Originally Posted by
Devedader
I am considering flying into Beijing and training my way to my final destination...
I know this is a flyer forum but hopefully it's ok to ask this here:
Has anyone had recent experience with training out of Beijing? Every time I have ridden a train in China it felt like it was out of a 1930s movie, I rode hard seat and berth and both were painful... however they were in old style box cars with no AC...
The websites all list Beijing-Dalian as AC and the trains look newer (kind of TGV style) in the picture but I have learned pictures are not always what you get...
While I generally like trains, I think you'd be making a mistake to Beijing-Dalian by train upon arrival at PEK for a variety of reasons:
-you're already going to be at the airport, there are lots of flights, and the flight is short
-getting downtown, assuming you take a taxi, is going to cost you y125 or so and your target train leaves at 6:16p (i.e. the heart of rush hour)
-you could always catch the subway at dongzhimen, but this isn't fun, even without luggage
-you're going to want a shower, but I don't see any room in your schedule (or ovbious opportunities) for that
-take a look at a map; Dalian is close to Beijing, but only as the crow flies; you'll spend more time getting there than you would to Shanghai, which is twice as far
-maybe try out the train on the way back (that way, your relatives can help you buy your ticket); as it stands, you run the risk of having to do buy black market tickets on your outbound because you have zero schedule flexibility
-btw, I have an extremely high tolerance for risk when it comes to travel in China (things have a way of working out)..... but, I'm still telling you your idea is risky