| Author |
Message |
Barb
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 Posted:
04.14.2006 4:36 am Post subject:
train travel in China |
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My 16 year old son and I will be traveling in China for 3 weeks beginning May 25.
I would like to travel by train as follows:
Beijing to Xian, Xian to Yichang, Chengdu to Beijing.
Are train tickets easily available with last minute reservations?
I understand a person can only buy tickets from their originating location for example I can only buy a Xian to Yichang ticket in Xian. Is this orrect? Since we will only be in Xian 2 days can I just buy the ticket to Yichang when I arrive in Xian?
Also I understand the train ride from Chengdu to Beijing is two nights, is this a reasonable idea for a 16 year old hyper boy? Can the ticket from Chengdu be purchased with only a one day advance?
In a nutshell, can anyone give me all the information they possibly can about train travel. As a gutsy 58 year old single Mom with son and backpacks I need to be as comfortably mentally organized as possible
Thanks for any help |
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dull-2
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| Posted:
04.15.2006 11:46 am Post subject:
train travel in China |
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For the Xi'an to Yichang ticket, I'd advise contacting whichever hostel/hotel you're staying at in Xi'an and get them to buy it for you in advance. Actually, it seems like you're planning to do the 3 Gorges cruise.
Your son might get a bit bored, since the trains stop at a number of different places along the way.
If you don't mind spending some money to save time instead, I'd recommend flying this leg. I definitely don't recommend waiting till you get to Chengdu to buy the onward ticket to Beijing. Try to contact your hostel/hotel beforehand.
Train tickets are usually sold about 10 days before departure date in major stations (eg Shanghai, Beijing) and varies from 3-10 days for the other stations. |
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Marven
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| Posted:
04.15.2006 12:15 pm Post subject:
train travel in China |
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We travelled three weeks through China last summer. Twice we had to look for other transport because train tickets were not available for the day we wanted to travel (we were trying to buy tickets 2 to 3 days before travelling).
However, we bought our train tickets Beijing-Xi'an just two days before travelling.
That was during the busy vacation month of July. End of May/June it might be less busy.
If you need to buy train tickets in Xi'an, have a look here: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/806d6/f3840/9/
VT member mke1963 has excellent information about train travel in China in his travel pages. Have a look there as well. |
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