to go?
thanks
James
We are taking the train from Xi'an to Beijing in June and are planning to book the delux 2 berth soft sleeper. I am a bit worried about smoke - as I am asthmatic. We emailed a company and were told that they were non smoking but I see above that someone mentioned people smoke in the corridor - if this is the case and no windows can be opened are the sleepers smoky??
Thanks
-What will be our best bet: Z9 or T31
-According to the website selling tickets, Z9 does not have 2 person soft sleeper, only T31 does
-Is the Z9 mort comfortable then the T31 ?
-Or is it better to take the Z13 and take a taxi from shanghai to hangzhou...?
Thanks fo rthe GREAT information . I am travelling for an international congress in Beijing departing from Hong Kong . I want to take the train between Beij and Hong Kong but want to stop ove rin Shanghai for few days , is there a service which provides this" stop over " ? or should I book train from HongKong to Shanghai and then from Shanghai to eijing ? I am not sure if there is a train from HK to Shanghai but I know there is a Z train from Kowloon to Beijing .
Can you please, provide me information about this soon,
All the best,
Mo
Egypt
Some other details about the logistics are important for first time riders:
1. The soft sleeper lounge is in the right side of the west side of the train terminal. You should enter the terminal there or you will need to go through security twice (as we did) and get a bunch of puzzled looks.
2. While the signs on the train shown in the pictures above are in English, there are no brochures in English (e.g. indicating when the dining car is open for service).
3. The announcements over the public address system are not in English, so we really did not know what was going on.
4. There appear to be 16 sleeping cars on the train. We were in car 1. The dining car was car 9 (and I am guessing there were 8 sleeping cars on the other end of the train as well). We found it a little bit of a pain to maneuver around people sitting on the fold-out seats in the aisle that are outside many of the compartments on each car, as we made our way to the dining car. If you care about this situation, you may want to try to book a compartment nearer to the dining car.
5. You will need to track down the attendant to have them lock your door. For us, it was the same person who checked our ticket as we entered the train car. However, she was not able to be free to lock our door (and allow you to go to the dining car)until after the train was underway, as she was still checking other people's tickets. This was not apparent to us when we first got on since she spoke very little English, but it was apparent from recounting what had happened after-the-fact.
6. Breakfast starts at 6 AM. We thought it would be much earlier, since the train arrives in Beijing at 7:00 AM. So, we got up at 5 AM to get cleaned up and watch the countryside as we approached Beijing. We found the staff was sleeping in the dining car at 5:30 AM!! You have a choice which includes Western style breakfast.
How do I go about it. If no 2 sleepers are available what is the best alternative.
How secure is your luggage on the train?
I'm planning to take the train from Beijing to Shanghai 15 August evening, coming back 20 August evening. I am trying to get tickets through an agency and will post a further comment. if I manage to get them.
thanks
hazel
The train station, Beijing city central, was busy and bottlenecked at the entrance. Our train left at 7:44pm and so we arrived by taxi at the station at 6:44pm.
The train was very full. Every compartment had at least four people. We saw groups of six or more in some compartments. So if you gamble on having a compartment to yourselves during a weekday night trip, you may find that an increasing number of people are buying the soft-sleeper and, as it seemed, even sharing bunks. I spoke with the attendant for our car when we boarded and then again just before, and then ten minutes after, we left the station. She explained that every bunk was sold and that every one got on the train, so we couldn't buy our upper bunks or swap out.
We shared a four-bunk compartment with two college age Chinese guys. They were polite, sat outside the compartment to eat their McDonalds food and mainly played on their PSP's. They kept to their upper bunks until we arrived in Shanghai. So although we didn't have a private room, we were fortunate to have polite roommates and a nice attendant.
We brought our own food and drinks. But we tried not to drink much because the bathrooms were, from the start, in poor condition and busy.
We'll fly next time, to have similar or better cleanliness, even with Air China, and a much shorter trip. If we had to take the train, we wouldn't hesitate to buy the private double.
The plane is sure faster, but only once you are in it ... (Air China has a record of 3 hours delay on avareage) plus airport taxis, checking-in 2 hours ahead . . But I supose it is cleaner
Thanks for your help I have large bags with me.
