Getting There By Rail
The national railway service within China, operated by the Ministry of Railways, is extensive. Beijing has two main railway stations. Beijing Railway Station (tel: (10) 6512 9525 – Chinese language only) serves routes to the north and east of the city and the newer Beijing West Railway Station (tel: (10) 6321 6253 – Chinese language only), which is Asia’s largest rail terminal, serves the south and west. Other stations in Beijing serve the suburban routes. Both main stations have left-luggage facilities, ATMs, tourist information, shops and restaurants. All Chinese express trains have four different classes – soft sleeper, soft seat, hard sleeper and hard seat. Tickets can be bought at the foreigners’ booking office in each station; passports are required to make the purchase. Reservations, especially for sleepers, should be made two or three days in advance.
Rail services: Trans-Manchurian services to Moscow (journey time – six days) and Trans-Mongolian trains to Ulan Bator and Moscow (journey time – five days) leave from Beijing Railway Station, as do trains to Pyongyang in North Korea (journey time – 25 hours). Trains to Hong Kong (journey time – 27 hours) and Vietnam (journey time – 43 hours) leave from Beijing West Station. Although both main stations have special ticket desks for foreign travelers, ticket purchasing can still be confusing. However, tickets can also be bought through China International Travel Service (CITS) (tel: (10) 6522 2991 or 8522 7930). Most hotels can also make ticket bookings for a small fee, by using the Chinese-language booking line (tel: 6509 3783). The main railway stations for domestic journeys are Beijing Station and Beijing West. Journey times for domestic services to Beijing are: Harbin – 14 hours; Shanghai – 12 hours; Xian – 15 hours; Guangzhou – 24 hours.
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