Urumqi to Kashgar train ticket question

Replies: 18 - Last Post: 19-May-2009 15:19 Last Post By: bulbul888

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hannahtul

06-Jun-2007 15:18
Posts: 47

Urumqi to Kashgar train ticket question

Ive heard that tickets are hard to come by in Urumqi and had a couple questions:

1. Can I book my hard sleeper train ticket in advance from Beijing?
2. Any recommended travel agents to use?

I also need to book a train ticket from Dunhuang to Urumqi - I guess if I visit Turpan I should go from bus via Urumqi since the train station is 2 hours from Turpan? Any quicker routes to Turpan? Ideally I wanted to go Beijing - fly to Dunhuang - train to Turpan - train to Kashgar. Then fly Kashgar to Urumqi and either fly/train Urumqi to Lanzhou area.

woolf135

06-Jun-2007 18:10
Posts: 1,610

This is why you should do Turpan - bus to Korla/Korla - bus to Hotan/Hotan - Kashgar and skip Urumqi. The only question is if you have time. Another option is to spend a day/night in Urumqi before heading to Kashgar, then you can have your hotel book the kashgar train tickets for you for a fee. And if you have a Dunhuang hotel they can probably do the same for your Urumqi tickets. Just make sure you call a few days before you arrive to confirm they are getting them.

I think you should still get off the train at Turpan because from Turpan train station to Urumqi train station is an hour, then you have to go to the bus station and get a bus that backtracks east to turpan. I am sure the transport from Turpan train station to Turpan center is pretty well developed if the station really is 2 hours away.

woolf135

06-Jun-2007 18:53
Posts: 1,610

The turpan train station is 50km outside of town. I haven't been to Turpan but I doubt the road is so bad that it takes more than an hour to get into town from when you get off the train.

germuno

06-Jun-2007 19:18
Posts: 1,794

easy to book ticket at west train station..they have 2 english speaking lines...very helpful for me yesterday...got soft sleeper for tomorrow as they only had hard sleepers for today..1006 for soft sleeper bottom berth

http://www.ntua.gr/lurk/making/warprayer.html

germuno

06-Jun-2007 19:19
Posts: 1,794

sorry i misread your question...

http://www.ntua.gr/lurk/making/warprayer.html

hannahtul

06-Jun-2007 20:45
Posts: 47

Yes, I would love to do dunhuang - korla- hotan - kashgar. I was trying to avoid really long bus rides. (Anything over 8 hrs) I will have my hotel in Dunhuang book my tickets to Kashi. I only have about 6-8 days total for this route. =(

woolf135

06-Jun-2007 20:53
Posts: 1,610

oh ok then forget my previous suggestion. you can have dunhuang book your ticket to urumqi, but they cannot book your ticket from urumqi to kashi. you might be able to find a cheap flight between urumqi and kashgar as well./

drake6211

07-Jun-2007 07:55
Posts: 239

I didn't have a problem booking a hard sleeper train in Urumqi only a few days in advance (in 2004 though). The journey will take a day and a half though, so if you only have 6-8 days total it may be worth flying to save time. (I would probably train one way to get a feel for the landscape and the sheer distances and fly back)

The relatively new super highway connecting Turpan proper and Urumqi makes the journey by bus (2-3 hours from memory) the way to go between these two centres, and departures are every half hour or so.

One option might be to go by train from Dunhuang to Urumqi where you immediately book your train to Kashi for a few days later. Then take the bus to Turpan, spend a few days there, and then bus back to Urumqi in time for your train to Kashi.

hannahtul

07-Jun-2007 08:56
Posts: 47

I was really hoping to take the train to Kashi, I may even just book my train ticket from Dunhuang straight through to Kashi (is this possible?) I know its a long ride. Or if worse comes to worse and I cant get a train ticket maybe I can just fly to Kashi. Since I will be there in August maybe the tickets wont be sold out.

Another idea: Can I get tickets from Dunhuang to Daheyuan (Turpan station) then Daheyuan (Turpan) to Kashi and skip Urumqi altogether? Has anyone done this? I can bus to Turpan to overnight until I can leave on the next train to Kashi.

Thanks everyone for helping me work out these transportation logistics. =)

ellyse

07-Jun-2007 09:55
Posts: 8,932

The Urumqi -- Kashgar trains will stop in Turpan after leaving Urumqi. However since the bulk of ticket allocations will be for Urumqi, you might find it hard to get (decent) tickets for these trains.
Cheers!

Sgt_Strider

17-Mar-2009 16:50
Posts: 143

What is the train schedule for Dunhuang trains to urumqi? I tried looking up the trains going from Dunhuang to Urumqi (Wulumuqi) in Chinese and I can't find anything. Am I missing something here?

thirsty_camel

17-Mar-2009 17:50
Posts: 2

Hi there,
There is overnight train from Dunhuang to Turpan in Summer (I think from May to October) , You can take overnight train from Turpan to Kashgar as well. It is better to book your train ticket by travel agent you have to pay service fee (about 30--50yuan RMB) for one ticket. It is much easy. www.silkroadguide.net

Sgt_Strider

17-Mar-2009 18:03
Posts: 143

What about Dunhuang to Urumqi? I rather book a ticket myself since I can speak a bit of Mandarin. I had no trouble doing that last year and I hate wasting money when I can do things myself.

bulbul888

20-Mar-2009 21:45
Posts: 80

Hi,
There is no train from Dunhuang to Urumqi. There are many trains passes from Liu yuan.So, you can take a train from Liuyuan to Urumqi. You can ask help from the hotel reception for perchasing train ticket. They could help you.

www.silkroadinn.com

Sgt_Strider

21-Mar-2009 19:06
Posts: 143

bulbul888,

How far is Liuyuan from Dunhuang?

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