Another traveller mentioned bathroom were dirty - is this correct from your experience ?
Thank you for your reply.
A few observations to help future travellers. I bought the tickets at Beijing main station 5 days before travel, at the -quote- "CRH Harmonious ticket office", which is located externally down a passage on the west side of the main building. There is a window marked "Tickets for Foreigners", but still no English spoken or understood! I had written down our requirements in big clear letters, which was eventually understood, and tickets issued! - Very satisfactory! The ticket office on level 1 (which is the ground floor) in the corner of the soft class waiting room was not open. The latest Lonely Planet guide also makes this observation.
Even though you can wait in the soft class waiting area, our particular train departure was not called on the electronic boards - you need to find the platform yourself in the main level 2 (first floor) platform access concourse, and then join the scrum!! - Chinese people do not queue well! Once on board, all was well, and just as shown in the Z train photos above. Arrival and departure times were spot on.
We ate in the restaurant car - RMB 100 for two people including a beer each. Breakfast I think was RMB 20 each, delivered to your compartment - stick to the Western choice! We did not find a lock box in the four berth compartment, but had no trouble accommodating 2 medium/large suitcases together with hand luggage. There is storage space under the lower bunks or at head height above the carriage corridor, which will take a bit of lifting/lugging to use. One of us being on the short side, we just used the end of the bunk!
Our two upper bunk co-inhabitants were very pleasant, and were no trouble, although there is inevitably luck involved. I don't think the deluxe soft sleeper double compartments are currently available on the Beijing-Shanghai route - we couldn't see any after looking up and down our train. If you really don't want to share, buy all four bunks in one compartment - check they are in the same one! It's still cheaper and more convenient city centre to city centre travel than the plane.
I hope these observations are helpful and reassuring for future travellers - if you think intercity sleeper is for you, and you have a spirit fro adventure, then go for it, We are glad we did.
The train is generally clean and comfortable. All of the pictures and comments above are accurate. However, the bathrooms become a challenge. Each car has a small washroom at the front with 2 small sinks. Also, each car has 2 toilet rooms at the rear. The right room has a standard toilet while the left room has one of those "kneeling" units which is basically a hole in the floor. The bathrooms all start out clean, but as the trip wears on, the men tend to cover the toilets and floors with urine and spit. Even so, these are still 100X better than the train station bathrooms as they were complete disasters. Remember, China is still a developing country with many uneducated peasants. Cleanliness is no consideration for most locals. But i'm sure this is the best train you can get in this country.
There is plenty of hot water available but you need your own cups and napkins. Almost everyone brought a bowl of instant noodles with them. They did sell little "lunch box" meals for dinner and breakfast you could eat in your cabins. They were surprisingly good. Car #9 is the dining car with a little bar area. We had dinner one night and the food was very good. However, it was crowded and you have to share your table with other people, also, they ran out of several dishes early. They served dinner from boarding until 9:30pm when "midnight snack" time started. I think breakfast started at 6am. Overall, an enjoyable experience much cheaper than flying and saving a hotel stay each night.
I would like 2 person sleeper and I understand it is not available on Z train.
Any comments on T train are appreciated.
Do you have available website for the Z Train? can we do online booking?
thanks,
aris
There is no website for you to book it.
http://www.chinatripadvisor.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34&Itemid=47
any advice on this matter will be greatly appreciated. thanks.
Does the compartment have their own toilets?
Thanks for your help
Ive checked some online sale - Train tickets and found that z trains now sells at $83USD?
Is this true? based from previous posts, z trains cost only around $66USD.
Im from the philippines and would like to purchase the tickets ahead of time. thanks for any help.
What are the alternatives to the soft sleeper? Are the hard sleeper and the soft seater bearable? Does anyone know the prices?
