Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
miles), and the plan is to have more than 16,000 kilometers (9,942 miles) of track by 2020,
with Beijing, of course, being a major hub for the HSR. Tickets for these trains are usually
coded by the letter G.
Seat Classes and Pricing
On most Chinese trains there are basically four seat classes—soft seat, hard seat, hard sleep-
er, and soft sleeper. Not all are available on every train, and on the newer trains there are
now often extra categories that foreigners would more typically equate to first class.
Putting these hard-to-buy posh options aside, the other classes are still relatively com-
fortable, though they do have open compartments and no curtains or doors. Sheets, blankets,
and pillowcases are always spotlessly clean, and the bathrooms at least start off that way at
the terminal (although make sure you come supplied with toilet paper).
BEIJING'S TRAIN STATIONS AND DESTINATIONS
Station
Subway Line Location
Destinations
Beijing West Railway Sta-
tion
Beijing
West
Railway
Station,
Chengdu, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Guilin,
Hohhot, Kowloon (Hong Kong), Kunming, Lan-
zhou, Lhasa, Luoyang, Nanchang, Nanning, Qin-
huangdao, Sanya, Shenzhen*, Taiyuan, Urumqi,
Wuhan, Wuhan, Xiamen, Xi'an, and Zhengzhou.
International destination includes Hanoi.
Line 9
*Planned to be moved to Fengtai Railway Station.
Beijing Railway Station
Beijing Railway Station, Line 2
Chengde, Dalian, Guangzhou East, Hangzhou,
Harbin, Hefei, Qinhuangdao, Nanjing, Shanghai,
and Shenyang; and international destinations of
Moscow
(Trans-Siberian
Express),
Pyongyang,
Ulaanbaatar
Beijing South Railway Sta-
tion
Beijing South Railway Station,
Line 4
Nanjing South, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai,
Shanghai Hongqiao (HSR), Tianjin (HSR)
Beijing North Railway Sta-
tion
Xizhimen Station, Line 2, 4, 13
Chengde,
Inner
Mongolia
(Hohhot,
Yanqing
(Badaling Great Wall)
Beijing East Railway Sta-
tion
None (south of Dawanglu Sta-
tion, Line 1)
Chengde, Qinhuangdao
Beijing
Fengtai
Railway
Fengtai Railway Station, Line 10
HSR to Hong Kong
Station*
*Once operational, many services from Beijing West Station will move here.
