DICK's Comments

Train from Beijing to Shanghai

After I posted my May 8 question above, I discovered there are discount tickets for children. So, I booked a room for 2 adults and 2 children for $280, about the cost that the Deluxe Soft Sleeper cost for 2 people before they discontinued it. Since there were only 2 of us travelling we could use the extra space for storing luggage (very important since there is VERY little room, and could have the attendant lock our compartment when we went to the dining car (we were on the Z 14).

Some other details about the logistics are important for first time riders:
1. The soft sleeper lounge is in the right side of the west side of the train terminal. You should enter the terminal there or you will need to go through security twice (as we did) and get a bunch of puzzled looks.
2. While the signs on the train shown in the pictures above are in English, there are no brochures in English (e.g. indicating when the dining car is open for service).
3. The announcements over the public address system are not in English, so we really did not know what was going on.
4. There appear to be 16 sleeping cars on the train. We were in car 1. The dining car was car 9 (and I am guessing there were 8 sleeping cars on the other end of the train as well). We found it a little bit of a pain to maneuver around people sitting on the fold-out seats in the aisle that are outside many of the compartments on each car, as we made our way to the dining car. If you care about this situation, you may want to try to book a compartment nearer to the dining car.
5. You will need to track down the attendant to have them lock your door. For us, it was the same person who checked our ticket as we entered the train car. However, she was not able to be free to lock our door (and allow you to go to the dining car)until after the train was underway, as she was still checking other people's tickets. This was not apparent to us when we first got on since she spoke very little English, but it was apparent from recounting what had happened after-the-fact.
6. Breakfast starts at 6 AM. We thought it would be much earlier, since the train arrives in Beijing at 7:00 AM. So, we got up at 5 AM to get cleaned up and watch the countryside as we approached Beijing. We found the staff was sleeping in the dining car at 5:30 AM!! You have a choice which includes Western style breakfast.

Posted by Dick at 2007-06-09 04:31:00. More

Train from Beijing to Shanghai

A friend and I were planning to take the Z Train from Shanghai to Beijing in late May, and to book a deluxe soft sleeper. When I went to chinatripadvisor.com to book the trip I was told they do not have the deluxe soft sleeper anymore on the Z train. I heard from another source, and it was confirmed from chinatripadvisor.com that the T110 goes between the two cities (takes about 13.5 hours rather than 12) and has the deluxe soft sleeper. But, you can only book tickets the day before departure.

So, it appears my choices are:
1. Book a soft sleeper (sleeps 4) at 79 US$ on the lower berths on a more modern, faster Z train and hope no one books the upper berths and book it 20 days in advance or
2. Book a deluxe soft sleeper (sleeps 2) at 137 US$ on a less modern, slower T train and book it the day before we travel.

Has anyone beek on the T 110 and have a recommendation about which way to go?

Posted by Dick at 2007-05-08 04:16:48. More