Should we train or fly to xian from beijing?
 

we will be arriving in beijing on sept 30 and plan to leave for xian on oct 5th. What is the advantage of taking the train as opposed to flying? It seems like almost everyone takes the train - is the scenery spectacular (although I guess most travel at night) ?
What would you recommend - there is a $50.00 difference between both costs.

The price difference varies according to season and demand, but may indeed often not be great, although you have to remember to add the cost of getting between airports and city centres, and remember that going by train saves you the cost of a night's accommodation, which can make the difference rather greater.

The trains leave rather conveniently in the late afternoon and early evening from Beijing West, which while not (yet) on the metro system is a great deal easier to reach than the airport, and takes you right into Xi'an whereas Xi'an's airport is actually in the neighbouring city of Xianyang, and it's a slow slog in from there. There's no need to check-in a full hour before travelling, either. The trains arrive early morning giving you a full day for sight-seeing rather then having half a day used up just in travelling.

Peter N-H

People train to save a night of hotel and the time, and many foreigners want to try the overnight train in China. Not to save money or for the scenery.

I can't see anywhere where we can get 2 soft sleepers per berth instead of 4 on their site. Is this option offered?

Deluxe Soft sleeper is not offered on many routes, and I guess not for this route at this time. I see for the two "Z" non-stops, Z19 is all regular soft sleepers, while Z53 is soft seats and soft sleepers.

You should be extremely cautious about buying both air tickets but particularly rail tickets from overseas, as you are very unlikely to get realistic prices unless you really know what you are doing. You haven't mentioned what site you're looking at so it is difficult to comment further, but it is unlikely to be 'their' site if you mean Chinese Railways own official site.

But the price for a soft sleeper should be ¥400 for an upper berth, and ¥417 for a lower one (in a four-berth compartment) and that's the price you'll pay in China (plus a booking fee of ¥5 per ticket if bought from a railway ticket agent, ¥20 or so if bought through an agent without a terminal on the system).

Peter N-H

Sorry, for my earlier quick response. Looking more carefully in the timetable on ht1881.com, T75 (6:30p - 7:08a) has one car of deluxe soft sleeper.

Also, the earlier and slower T55 (3:38p - 6:03a) uses the double-decker cars, with one of them soft sleeper. The upper deck of these double-decker soft sleepers have 7 cabins with only 2 berths it in. [Lower deck has regular 4 berths/cabin].

Deluxe sleeper prices: upper ¥710, lower ¥740.

if you have enough budget, you's better to take a flight to Xian from Beijing.

Do you sleep well on a sleeper train? I don't. And while there's something to be said for arriving early in the morning, you must also remember that while you can drop your luggage at your hotel, it's unlikely you'll be able to get into your room, take a (much needed or wanted) shower, and explore fully refreshed. I guess it's all a matter of taste, but in Europe I found I despised trying to save money by taking an overnight train to save a hotel, and being pretty darn miserable the whole next day.

As I haven't done both, I can't compare, but I took the overnight train into Xi'an with no problems. I had a couple of nice conversations in the train station, too--train stations seem more conducive to talk than airports, in my experience.

The train was comfortable and I slept well. The station in Xi'an is a bit of a madhouse, though, but that doesn't last long!

NeoP - but some people do sleep well on trains, and even find the whole experience interesting rather than miserable.

Most people should find soft-sleeper pretty comfortable if they don't have to share the cabin with strangers. And usually it's the stopping that wakes people up. If one's taking a Z train non-stop from Beijing to Xian, there shouldn't be any stop along the way.

When I took the train out of Tibet in June, I slept all the way from 11p to 7a. Didn't even wake up at Golmud during the stop when they switched locomotives. I was actually hoping to get up to take photos.

Oh, I agree thursdaysd, some do. Some people even sleep on international flights which don't stop either, but some of us don't. And I was also just pointing out that some of us are miserable without a nice shower in the morning. But I'm the first to agree that we all have different likes and dislikes.
I certainly don't mean to discourage anyone who is comfortable sleeping on a train.

Although I am still curious what people mean when they talk about "seeing the scenery" while they are sound asleep.

i don't think the two even compare....train is fine for those who like it, but in a 4 berth compartment with 2 or 3 folks you do not know is not for me...

i agree 100% with neo as well....comfort and a good night's sleep are paramount....the timing and the location are the only positives for me for train use...

i'll be sticking with the plane...

I would stick with the plane. Those 4 person sleeper cars are for the birds. I took one from Tibet to Xian and was miserable. From Xian, I took the plane back to Beijing and that was easy. Beautiful country, great scenery and the warriors are amazing!

I would recommend taking the sleeper train. Its a great experience and a fantastic way to meet the local people. If you are short on time then I would definatly fly as it's obviuosly much quicker. You will set off on the train early evening so there will be opportunities to see the country going past. When I traveled in China I found the trains to be an enjoyable part of my trip and I'm glad I chose to do this rather than flying.