I took a sleeper train from Wuhan to Shanghai, and it was really quite new, comfortable, and clean, and as nice as any of the equivalent ones I've rode in Europe. Be sure to get the soft berth, not hard berth! Only real downer was that the Wuhan train station (Wuchang) was being renovated, and was a total pit, incredibly cold and drafty --- it had all the ambience of a large carpark.

Sleeper trains may be a good bet if there's inclement weather that may affect aircraft movements.