Is there a good site to buy seats with a view from overseas? I'm doing Shanghai-Wuhan and back soon, if I'll be able to get decent J or first window seats on arrival for the next train or two I'll wait until I get to the station. I'm also staying at a decent Shanghai Renaissance, so should be able to get help from the concierge.

What do you mean by j class? Train tickets don't have letter based fare buckets.

I'm honestly not exactly sure how to buy sightseeing class these days....maybe try buying business on a site with a seatmap like 12306?

The handful of times they've ever been offered to me was at train booking offices. Since we're talking about 5 seats out of 1,000, I can understand why websites don't bother promoting them.

I have never seen a website that lists any class called "sightseeing seats". On china-diy-travel.com there are some trains on the Shanghai-Wuhan line with business class. Business class seats are not always "sightseeing" but VIP usually are.
Understand also that you can be in the first or last car. The first car (behind the driver) on a trip will be the last car on the returning trip. After arriving at destination, the employees turn the seats around and the train just goes in the opposite direction.
Even VIP seats may not have much of a view when the seats are turned around. I have a photo of such a situation but have no idea how to post it here.

Shanghai - Wuhan route? I'd say don't bother trying to get "sightseeing" designated seats. The views aren't particularly inspiring. Any first class seat will do, or if you want to splurge, the Biz class seats.

There is a new high speed line just opened last year, from Hefei to Fuzhou, nicknamed "most beautiful train ride in China". If you are in Shanghai, you can take high speed train to Hefei South station(about 2.5 hours), then from Hefei South station take the train to Fuzhou.

Bought Shenzhen-Gulin tickets the other day and got row 1 /car 1 seats (was just sold as BC and I had no pick) on a G train. Cheap and certainly much much cheaper than the HKG-KWL tickets I was looking at.

Will let you know how it turns out.

Normally the two front row seats are "business class" with all the perks that go with that status including a meal and drinks brought to the pax. Lucky if you got one of those.

The row behind is "first class", in this case inferior with limited seat width and no noticeable recline. Still a peaceful cabin to travel in and quite pleasant.

If you do buy a business class seat (or VIP class or whatever), do make sure you get one of the bucket seats rather than the couch-like double seat. Last time I was there, the left two seats in row 2 were the double seats.

What train was that?

Those are not sold as "business" but "first" seats.

It's on the train that's the same model as the Siemens/German ICEs with the drooping side window on the cab. I managed to find a picture of the interior.



Ahh that makes sense. Can they be reserved by two different people on different reservations? If two strangers had to sit side by side like that, it would be a terrible experience since there isn't even an armrest.

Yes, of course they can. I've only sat next to an unfamiliar Chinese gent on a short Suzhou - Shanghai hop where it was a bit awkward but not intolerable.

On a longer trip you'd better get along with your seat neighbor.

Being close to others (in the physical sense) is part of China 101

Ended up CXL the Shenzhen-Guilin rail trip due to poor weather (flew to Hainan instead) and rebooked for the reverse direction on the weekend.

The tickets say superior class (checked at seat61). So I assume these seats are not BC but are the nice seats (no BC sold on this route). Question: Any lounge privileges at Guilin North or is that reserve for real BC? Have car 8, row 1 seats vs. car 1 row 1 if we had kept the original itinerary.

Took G2901 from Guilin North to Shenzhen North today. Train is the DB ICE-style trainset (vs. the newer Japanese shinkansen-style nose sets). Looks like CHR configures these trains for low-yield. Only one 1st carriage (car 5) with the rest 2nd and premium seats at the front (or end) of cars 1 and 8.

Normal First has much more leg and baggage storage room (overhead racks for one), and foot rests to boot.

We were seated in the last carriage (so the front of the train is numbered one and changes numbers as it changes directions). Fortunately row 1 seats were turned back so we had room. There is limited legroom otherwise if facing the cab (same goes for row 3 if facing "back". Row 2 solo seat has very limited room if facing back. No luggage storage space other than between the cab and row 1 if the carriage is going "backward". Cab partition window is frosted so no view. Configuration is 1-2 for rows 1 & 2 while row 3 is a pair (where the solo seat would be is a crew storage locked/waste disposal station).

Stick with First on this route.