Originally Posted by moondog

Train stations are the cheapest place to buy train tickets because there is no ticketing convenience fee at all. But, we're only talking about saving Y5, and it's nice to lock up tickets in advance because some trains do sell out... though I'd be surprised if demand for Yichang-Wuhan was especially high.

I've been buying train tickets from Ctrip recently; the Chinese site seems to work much better than the Enlgish site, and gives you the option of will call (English site does not). It seems that there is no longer a way to opt out of their insurance policy, but it's only Y20/person.