Originally Posted by
jiejie
Getting sleeper tickets out of Xi'an to anywhere has been an obnoxious exercise for many years--as long as I can remember and at nearly all times of the year.
Getting out of there by can also be challenging at times (I've spent many, many hours killing time at that dreary airport down there).
CrispyRice: If you really want to take the train, get your hotel list down to a reasonable number (3 or 4), call them, and ask if they can help you book train tickets. Almost all hotels have the ability to get train tickets, but you might receive a bit of pushback because they need to front cash for you. To get over this hurdle, simply tell them that you are willing to send them money before they make the purchase. There are lots of inexpensive ways to send money to China.