Thorn Tree travel forum

1

Wait.
Cheers!

2

we never had any prblems just turning up on the day to get train tickets. we were there in july and august. not one problem for any of our numorous train rides.

3

On the other hand, "we" are just two, and had a lot of trouble in August getting soft sleepers anywhere in China. We tried to book one trip before we left, only to be told the day before we flew that tickets were unavailable. We did day trains, soft seat OK. We also flew a lot more than we expected (because sometimes we had to be in a certain place on a certain day) using www.9588.com which I recommend 100% (Its in English, button top right, e-tickets, personal email service if you have questions, brilliant)

Also - buying train tickets there is a zillion times cheaper than getting an agency to book them for you before you go.

4

If you are travelling between two major cities, dicounted tickets bought online within China and paid for in cash are as cheap as the train tickets.
YOU CANNOT AY WITH AN iNTERNATIONAL CREDIT CARD, but the tickets can be delivered to your hotel in a couple of hours.
Or buy standbye at the airport, still cheaper than, purchasing before ou arrive in China.

Australian Expat who has lived in Asia since 1989, in China 6 years.Spent 20 years in Import/Export, worked in 5 countries, 20 flights per year, mainly internationally.

5

#4 should also clarify that plane tickets could occasionally be as cheap as soft sleeper, but not always. And it would be really difficult to get them to match hard sleeper prices.
In at least major cities you have the option of swiping your international plastic for them, but there'll be an extra surcharge of about 5% for the "privilege". So just stick to good ole RMB cash.
Cheers!