I know that the hard seater is hell.
http://www.seat61.com/China.htm#Beijing%20-%20Shanghai
i was doing some googling tonight to get a better idea of the price and such when i came across this website. it looks decent, so hopefully this will be some help to ya.. ive never been to shanghai but i will be when my bf i and leave for china in dec for our vacation. if anyone got tips on where to go, where to eat in shanghai, pls fill me in~ thanks =D
http://www.seat61.com/China.htm#Beijing%20-%20Shanghai
i was doing some googling tonight to get a better idea of the price and such when i came across this website. it looks decent, so hopefully this will be some help to ya.. ive never been to shanghai but i will be when my bf i and leave for china in dec for our vacation. if anyone got tips on where to go, where to eat in shanghai, pls fill me in~ thanks =D
and when should I reserve the ticket.
Thanks in Advance.
ayaz.
I'm looking to to get tickets from beijing to shanghai on the sleeper bed like the one Wendy is relaxing on (the photo). could you please let me know how to get those tickets from Australia?
Train departure was 7:00 pm , I arrived at 6:00 - waited in the crowded Soft Waiting Lounge a bit and boarded about 6:30. I was travelling alone and shared my cabin with 3 other people - they didn't speak English so I hit the bar. The cabin was clean , all pictures above are very accurate. The bathroom was a little raunchy by morning. I did have a nice dinner on the train.
There is only room for 1 large suitcase in cabin under table. A few other slots for small bags.
This was a cool way to get to Beijing. On at 7:00PM off at 7:00AM - nice and easy.
Make sure to get a taxi with a METER at the Beijing railway.
9) Buying train tickets.The only way to buy them outside China is through agents who don't do it for free. Some are very expensive. If you are staying at a hotel, you can ask them to buy your tickets. There will be a modest fee for delivery.however, it is easy to buy your own tickets too.At Beijing Railway Station and Beijing West Railway Station there are still special 'foreigner' counters with staff who speak English and some other languages.If you can't find the place, ask at the duty station master desk which is just inside the station.They speak English too. Of course, if you get someone to write down the details,you can do what I do and join the shortest queue at the ordinary ticket windows.10) If you want to know about trains to/from Hongkong to Beijing and Shanghai, you can find the official information here.
http://www.it3.mtr.com.hk/b2c/frmIndex.asp?strLang=Eng
11) Someone asked about a reasonable central hotel in Beijing. I can recommend the Harmony Hotel. It is in a sidestreet not more than 100 metres from the front of Beijing Railway Station,and less than 50m from the subway.Cost is aaround $45 USD for a standard room that is quite big and well-equipped. Most staff speak good English.You can find it and book it on line through many agents. Here is one. http://www.asiahotels.com/hotelinfo/Harmony_Hotel_Beijing/
12)Someone asked about a quick trip to the Great Wall on a short visit to Bejing.That is an easy one. There are lots of buses going to the Grat Wall at Badaling all the time.Bus time is about 1 each way.You can catch a local bus there from about 200m to the right of Beijing Railway Station.It says Badaling on the front in English and Chinese,and there are 'barkers' trying to fill up the buses.It only cost about US$2 fare, and stops as near as is allowed to the entrance of Great Wall, where there are lots of souvenir shops.There is a nice museum too.Other than that, the hotels such as the Harmony mentioned above, can all get you on a trip at short notice.If there are two or three of you, you could take a taxi, but agree the fare before you start,or get it from a hotel too A couple of hours on the wall is enough for most.You don't need a guide.
13)Lastly, someone asked about the January temperature in Beijing and Shanghai.Beijing is COLD!..down to -17C at night . you can look here. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/climate/beijing.htm
Shanghai is warmer. around freezing at night,and cool 9/10C high, during the day.Look here
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/climate/shanghai.htm
You can find most other chinese cities through the above links.
Now I have to get on with booking my ticket from Birmingham UK to Bejing for the last week in January.Then it will be the Z61 for the 1003 km north to Changchun(Soft Sleeper RMB352) 352...even colder than Beijing .. and after a week or so in Changchun, I will take a train further about 250km to Harbin for the Ice Festival....even colder.The K9 train takes something less than 3hours, for only RMB57 soft seat, or I may take the Changchun built D25 Bullet Train which takes just 1hr46min for RMB97.
Hope some of this is useful to someone.
