I'm writing from aboard G3. Two things are (mildly) noteworthy about today's journey: 1) I finally took it upon myself to get a good 3G setup; and 2) we're riding in "business class".
Regarding #1, last week I discovered that 3G wireless works pretty well on the train (a colleague permitted me to toggle). I kind of already suspected this, but I had convinced myself otherwise because I dreaded the thought of spending hours in a Unicom store and giving Unicom unfettered access to my bank account. In any event, I overcame this fear yesterday because I decided that the benefits outweigh the downsides. Instead of going to Unicom, I went to the electronics market near Chef Too in Beijing in order to purchase a 3G router. I ended up getting a WCDMA model for y600 (I didn't haggle at all). As far as the data is concerned, my fears were unfounded because they sell prepaid 3G sims in the same market. Here's the deal:
-the card I bought was y300
-y80/G and a minimum of y80 per month (this last part doesn't sound right to me, now that I think about it)
Regarding #2, the people I'm traveling with wanted to check out business class, and we're doing just that. It's pretty much exactly how I imagined it (comfortable seats, few other passengers, Chinese only video programming, minimal service). I suppose I can recommend it to visitors who want to try the train once; it is certainly nicer than 1st class and 2nd class... though I still have a soft spot for the dining car.