Skip to content
  • Epic Quest
  • Contact Me!
  • About Me
Instagram YouTube Facebook
Menu

Writer. Traveler. Tea Drinker.

Writer. Traveler. Tea Drinker. Doing all three in China
Instagram YouTube Facebook
  • Epic Quest
  • Contact Me!
  • About Me
Hit enter to search or esc to close
Home  >  China • Traveling  >  Train Travel in China: Part One
Posted inChina Traveling

Train Travel in China: Part One

Posted By Becky Ances Posted on February 2, 2010
Please install Travelera Share Buttons plugin


Trains are one of the easiest and most common ways to get around in China and we’ve been on them a lot throughout this trip. But like everything else, it operates just a little bit differently so I thought I would describe it.
The whole thing turned out pretty long so I’m splitting it up into two parts. The first part is pre-train info, while the second part is related to being on the train.
Buying a Ticket:
This is the easy part. China seems to have a pretty decent computerized system nationwide and most hostels will go to a booking office for you to get tickets. We booked our own tickets once, and had a Chinese person write down what we wanted because no one at the train station spoke English, nor was there a schedule in English. The tickets list the time, train number, car number and seat number clearly enough even for us stupid laowei.
Tickets go on sale 10 days before departure date but are usually available right up to the last minute. Book early on holidays and weekends just in case. You can find the train schedule online at travelchinaguide.com, but be warned the prices on that site are outdated.
Train Stations:
Train stations here are totally chaotic yet surprisingly organized. You don’t find out what platform you go to, rather it is more like an airport in which you find your gate number. When they say gate number, they mean gate. The stations have a big metal gate located between you and the track. When your train arrives they open up the gate and everyone runs through like crazy. It can be pretty stressful actually. (Especially when my jacket zipper caught a thread from a guys coat and they locked together. He didn’t notice and was pulling, I was frantically trying to get our jackets apart and luckily some guy in between us stepped in and helped. I am sure that if he made it through the gate with us attached he would have just dragged me along.)
The part before the gate opening can be pretty stressful too. It all depends on how big the station is, and how many people are traveling. We were at one train station in Dali which was surprisingly calm. The gate was waist height and when the train arrived everyone filed out calmly.
We were also at a train station in Chengdu that was total chaos. There were hundreds of people waiting for the train, all jostling and pushing and laying their heavy huge bags on the ground. Despite the cold weather the whole place smelled pretty rank and if someone panicked, the whole scene could have easily turned into a mob. It had that restless vibe. The platform gate was also 14-16 feet high giving the whole place a sort of caged quality that was unpleasant.
Train Snack:
Bring your own. Yes, there are little ladies that roam up and down the train with food items but it is really best just to bring your own food and drink. For drink, all you need is some tea leaves and your metal or glass travel mug as every train has multiple hot water stations. You can also use the hot water for the most popular train food: ramen noodles! (Of course, they don’t call it ramen noodles here that’s a Japanese word but it’s the same thing.) Ramen noodles are not just for the college crowd or the poor in China, but a pretty legitimate meal even off the train.
Other popular snacks are small oranges, peanuts and sunflower seeds (it’s okay to throw the shells on the ground here, even on a train) dried tofu and if you are really brave those prepackaged chicken feet. Personally, I always made sure to have some rolls or bread and a Snickers bar with me as well.

Next time: The different types of seats on a Chinese train!

Tags: instant noodles oranges trains
Previous Article Chinglish Signs: Park Edition
Next Article My Unfair Analysis of Lijiang, China

Related Posts

Walking with Pikachu

I’m not sure how it started. Maybe I just thought it was cute the way my Taiwanese boyfriend pronounced Pikachu (pi-ka-que), but for the past five years, every time one of sees a Pikachu doll, toy, game etc we have to talk about it and point it out, and end

Read More about Walking with Pikachu
Please install Travelera Share Buttons plugin

Here We Go Again!

Bored, playing around on my computer the other day, I started looking through old bookmarks on my browser. Since I have been an Apple user for a long time, whenever I get a new device or computer, it copies everything over automatically and I have bookmarked websites I haven’t looked

Read More about Here We Go Again!
Please install Travelera Share Buttons plugin

1 Comment

  1. Pingback: China Carnival #12: Wine, Train, Green Olympic | ChinaBlog.cc - Timeless China Blog

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Recent Posts

  • Walking with Pikachu
  • Here We Go Again!
  • The Five Books I Keep Returning To
  • “Do You Like Bread?”
  • 100 Years of the CCP and All I Got was This Lousy Light Show

Archives

Categories

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Recent Posts

  • Walking with Pikachu Becky Ances June 17, 2022
  • Here We Go Again! Becky Ances June 9, 2022
  • The Five Books I Keep Returning To Becky Ances July 30, 2021
  • Popular
  • Recent
  • The Swiss Family Robinson are a Bunch of Jerks December 11, 2009
  • Making it Official: My Chinese Boyfriend December 7, 2012
  • Good Chinese Wife Review and a Chance to Win a Free Book!! July 27, 2014
  • 10 Signs You've Lived in China a Long Time March 29, 2014
  • Walking with Pikachu June 17, 2022
  • Here We Go Again! June 9, 2022
  • The Five Books I Keep Returning To July 30, 2021
  • “Do You Like Bread?” July 16, 2021

Subscribe Now to Our Newsletter, It’s Free!

Get the best content delivered straight into your inbox!

Facebook Twitter Google+

About

I’m an American who has been living in China for more than a decade! This is my blog where I muse about all things China. Please also check out my YouTube channel “Badminton Becky” and my other badminton blog at www.badmintonbecky.com

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Walking with Pikachu June 17, 2022
  • Here We Go Again! June 9, 2022
  • The Five Books I Keep Returning To July 30, 2021
© Copyright 2017. Theme by BloomPixel.