Can anyone comment on the LUGGAGE STORAGE possibilities at the station in Shanghai?
I see this question has been asked before but have not seen a really helpful response.
would it still be possible to buy train tickets (soft sleeper) at the station between 27th and 2 May 2008, 1 day in advanced?
http://www.seat61.com/China.htm#Beijing%20-%20Xian
http://www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/
Hope this helps!
I do not want to use an agent and pay expensive agent fees.
thank you
I am planning on a trip to beijing from shanghai with my kids and am lost at at all the different Z trains. Am am able to asume that although the train number is different , the train itself is the same as what is shown here ( in the photo ) ?
thanks for answering to my question. cheers
Is it possible for me to buy a ticket ( beijing - shanghai) 2/3 days before depart-day? And unfortunately, the depart-day will be on 1 oct'08.
I am planning to buy the ticket on my arrival-day in beijing! what time the counter will close in daily time? please reply me. i need the information and the chances to get the ticket to shanghai! thanks
Is it possible for me to buy a ticket ( beijing - shanghai) 2/3 days before depart-day? And unfortunately, the depart-day will be on 1 oct'08.
I am planning to buy the ticket on my arrival-day in beijing! what time the counter will close in daily time? please reply me. i need the information and the chances to get the ticket to shanghai! thanks
Because I am time-bound, is there a train going to Suzhou directly? Or a plane is more practical? Hoping for possible options on how to travel.
Thank you very much in advance!
- toilets were up to or past French sleeper trains - perhaps not up to Swedish standards
- compartments (soft sleeper) were fine containing:
-- power outlet inside the compartment (under the table at the window)
-- TV for each bed (with 2 channels only one of which worked most of the time; on the way back the sound only worked with the ones for the lower beds)
- food was quite good - I had a whole fish for one meal and it was of good quality
- staff were friendly and reasonably efficient
- very little English is spoken - but you can make yourself understood
- prices: (aprox) HKD 900 each way for adults, HKD 600 each way for children, under 3 y.o. free. It is somewhat cheaper at non-peak periods
Thanks.
It was quiet and so very smooth. Take earplugs to block out the snoring of other passengers!
Beer was 15RMB per bottle, I didn't eat on board. There are 2 toilets at the end of each pair of carriages. One is a hole in the floor and the other a sit on. They do get a bit messy by the end of the journey.
Remember to take toilet paper, soap and a hand towel.
I would thoroughly recommend it and I would definately do it again.
I tried booking on-line, but they are charging a cut-throat price of US$120 for a soft-sleeper ticket on the Z train!! I also found out that booking with the local travel agents would also cost about RMB1200 per such ticket!! Please let me know how I can get the train ticket at a more reasonable price, like not more than RMB50 extra per ticket.
I am arriving at Beijing on 15 Dec 08 & plan to leave Beijing for Shanghai on 18 Dec evening. I am travelling with my 65-yr old mom, a 15-yr old son, a 14-yr old son, a 9-yr old son & a young lady friend 20+ of age. I need to know for sure that I have the train tickets to Shanghai as early as possible so that I can then book domestic flight air tickets for the 6 of us to fly from Shanghai to Shenzhen on 21 Dec 08 morning.
Please help, really need info desperately. Thanks very very much
I tried booking on-line, but they are charging a cut-throat price of US$120 for a soft-sleeper ticket on the Z train!! I also found out that booking with the local travel agents would also cost about RMB1200 per such ticket!! Please let me know how I can get the train ticket at a more reasonable price, like not more than RMB50 extra per ticket.
I am arriving at Beijing on 15 Dec 08 & plan to leave Beijing for Shanghai on 18 Dec evening. I am travelling with my 65-yr old mom, a 15-yr old son, a 14-yr old son, a 9-yr old son & a young lady friend 20+ of age. I need to know for sure that I have the train tickets to Shanghai as early as possible so that I can then book domestic flight air tickets for the 6 of us to fly from Shanghai to Shenzhen on 21 Dec 08 morning.
Please help, really need info desperately. Thanks very very much
I'll be traveling to Shanghai and Beijing from Manila in January and I'm glad to find out about Z trains! Thanks to the owner of this blog!
