Alright - here is the tale of my SHANGHAI - XIAN train journey on a peak-holiday time in China:

I arrive at the station in Shanghai an hour before the train departure. Everything was smooth and orderly so far - no queues and everything seemed relatively calm - I was expecting the worst - a real MADHOUSE! As soon as the train was called for boarding, all hell broke loose! Suddenly it seemed the whole station was bottle-necking toward the gate.

On the platform I headed towards the front of the train as I had a Hard Seat ticket. Car #2 was now my home for the next 15 hours to Xian. As I entered the Car with about 200 or so other people, I realized this is going to be one ride I'll never forget. My seat was at the very front of the car so it took me about 20mins to weave (and sometimes climb) over people to get to my seat! When I got there, there were already two people sitting on my seat which I had to kindly ask to move. I had a seat on the isle which is the worst seat you could imagine for this trip. As the train started to move, people were still crammed in the isle trying to find their seat (or any seat for that matter). I ended up sitting with 3 people on a two person seat as well as someone sitting on the table! I saw some people in the isle STAND for the whole duration of the trip to Xian! People were sleeping and sitting in the isle and it made it IMPOSSIBLE to move anywhere. Forget about sleeping; there was no legroom and the way the seats are positioned, its a uncomfortable way to sleep! But through all this madness, the Chinese know how to make the best of it. I ended up playing cards and making a few friends on this journey with people on the train. The spirit was great and even though it felt like I was in a tuna-can sometimes, it was an experience someone (and I think everyone) should do.

The return trip back to Shanghai, I opted for the soft sleeper!! Happy travels everyone

^

Great report. Thanks for this.

Thanks for posting. I'd been looking forward to your report and I'm glad that you are still alive and sane.

Questions:

1) Would you do it again?
2) What would you advise someone else who was in the same situation as you were (i.e. hard seat ticket in hand for really long trip)?

Ahh good questions!

It was an absolute mess on the railways during holiday times and one could easily see why China is the most populated country in the world just by the fact that these trains are packed to the gills esp. in the Hard Seat class. If you think about it, this class is the cheapest of the train and many students/low-income workers can only travel via Hard Seat. So it's a given that these cars will fill up (sometimes overfilled) during peak-times. Personally, I would travel in the Hard Seat class again but never on a holiday period in China! On off-peak times, this class would be alright to travel in (I'm assuming) if you are tight on budget.

For anyone else who may travel on a Hard Seat class on a long distance trip - be prepared! Have a good night's rest before you travel, buy some snacks and drinks BEFORE you go on the train and have an iPod or a good book to keep you entertained for the many seemingly loooong hours ahead of you. The 'Hard Seat' isn't like what it sounds - it does have padding and is similar to seats on an economy class plane (minus the reclining action!). If you are a sociable person and like to experience different cultures - the Hard Seat is a great place to experience such. Be open minded and have fun!!

One further advice on this. Do buy fresh food/snacks. The packaged stuff (chicken legs etc.) sold at Chinese stations contains enough chemicals to kill you three times over.

I am Chinese and I have dozens of the experence of hard seat for over-night train. I should say too many crowd in the hard seat because it is near to the National Holiday.

Suggestion: to buy the hard sleep/soft sleep or D-train to take long train.

I think you can order the train ticket on hotel in advance.

Another suggestion: If it is near Chinese Holiday, strong suggest to stay at home.

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip. I can hardly stand being 4hrs in an economy class cabin, not to mention 15hrs on a cramped train seat.

I think you might be over estimating the "holiday effect". My most memorable hard seat experience occurred during "normal times" and it also sucked (just like you describe).

Agreed. Any time of year, hard seat is prone to being pretty packed and miserable. My hard seat travel days are mostly over now, though if no other options, I'd do it if the travel was 3 hours or less.

But I like the OP's attitude as well as fortitude about the whole episode. :D

Right now on a KTX train in Korea so feel inspired to chime in ;)

Hard sleeper is quite bearable if not schlepping too much luggage, but hard seat on Shanghai - Xi'an? I'll pass thank you.

Did Xuzhou - Xi'an on the hard sleeper last year due to a last minute travel need and soft sleeper sold out. Not that bad talking with a Chinese business friend, reading and drinking copious amounts of tea.

The 1000 kilometer Wuhan - Guangzhou highspeed link just opened on Saturday.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2...nt_9232823.htm

This is beginning to look amazing, travel time by train cut from ten to three hours.

Wuhan is already connected to Shanghai by another highspeed link via Hefei and Nanjing so in principle one can travel at speeds of 200 - 350km/h all the way from Shanghai to Guangzhou.

Great if you can afford it.

First-Class ticket 780 RMB
Second Class 490 RMB

Regular train: 56-289RMB

Even still, it's a blessing for those that happen to live in Wuhan, or anywhere else along the route, for that matter. I've urged a few people here with flexible January schedules to consider trying it, but it doesn't fit neatly into many itineraries. If it were possible to go all the way to HK on the same train, maybe a different story.

[QUOTE=moondog;13064148]. I've urged a few people here with flexible January schedules to consider trying it, but it doesn't fit neatly into many itineraries. QUOTE]

Maybe will try it in April when at Canton fair. Not that I need to go to Wuhan, but should be fun ride.:)

Changsha is worth a visit for night.