My first trip report! A journey from Xi'an to Beijing by...rail!
In fact, taking the bullet train was recommended to me by the folks of the China forum as it would be an equally long trip taking either the train or plane, but not counting the possible delays out of Xi'an airport due to weather and the time to get to the airport (1h+).
The day before, I arranged for taxi service from my Xi'an hotel (Ramada Bell Tower) to Xi'an North Station where my train (G654) would depart at 8.52 AM. The taxi service was rather expensive at 100 yuan and took about 30 minutes.
Xi'an North Station is located well outside the city center, almost in the middle of nowhere. It is a modern building reminiscent of a large airport terminal. The hall is huge and rather chilly. Glad I was wearing a jacket.
At the back of the hall there was an area blocked off for use as "business lounge" but it did not appeal too much to me.
About 30 minutes before departure, I walked to the entrace gate to the platform where my train to Beijing would depart from. There were already a few people waiting and I decided to stick around as well. Good idea as the line became rather long the closer to departure.
About 10 minutes before departure, the gate was opened and two gate agents were inspecting the train tickets or helping disabled people in wheelchairs getting to the train. If you wanted, you could also manually enter your ticket in the electronic gate.
Taking the escalator down, the train was waiting at the platform with several train attendants on the platform helping people with their bags and finding the right coach section.