Tina

I'll be travelling to Beijing June 1 and would like to visit Shanghai. I've heard the train is a great way to go...does anyone have any experiences with travelling by train in china? ie: costs, schedules, travel warnings, etc.<BR>

Peter N-H

The best trains are the daily T21 at 1800 and the T13 at 1808 each<BR>taking exactly 14 hours to reach Shanghai. These are fast, aircon<BR>trains, with adequate hard sleepers--the usual story of groups of six<BR>berths in two tiers of three, and an open corridor. The approx. cost is<BR>Y327 hard sleeper and Y499 soft sleeper (price varies slightly according<BR>to bottom, middle, top berth. Top is cheapest).<BR><BR>Soft sleeper has four beds in a compartment with a door.<BR><BR>Book for yourself four days ahead (including day of travel) at the<BR>International Ticket Office (which doesn't sell international tickets<BR>but sells tickets to an international clientele) at the far rear left<BR>hand side of Beijing Station, through the international (which really<BR>is) waiting room. You can also buy them at any other Beijing station and<BR>at myriad ticket agents for a fee of Y5.<BR><BR>Peter N-H<BR>http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html

Les

Tina,<BR>I've taken several train trips in China, but only one overnight trip (Beijing to Luoyang), and it was not particularly pleasant. We had the soft sleeper, as described above by Peter, and the compartment was small but adequate for sleeping (not much else, though - certainly not lounging around).<BR>The only other place to sit and read (or socialize) was in the dining car, and they made us leave (even though it was mostly empty) when we wouldn't buy food or drink (the food didn't look particularly palatable). There was a toilet at each end of the car (one traditional Chinese style, and one Western style); the Western toilet clogged up early in the trip and was unusable; it never got fixed.<BR>When we laughed about the trip with our guide in Luoyang, he said it depends upon whether the train was Russian or Chinese; the Russian trains are better, but, of course, ours was Chinese (we had no choice).<BR>Hope this helps.

Chinaboy

hi.<BR>T13, T14, T21 and T22 are the best trains shuttling between Shanghai and Beijing. These trains have luxury soft sleepers compartments which have private toilets. You have to pay 911 rmb for the bottom sleeper and 871 rmb for the upper. The bunk beds in soft sleeper compartments are broader than usual. I don't think take these trains will be awful.<BR>You may also find out the common conditions on Chinese trains on:<BR>http://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/transportation.htm<BR><BR>Have a nice trip in China.<BR><BR>Chinaboy<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>

gayle

We travelled Beijing to Xian in the hard sleeper compartment last October. No problems and a good experience. Everyone was really friendly and shared their fruit and snacks. Peter has filled you in on costs and schedules and as to warnings I dont think there is anything different to overnight train travel in most countries,sometimes you can be unlucky, just stay alert - and enjoy!