Q: How many small luggage you can carry aboard the train?
A: The China Ministry of Railways stipulates that the weight of small luggage you carry into the train is limited to a maximum of 20 kilograms (44 pounds); other big baggage can be checked into the train and the related formalities should be transacted at the railway station before your departure.
Q: How many types of Chinese Trains?
A: The trains in China are categorized and named according to their speed and comfort. There are five different types in China, D-Bullet Train, Z-Express Train, T-Superior Fast Train, K-Fast Train, and Ordinary Train.
Q: Is there restaurant carriage in every train?
A: Yes, the restaurant is often located at the 10th carriage. The choice of food will be limited and only Chinese food will be available.
Q: How far ahead in advance should I book a train ticket?
A: It may be not so easy to book a train ticket in China, especially during the period of Chinese spring festival (falls between late January to early February), Labor Day (fist three days in May), Chinese National Day celebration (first week in October), also during summer holiday and winter holiday. Therefore, if you would like to book train tickets through us, we recommend that you make a reservation at least one week in advance.
During slack seasons, however, train tickets in China have to be bought 4 days before departure date. So it would still be appropriate to contact us a week in advance so we can make sure the tickets are bought 4 days before your departure date.
In addition, transits going to big cosmopolitan cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and the like, are always in its “peak” all year round. So our advice, book your ticket in advance lest they run out of ticket for your preferred departure date.
Q: How to find the right train and its departure time?
A: It all turns into the question: Can you read the timetable? If not, get someone to help you. You need to know at least a few Chinese characters, the city names you go from and to, to find anything at all. You should also know Chinese geography and be able to interpret the sketch maps in the timetable. The timetable is not ordered by line, but by train route. Thus, sometimes all the trains on one line may be spread over many pages. The timetable is not always exact. You’d better confirm with our trip advisers in advance. (Some trains may be canceled, some may run every second day, and there are definitely extra trains.) If you do not read at least a little Chinese, get help. |