Train travel in China is always exciting, I just love it. But Chinese high speed train is even more scintillating! With an influx of new routes, super clean, super fast trains, the age of smoky, shaking Chinese carriages are fading out. In the last year I have taken a few trips on the high speed rail in China. And even splashed out on "First Class" just to sample it! That's a "backpacker" travelling First Class (and guess what even the First Class was cheap enough!).
On my first high speed train in China I was on the Shenzhen North to Shaoguan route. Not a common route I must add, but in 2012 this gave me my first experience of the new high speed trains in China. We were heading to Shaoguan in order to see the mountains and rock formations at Danxiashan.
Here's the way to book a train in China
Never get anything booked in advance. You basically need to just turn up at the train station and book it there and then - that's the way to do it. It might be full and if that is the case just get the next one or take another route. Join the queue at the station and pay in cash for your ticket.
You WILL have trouble communicating to the workers in the train station, so make sure you know how to correctly pronounce the name of your destination and if you have the Chinese characters written down (or in a guidebook) it will be a lot easier to get it booked. All seats are allocated and you have to sit where your ticket says.
Taking the Shenzhen North to Shaoguan route
11.52 am - At Shenzhen North Station. Go through the checkpoint at Gate B15 and get on carriage 7, seat 18. Leave within minutes, making Shenzhen disappear in a flash.
12.26 pm - Stop at Guangzhou South for a few minutes. I've opened a can of Guinness and we leave Guangzhou trailing in our wake. A tough ask, given that it's a massive city. We reach a speed of 308 kilometres per hour at 12.44pm - this turns out to be the maximum speed we reach on the trip.
1.46 pm - After a very fast journey we are now in Shaoguan train station. Time to get off and go sightseeing, but you can stay on and get the train much further north.
Things to do on a Chinese High Speed train
- Update your travel blog
- Marvel at the views of Chinese countryside
- Crack open a tin of beer
- Sleep
- Just sit back and relax
- Admire the fast speed of the train
- Order some food (there's a trolley that comes down)
- Read a book on travel
That's it! Enjoy your train journey in China!
On my first high speed train in China I was on the Shenzhen North to Shaoguan route. Not a common route I must add, but in 2012 this gave me my first experience of the new high speed trains in China. We were heading to Shaoguan in order to see the mountains and rock formations at Danxiashan.
Here's the way to book a train in China
Never get anything booked in advance. You basically need to just turn up at the train station and book it there and then - that's the way to do it. It might be full and if that is the case just get the next one or take another route. Join the queue at the station and pay in cash for your ticket.
You WILL have trouble communicating to the workers in the train station, so make sure you know how to correctly pronounce the name of your destination and if you have the Chinese characters written down (or in a guidebook) it will be a lot easier to get it booked. All seats are allocated and you have to sit where your ticket says.
Taking the Shenzhen North to Shaoguan route
11.52 am - At Shenzhen North Station. Go through the checkpoint at Gate B15 and get on carriage 7, seat 18. Leave within minutes, making Shenzhen disappear in a flash.
12.26 pm - Stop at Guangzhou South for a few minutes. I've opened a can of Guinness and we leave Guangzhou trailing in our wake. A tough ask, given that it's a massive city. We reach a speed of 308 kilometres per hour at 12.44pm - this turns out to be the maximum speed we reach on the trip.
1.46 pm - After a very fast journey we are now in Shaoguan train station. Time to get off and go sightseeing, but you can stay on and get the train much further north.
Things to do on a Chinese High Speed train
- Update your travel blog
- Marvel at the views of Chinese countryside
- Crack open a tin of beer
- Sleep
- Just sit back and relax
- Admire the fast speed of the train
- Order some food (there's a trolley that comes down)
- Read a book on travel
That's it! Enjoy your train journey in China!
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