Can I just make a suggestion - along with a phrase book I would take one of those cards that has lots and lots of pictures on it to which you can point to what you're trying to say.

you can pick those up at a lot of travel shops or bookstores where theey have travel stuff.

Why? Well phrase books may be good but if you're cold and tired or just wanting something quickly the point and go method would be helpful.

Secondly - pronunciation. I go to China quite a lot, staying with friends, and they lwill teach me a phrase, but unless you can get that phrase almost exactly right to the person you're tralking to then you might as well be speaking a different language anyway.

It's not uncommon for my friends to get into a taxi and have to repeat three of four times (andf they are chinese!) the name of the place they want - OR - having said the name of the place the taxi driver not understanding and they have to give directions until the taxi drives 'oh you mean... ' (in chinese of course) which to me sounded like what my friends had been saying all along, but for the taxi driver had slight change in tone or whatever it is.

So i would go with both. If i had to choose, i'd take the drawiings over the phrase book! (little things like 'I'm want to buy milk' - just point at cows udder rather than having to flick through phrase book for 'i would like to buy' then another page for 'milk')

regards

lme ff

So I'm in China (and yes, it's cold) and ready to get started on this itinerary!

For the first leg, Beijing to Shanghai I can't seem to find a list of the possible trains I can take. Is there a site I can find this info on?

Thanks again!

http://destguides.ctrip.com/Destinat...ainsearch.aspx
Its in Chinese but very simple to use for looking up schedules. Simply type in origin and destination in the obvious boxes provided and click enter. Train options will appear, along with prices, etc.

You best options are the following (there are a few others), as you can see all within 30 minutes of each other. Price for soft sleeper (bed) approx. 499 RMB:
D321 Beijing-Shanghai Dep: 21:15 Arr: 07:22
D313 Beijing-Shanghai Dep: 21:20 Arr: 07:32
D307 Beijing-Shanghai Dep: 21:30 Arr: 07:42
D301 Beijing-Shanghai Dep: 21:35 Arr: 07:47
D305 Beijing-Shanghai Dep: 21:40 Arr: 07:52

Not 499 on these guys. As you'll note from my latest post in the train thread, D tickets are ~711 for the top and presumably ~740 for the top (first figure is what I recall paying for my top and second is guess).

ETA: I just checked tielu.org and noted that they are still quoting 499 as the D "soft bottom" fare. While I can assure you that this is definitely wrong, I fear that my recollection might be a tad high, but was definitely in the $100 range.

English language train timetables
 

Just in case you struggle witht the Chinese website, here is an English language one I use

http://www.chinatravelguide.com/ctgw...:CNTrainSearch

Note that the RMB499 price is still loaded on there but from what moondog says this is no longer correct

nickyboy

Ah, thanks guys. This is really useful. So I think I may modify jiejie's amazing itinerary a bit and start by going from Beijing to Pingyao instead of Shanghai.

So I'm thinking:
Beijing-Pingyao-Xi'an-Chengdu-Lijiang-Yangshuo-Shanghai-Suzhou-Hong Kong

I've cut Kunming--is there anything particular I want to see/do there? I found some cooking classes along the way so I think I'm pretty set for stuff to do!

I'm going to go attempt to get my train ticket to Pingyao today. I can only imagine that it will be interesting.

Should be pretty painless if you find ticket kiosk (away from the train stations).

Surprisingly it was very painless as you said!

I just read that I won't be able to buy my onward ticket from Pingyao to Xi'an at the Pingyao station as the station is too small--it must be bought at a major city (this is according to the hostel I will stay at).

Can I buy the next leg of my journey (Pingyao to Xi'an) in Beijing?

Probably not. If nothing else, you should be able to buy a hard seat in Pingyao, then upgrade on board.

Or just go by road (bus) from Pingyao to Taiyuan, which is a major large city. And pick up the ticket to Xi'an there.

Cool, thanks!