Originally Posted by susiesan

Is it possible to show up at the train station in Shanghai and other cities in that area of China on the day of travel and buy a ticket for the next train if it's a short, one hour trip? Example, to go from Shanghai to Suzhou, there are many trains all day long. It is only an hour trip. For these short trips and other day trips, like Shanghai to Hangzhou and back or Suzhou to Tongli and back, is it necessary to buy a ticket in advance? I will be in China in October 2011 if all goes according to plan and not there during the National Day holiday so it shouldn't be too busy. I want to stay 2-3 nights in Suzhou and visit other cities from there, like Tongli and Nanjing without deciding days in advance exactly when I go to those places.

If I must buy all tickets ahead of time are there agents who sell train tickets near the big hotels or city centers? Are there city ticket offices of China Rail? Or is it necessary to take the time to go to the train station and get them, chewing up a few hours of touring time. I know I cannot buy them online : (