Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Z train will take 11 hours 11 minutes. Prices are the same for both trains. By comparison,
a one-way flight from Beijing to Xi'an might cost RMB1,000 (including taxes) and takes
around two hours.
How to Buy Your Tickets
The first thing to know about buying your train tickets is that it doesn't help to try to organ-
ize yourself too far in advance. Reservations don't open up until 10 days before departure
for all trains, with new ticket rounds beginning at 9am each day. Reservation time can be
shortened during peak periods. Thankfully Beijing is the terminal station for most destina-
tions, as sometimes you can't buy the ticket more than two days in advance if the train is
passing through. The Beijing to Hong Kong train can be booked 60 days in advance.
Beijing Railway Station is one of Beijing's busiest train stations.
It's best to buy your tickets two to three days in advance, although you can check avail-
ability if you're concerned via
www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains
.
During national fest-
ivals, however, primarily Spring Festival, May 1, and National Day on October 1, camp out
at your nearest ticket office the night before tickets go on sale. To simply check for train
times and prices, visit
http://train.huochepiao.com
and search by train number or station
name.
