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Trains in China

China has one of the most highly developed rail systems in the world.and trains link
almost every town and city. Some people may still imagine Chinese trains to be
old-fashioned and crowded.In fact, some routes still used traditional steam engines
until 10 or 20 years ago. But today the best trains are very modern, comfortable and
safe.
Trains in china have four classes: soft seat,soft sleeper, hard seat, and hard sleeper.
Short distance trains normally just have hard seats, or sometimes hard seats and soft
seats, but no sleeper bunks. Long distance trains have soft and hard sleepers as well
as a few cars with hard seats, the so-called”cheap seats”.Soft sleepers have comfortable
4-berth compartments with full bedding provided. Hard sleepers have bunks in an
open-style dormitory, usually arranged in bays of (upper, middle and lower) on one side
of the aisle, with pairs of seats on the other side of the aisle for daytime use. For long trips,
both hard and soft sleepers are quite comfortable, but soft sleepers do provide much
more space and privacy.
The most important trains on the, for instance, Beijing-Shanghai, or Beijing-Hong Kong,
and some other routes also have deluxe soft class with 2-berth compartments as well as
the normal 4-berth soft class. Of course, most long distance trains have a restaurant car
serving full meals.
So, how do you book a train ticket? Reservations for the Z-class trains open 20 days in
advance, but for most other trains, booking only open 4 to 10 days before departure. The
rules sometimes vary. However,you cant’t buy a ticket before the booking open. At
past time you can generally only book a train journey at the station where your journey
starts, so ,for example,the reservation offices in Shanghai can sell you a ticket from
Shanghai to Beijing but not a ticket from Beijing on to Xi’an.You would have to purchase
these tickets when you arrive in Beijing,so allow for a few extra days, or else have
someone in Beijing buy the tickets for you. Now you can book tickets on the internet for
everywhere. Berths are best booked at least 2 to 3 days in advance,apart from peak periods
(like the Sping Festival,May Day holiday,or the National Day holiday in October)when
tickets should be booked as soon as reservations open. Many people travel during these
times and tickets can be scarce.
“Z” stands for 直快, indicating that it arrives at the destination with little or no interim
stops. The “T”stands for 特 as in 特快, extra fast. Trains with a “K” in the number are just
快，fast. These will stop at many more stations along the way and generally take much
longer time to arrive at the final destination.At any rate, travelling by trains is great way
to see the countryside and meet other travellers and local people along the way.

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