We will be in Shanghai on Apr09,2009 and will fly to Beijing on Apr12,2009. We want to ride the train back but to different destination (Hangzhou). I need help on getting advance tickets for 2 persons for Train Z9 from Beijing to Hangzhou on Apr14, 2009.
I understand that we can try at Beijing but we would rather get the tickets in advance to avoid urgency.
Can anyone help? THANKS,
I was going from shanghai to yiwu.. IN morning I have taken a train no. D685.. which takes 2:15 Hrs to reach YIwu.. it reached timely.. In return we have booked the train ticket by train no N458..we reached station yiwu well in time.. train was scheduled at 18:23 but I don't know that why the inforamation center was showing 18:18.. finally we reached at our plateform on 18:12 .. where some other train 461 was on the scheduled plateform. The Train attendant asked us for ticket and she board us on the train inspite of we were showing that this may not be our train.. She was repeatedly telling shanghanian.. station name of shanghai south.. The train condition was pathetic.. we were to reach at shanghai south by N458 at 9:38 but we reached at 11:30 only due to the foolness of that lady ticket checker / Attendant.
IN inside of the train.. no body knows english.. it was stinking.. the whole train.. I have seen the very bad shape of china trains..
keep in mind no body is going to help you in china.. keep urself updated and do not believe on anyone
I went from Shanghai to Beijing on a Monday evening and bought the ticket 2 nights in advance. I bought the ticket from Shanghai to Beijing the day before departure, which was on a Thursday. Both times I bought the ticket from the train station and on both trips most of the lower berths in the soft sleeper cabins were occupied but I didn't see a single person in any of the top berths, so it's hard to imagine every cabin being full, some more than full, as was mentioned in one of the previous posts (unless of course it's during a major holiday). I also don't think it would be difficult to buy tickets a few days before departure as some mentioned here. Tickets aren't available for purchase that soon before departure really (which is one of the reasons ticket prices are so expensive when bought online so far in advance, you're paying them in some cases quite literally to 'camp out' to buy your ticket when it goes on sale).
As of this post the cost is the same as mentioned, 499RMB for a lower berth soft sleeper on a Z class both BJ > SH and SH > BJ.
Dinner was not served on Z14 despite it being listed on the 'dinner' list above. I do not recall my train from BJ to SH's number but dinner was not served on that one either. Someone did come around in the evening selling breakfast for the next morning, but I passed.
The Z trains looked the exact same now as they did in the pics above, from the upholstery down to the placement of the flower and hot water pot on the table.
I am going to visit Shanghai and I´d love to see The Great Wall of China.
Is it possible to visit The Wall in one day?
For instance -night train to Beijing then visit The Great Wall and then (the same day) back by night train to Shanghai?
How long does it take to get to the Wall from Beijing railway station?
Thanks,
Marcel
You can take the night train to Beijing, and take bus to the Great Wall - several hours, and get back to take night train back to Shanghai - that costs 1000RMB or more, and .... Well. I just think the idea is too crazy. I never heard of a plan like this.
I´ve never been to China before, maybe thats why my idea sounds crazy. Infact I don´t a good overview in distances in China.
So I would be very happy if you could suggest me some other alternatives
This is our first trip, can we book a 2 sleeper compartment with smoking, my husband and I are celebrating of 25th wedding anniversary.
Take Metro Line #1 toward People's Square, and transit to Metro Line #2. Transit to Maglev via Long Yang Road Station.
Thanks for the really relevant info posted here. We are a couple with children that wants to visit China for two weeks in October and we would like to take a train from Beijin to GUIYANG, Guizhou. If anyone has some info on the quality of those trains (like the t87) I would really appreciate it. We hate to fly so the train solution is optimal for us. If you have any other suggestion let us know please. We are going to be there with our three children (9, 5, and 3yrs).
cheers
Aaron
For people like me who do not know much about China this kind of blogs help a lot.
Your photos are also really good. I liked them a lot. Right from the stations to the berths on the train you have covered everything so well. Great work.
