Railways
China has one of the biggest and busiest rail networks in the world, and trains link almost every Chinese town and city. The total mileage of railways open to traffic in China amounts to 100,000km, which form an extensive network with Beijing as the hub.
The rail network forms the backbone of the Chinese transport system and serves most of cities. Visitors can explore much of China by train and many find it an efficient and inexpensive means of travel. The cost is around 50 percent less than comparable air services.

Chinese trains differ from those in other countries as the seating is not separated into first and second class areas. In China, the accommodation on the trains is divided into four categories, namely, soft-sleeper, hard-sleeper, soft-seat and hard-seat.

Hard Seats: Contrary to what the name implies, the seats are upholstered. These are the less expensive seats. These seats tend to be crowded and are not always very clean.

Soft Seats: These seats cost rather more but are very comfortable, with plenty of leg room. The carriages are less crowded than the hard-seat carriages.

Hard Sleeper: The hard-sleeper carriage is made up of door-less compartments. Each one contains six beds in three tiers. Sheets, pillows and blankets are provided and it somewhat resembles a budget hotel. Comparing with the soft-sleeper, hard-sleeper is less comfortable and accordingly, the price is lower than that of the soft-sleeper. Competition for hard-sleepers has become keen in recent years, so if you get one, you are very lucky.

Soft-sleeper: The soft-sleeper carriages are divided into separate compartments and each compartment has two lower and two upper berths. Sheets and blankets are provided and are generally of good standard. Western style washrooms and toilets are located at both ends of the compartment. Soft sleeper costs twice as much as hard sleeper and almost the same price as flying. Therefore, soft sleeper tickets are more easily available.

There are washrooms on the trains. The toilets, irrespective of class, are not usually very hygienic and it is a good idea to bring your own toilet paper! Boiled water is available on trains and dining cars on long distance routes only.

Chinese railway service boasts domestic and international operations. The domestic service falls into such categories as quasi-high speed trains, fast trains, tourist trains, expresses, and through passenger trains.
Quassi-high speed trains run mainly from Guangzhou to Kowloon and from Guangzhou to Shenzhen.
Same-day fast trains shuttle between major cities.

Int’s Railway Through Transport
International railway through transport is available on the following routes:
Beijing-Ulan Bator-Moscow; Beijing Manzhouli-Moscow;
Beijing-Pyongyang; Urumqi-Alma Ata;
Beijing-Hanoi; Beijing-Ulan Bator.
On these routes express passenger trains run in both directions. Just to remind European passengers: it takes six to seven days for an express train to reach Beijing from Moscow by way of Ulan Bator or Manzhouli.

Click the city names listed below to find the train travel information