By Arnold Vis
Trains in China are incredibly comfortable and efficient. They’re hands down the best way to explore all the wonders that the country has to offer, with the opportunity to experience the beautiful countryside as you zoom past it, something you don’t get if you fly.
But there are a few aspects of Chinese train travel that can be somewhat daunting. After my recent trip to Shanghai, where I explored nearby cities such as Hangzhou and Ningbo by train, I’ve written up a few important things to remember to help all your railway adventures in China go smoothly.
Buy tickets in advance
It’s important that you always book tickets in advance rather than at the station. China has a massive population so getting train tickets can be a time-consuming process that involves reloading pages and waiting a long time, but it’s worth it.
This website is a good place to find tickets.
It has a decent English translation function, but if in doubt, use a translation app throughout your journey.
Here’s my original train ticket, and here it is with the help of my translation app (insert two images).
Your passport is your ticket
You may have your trip all booked and when you get to the station all excited for your journey, panic and wonder: where’s my ticket?
Don’t worry – there is no train ticket! Your train ticket is your passport, so it’s absolutely essential to have your passport with you when you travel by train in China.
At the security check – AVOID the middle queues
There is airport style security when you do get to the train station, it can be overwhelming but must be done. Unaware of the system, I got into one of the middle lanes, only to find out at the checkpoint that it wasn’t going to work for me.
The reason is that the middle queues only have machines that are set up to process Chinese ID’s, but not foreign passports.
If you do end up in one of the middle queues, you’ll need to wrestle your way into one of the sides queues, annoying plenty of locals in the process. This is not impossible but best avoided if you can.
The security check itself is similar to an airport check, but once you’re at the front of the queue, it all happens in a minute or so. Just be careful with liquids, I had shaving cream on me that was over the limit, and I had to leave it behind. Standards on what you can bring are similar to that in an airport, so keep that in mind when you pack.
Need a quick charge?
As so much of your life in China revolves around WeChat and paying with your phone, making sure your phone charged is very important. Luckily, train stations in China offer lots of opportunities to do this. In the central hall of many stations there are free charging ports, and you can also charge your phone at your seat once you’re on the train.
Checking in
Train stations in China are big, even in a second-tier city like Hangzhou, the train station has over 25 platforms.
As the train has many carriages, the boarding for platform 5 may happen from two different gates called 5A and 5B. Which gate you need to go to depends on your carriage on the train. You’ll be able to see which gate to use on your online booking form (see image).
Very similarly to the security check in, it’s essential to be in one of the queues on the side rather than in the middle for this ticket check, as foreign passports need to be handled manually by and attendant and can’ t be processed by a machine.
I hope these tips have helped give you so more confidence to travel by train in China, it’s a lot of fun and I’d strongly recommend you try it. It’s your golden ticket to exploring this amazing country!
But if you have any more questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at arnold@impact-teaching.com
Please get in touch if would like to learn more about our programs in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Hungary and Poland.
