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Trains
Sept 16, 2006 21:26:33 GMT 7
Post by Secret Agent Jane on Sept 16, 2006 21:26:33 GMT 7
Does anyone have any advice on planning a train trip? As I don't speak Chinese, I have to find other means to decipher the train schedules... I found a few online, but I'm thinking they don't mention my Point A and Point B, only the cities at the start and end of the line. How do I find a train from two not so big cities, like Benxi to Harbin?
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Trains
Sept 16, 2006 21:29:23 GMT 7
Post by Hamish on Sept 16, 2006 21:29:23 GMT 7
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Trains
Sept 16, 2006 22:29:46 GMT 7
Post by Raoul Duke on Sept 16, 2006 22:29:46 GMT 7
Yeah. There are two train schedule sites in the sadly neglected Links page; not sure if this one of them or not.
There's also basic info on traveling by train in the Library!
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Trains
Sept 17, 2006 2:27:02 GMT 7
Post by Lotus Eater on Sept 17, 2006 2:27:02 GMT 7
Trains are the absolutely best way to travel in China!! Hard sleeper for preference. Bring a pack of cards, your Chinese dictionary or kuai yi tong, some nibblies to share and you'll have a ball!
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Trains
Sept 17, 2006 6:41:38 GMT 7
Post by Nate M on Sept 17, 2006 6:41:38 GMT 7
A good suggestion from me would be to find a travel agency near the train station you can purchase tickets through. Train tickets can only be purchased one week in advance, and if you aren't there the moment the ticket window opens on the first day, you can kiss a hard sleeper goodbye. Increasingly, Travel agencies are scooping up almost all the hard sleepers right away, and so going through them could well mean the difference between a pleasant night's sleep and 15 hours of agonizing pain and serious back problems down the road from because the only thing you could catch was a standing-room "hard seat". The convenience of using a travel agency usually far outweighs the extra 30 yuan cost for me.
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Trains
Sept 17, 2006 7:26:38 GMT 7
Post by Hamish on Sept 17, 2006 7:26:38 GMT 7
If you want to get there in a really good mood, fly. It is cheap. Safe. And there are no goats in the next seat. (Or people that smell like goats.)
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Trains
Sept 17, 2006 8:02:26 GMT 7
Post by Lotus Eater on Sept 17, 2006 8:02:26 GMT 7
My waiban is usually pretty good at booking the tickets for me - and they get delivered to me!! No standing in line.
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Trains
Sept 17, 2006 12:39:48 GMT 7
Post by Nate M on Sept 17, 2006 12:39:48 GMT 7
One thing I hate about flying in China is that nearly all of the airports are out in the middle of goddamned nowhere. Thus, getting where I actually want to be usually involves some bastard criminal of a taxi driver taking me everywhere but my destination in an effort to cheat me out of more money. Trains are cheaper and drop you off in the middle of the city to boot.
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nolefan
Barfly
Quod me nutrit, me destruit!
Posts: 686
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Trains
Sept 17, 2006 13:18:16 GMT 7
Post by nolefan on Sept 17, 2006 13:18:16 GMT 7
Nate's got a point when it comes to the smaller and less important cities but for places like Beijing, shanghai, Shenzhen and guangzhou, they solved that problem by using shuttles and public transportation a while back. I can take the shuttle from beijing int'l to a number of places in town for 16RMB. In Shanghai, they got the maglev train taking care of that.
Admittedly, these cheaper options do not operate late at night but it should be getting better. Beijing is scheduled to have a subway line going all the way to the airport by the end of next year
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Trains
Sept 17, 2006 13:27:53 GMT 7
Post by Raoul Duke on Sept 17, 2006 13:27:53 GMT 7
I haven't ridden the maglev at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport yet (I think Con has?) but I'm not a big fan of the service. For one thing, it's pretty pricy...admittedly less than a taxi into town, but still pretty high. Also, the hours are very limited...closes early evening. The flights go on but the support does not! Finally, the maglev doesn't even take you into town or someplace logical like the train station or a major square. It only takes you to a remote Metro stop in Pudong, where you have to change over and continue into town on the regular subway.
