Originally Posted by SanDiego1K
If you need an onward train ticket, the concierge will send someone to the train station to buy it for you. There is a very nominal sum for this service, perhaps $1 or so. It was well worth it to be able to go to the train station and get directly on the train.
Absolutely - the soft seat (First Class) ticket office at Suzhou is not exactly in an obvious location, and trains can sell out several hours ahead of time.
Even better (if this is an excursion from Shanghai) would be to buy the round trip in Shanghai before leaving - the staff at the soft seat ticket office there speak passable English.