Originally Posted by nollag
I’m travelling to China with Mrs. Nollag in the Autumn. Our tour ends in Guilin, but we would like to get the overnight sleeper train to Beijing.
I’ve tried booking this through chinatripadvisor.com, but they cannot send tickets to the UK, and rather want to send them to me at the hotel I’ll be staying in in Guilin on the morning of travel.
I’m anxious that the tickets may not arrive on the morning as promised, or that the desk clerk may not sign for them, etc. Is there some way to pre-book the tickets, so that I can be in possession of them before I leave the UK?
Thanks for your thoughts
I would suggest either booking them on an agent online like chinatripadvisor in advance and ask them to deliver to your hotel maybe a day or two before departure, or wait until in China and book them at your hotel. Usually most hotels have an agent located in the hotel. Usually most train tickets in China can not be purchased much more than 10 days in advance. Some locations only 5 days or even less. Some other posters have mentioned that the locals stand in line at the train station the day or two before departure. I would not recommend this unless you really enjoy that kind of chaos. Using an agent at your hotel should work fine. They will probably charge a 5 or 10 rmb "service charge", but that sure beats standing in line if you ask me. If you choose that route I would suggest trying 5 days or so in advance (not sure how long you are in Guilin). If for some reason you are unable to get a ticket on any of the trains to Beijing (which I think is unlikely) then you should not have any trouble booking an airline ticket. You would miss out on the train experience, if that is what you are after but it would get you there. China has not really caught on to the "book in advance" mindset that we westerners are so accustomed to when it comes to travel. It does make us westerner's a little nervous to not have a leg of our travel plans booked but it really does work in China! I think the closest you can come to booking in advance is using chinatripadvisor.com, and have them deliver to your hotel, just ask them to deliver earlier for your peace of mind's sake.