TIFC, I guess.
If you fly into Shanghai domestically, ALWAYS insist on flying into Hongqiao Airport, where you can at least get a taxi without spending 400 RMB and up.
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Trains
Sept 17, 2006 14:07:55 GMT 7
Post by Hamish on Sept 17, 2006 14:07:55 GMT 7
BUT! Remember that the big suck-and-blows leave from the other airport.
Ackward commute between the two Shanghai airplane places.
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Trains
Sept 17, 2006 21:57:18 GMT 7
Post by Raoul Duke on Sept 17, 2006 21:57:18 GMT 7
Yup. International travelers don't have the option here. Well, everyone should have to find their way in from Pudong Intl Airport at 1:30am at least once...
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teleplayer
Barfly
Ni3 you3 hen3 duo1 qian2. Gei3 wo3 yi4dian(r)3 ba.
Posts: 541
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Trains
Sept 18, 2006 1:20:53 GMT 7
Post by teleplayer on Sept 18, 2006 1:20:53 GMT 7
Of course these colorful inconveniences will be fixed at least for the duration of the Olympic year so that Beijing can save face in the world, right? Of course this will also coincide with the wave of backpackers coming for the Olympics and the subsequent weakening of the FT market. Hmmmm. Coincidence?
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Trains
Sept 18, 2006 11:03:01 GMT 7
Post by mich on Sept 18, 2006 11:03:01 GMT 7
sorry, soft sleeper all the way..
4 bunks to a room...do bring a phrase book with you though. Bring food with you, food on trains isn't fantastic. (I'm fussy, okay?) bring a good book with you. um....oh, and don't sleep the night before...this will ensure you crash once on the train...
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Trains
Sept 18, 2006 12:12:09 GMT 7
Post by Lotus Eater on Sept 18, 2006 12:12:09 GMT 7
Hard sleeper - 6 bunks, no door. Train food is like bulk cooked and served food all over the world - yecch. Bring nibblies to share, a pack of cards (I take UNO - easy to teach without much language), a book, your Chinese lesson book - plenty of help! - a pair of slip on/off shoes to go to the toilets - plastic thongs (flipflops) are fine - saves having to put your proper travelling shoes on each time. Bring a cup with cover/lid for hot water/tea/coffee refills.
Have a ball.
The waiban is booking my tickets now for October week. COOL!
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Trains
Sept 20, 2006 1:29:30 GMT 7
Post by con's fly is open on Sept 20, 2006 1:29:30 GMT 7
The Maglev is an absolute dream. Half price if you show them your airplane ticket. And it will haul you between the Pudong airport and a subway line! In 7 minutes! But the Maglev shuts down at 9:30 pm, so try to time your arrival in China accordingly.
If you're travelling light, go hard sleeper, and if especially limber, get a top bunk. If you have lots of and/or heavy bags, go soft. Either way, try to time the trip so that it gets there overnight. Trains are the greatest sleep-inducing device ever invented- rocks you to sleep.
To book from an obscure place? No way I know of around gettting a Chinese to help.
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Ruth
SuperDuperMegaBarfly
God's provisions are strategically placed along the path of your obedience.
Posts: 3,915
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Trains
Sept 20, 2006 11:53:32 GMT 7
Post by Ruth on Sept 20, 2006 11:53:32 GMT 7
Yes, Pirate Molly, you are going to need help getting that train ticket. We're in a small city in Liaoning, as you are. Can't get anything but standing tickets for most trains that pass through here. The travel agency advice is good, but I'd still take a translator with me if I were you. We can't get anything but standing tickets to go to Tianjin for Oct week and that's with a friend of a friend in the train station. Next option is the bus, at least you are guaranteed a seat, but they don't run from here directly to Tianjin. Probably end up going to Beijing first.
Traveling in China - gotta love it. The traveling part is okay. Getting the darn tickets is the issue, especially from small towns.
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