For people like me who do not know much about China this kind of blogs help a lot. Do mail me if possible. Thanks.
Your photos are also really good. I liked them a lot. Right from the stations to the berths on the train you have covered everything so well. Great work.
As per shops in SHA I might need to have some clothes made (depends on my activity ...suits and shirts) do you recommend a place, respected and respectful? I am not paranoid about tourists being ripped off but have been travelling so much around the world that don't get surprised any longer with different manifestations of human conduct. Any advice will be nice. This is my first time in SHA.
Many thanks. Toni
I have a question? Plz tell me do u have any student ticket if i want to travel from Beijing to Shanghai.
Thanks
Majid
Would like to take the 'soft'sleeper' train from Beijine to Sochou and return.
Does the Z train or the T train travel there, and which is better.
Which one includes deluxe soft sleeper for two persons, and what is the cost?
Is is OK to buy the tickets in Beijing for travel on the 7th (next day).
Thank for your early response.
Arriving in Beijing on Nov 6.
Would like to take the 'soft'sleeper' train from Beijing to Suzhou and return.
Does the Z train or the T train travel there, and which is better.
Which one includes deluxe soft sleeper for two persons, and what is the cost?
Is it OK to buy the tickets in Beijing for travel on the 7th (next day).
Thank for your early response.
Thanks, XY
I need information about trains from Kong Kong to Shangai also from Shangai to Beijing.
I read that the Z-trains are replaced by the D-trains - do they differ in comfort, or are they different in any regard at all?
I tried to book a Z-train Shanghai-Beijing here (but couldn't):
http://www.chinatripadvisor.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=131&Itemid=78#request
Should I just go ahead and book the D306 etc. instead? Can anyone shed some light on this?
Thanks!
Any help will be so beneficial to us in our decision.
thanks :)
We are interested to increase traffic to your website by Search Engine Optimization, please get back to us in order to discuss the possibility in further detail. Thanks
David from Beijing Royal International Travel Co.,Ltd
I will with my wife in china. We want to travel from Beijing - Shanghai on 2 or 3rd May 2010 to see the Expo and the City. How can I book fast train tickets. please send me some links if you can.
Thanks,
NR
www.CHINA.Bible-Depo.com
I would like to book 2 adults on the bullet train from Beijing to Shanghai either Wednesday 26 or Thursday 27 May 2010 after 7pm.
Can you please tell me how I would do this on-line?
Elisha
Thanks
N. Neimat
Copenhagen
I will be in Beijing 6 days and then have 3+ days free to travel. I'd like to go to Shanghei by train, but would also consider sites that are closer to Beijing if those sites offered wonderful siteseeing opportunities for novice world travelers such as my wife and I. Also, our flight is roundtrip from Beijing so we will need to get back there at the end.
Does it make sense to take the overnight train one way to Shanghei, spend a day or 2 there, and work our way back to Beijing to catch the return flight, maybe seeing another city for the day?
What might be the cost in US dollars?
What suggestions would you have for the 3+ days?
Thanks!
Ron
I want goes to xian. If I stay in beijing.Can I booking round-trip ticket(2 way)ticket from beijing-xian-beijing?
I am not sure. May be only one way booking.
Pls give me the detail.
So much thanks
Aaron
versus a regular train fare of $49 dollars is that correct ? & is there a sleeper cabin
in the regular train which can take up to 12 hours where a fast train can take 4 hrs
am I correct on that ?
When I look at the schedule
http://www.chinatravelguide.com/ctgwiki/Special:CNTrainSearch?from=Beijing&to=Shanghai
It says Beijing South or just Beijing and some tabs say Shanghai or Shanghai Hongquiao. What's the difference?
I have tickets booked for the Beijing - Shanghai sleeper train on 24th Aug 2011. However, on the UK news today I see that 50+ trains have been recalled. Can anyone tell me if the train is still running obviously this is all to do with the crash last month. Any information will be appreciated.
Do you ever go to Guangzhou or Shenzhen from Shanghai by train? How long it will takes and how much? Which one is better Shanghai to Guangzhou or Shanghai to Shenzhen ?