China Travel Forum

[Vincent]

My wife and I are currently living/working in Taiwan but are going to do a trip soon starting in Hong Kong. We see that an inexpensive method of travelling from Hong Kong to Beijing with a stop in Xi'an is to go from Hong Kong - Shenzhen (about $5Cnd!), then from Shenzhen - Nanchang; Nanchang - Xi'an and finally Xi'an - Beijing.

We see two different classed prices. 6-berth hard sleeper and 4-berth soft sleeper. Is there really much of a different between the two? Either way, we'll be sharing a room with other people. Are the beds that different from each other? We're wondering if we should opt for soft class all the way or stick with hard class or go for 1 soft and the other's hard...

For example, hard sleeper from Shenzhen - Nanchang is $30Cnd and soft sleeper is $45Cnd.

We also noticed a big difference between trains from Nanchang - Xi'an. One has no AC (travelling in Sept), soft sleeper is $40Cnd and takes 1d2hrs whereas the other that has AC takes 1d15hrs and soft sleeper is $70Cnd. Is the no AC going to be a problem in September? Maybe if we choose the no AC, then we'd better not have the soft sleeper since it will have a closed door and possible stuffy?

Sorry about all the questions!
Thanks.

[Mike]

Hard Sleeper: 6 beds per carbin without door. More people travelling in this class, so you'll have to pack with local travellers.

Soft Sleeper: 4 beds per carbin with door. Less crowded & more quiet. So, anybody walk by can see you sleep.

Regarding the bed, they're basically the same. You still have soft matress in hard sleeper class. Better choose the air-con one.