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China Railway Travel Tips

Taking train is a unique experience to see a different China, compared with traveling by flight. The rail network is the backbone of the Chinese transport system as well as the national economy. You can know much more culture about China because there are various people in the train and they are friendly to talk with you. Consequently, it serves most of the cities and can be used as a cheap and efficient way to explore much of China, costing on average 25% less than travel by plane. We recommend those intrepid tourists (travelers) to travel long-distance by train, who are preferably under 65, and have a relatively lower expectation of comfort (small-sized berth, shared cabin, possibly smelly public toilet, lack of bilingual service and overcrowding train station). In return, you will be rewarded with once-in-a-life-time experience of the mysterious land called China.
Since January, 2004, MOR of China (Ministry of Railway) has invested 2,000 billion Chinese Yuan (US$293) for the expansion of railway network and upgrading of facilities, great progress has been and will be made in different aspects: convenience on board, speed and bottleneck of ticketing. Beijing is the hub for the north-south rail lines while Zhengzhou serves a similar role for the east-west lines. The Beijing to Kowloon Railway, which runs form the north to the south of the country has a total length of 2,536 km, making it the longest railway in the history of Chinese railway construction. The seating and accommodation on Chinese trains is divided into four categories, soft-sleeper, soft-seat, hard-sleeper and hard-seat. In addition, feel free to use your laptop and catch up on your cell phone at random. No need to worry about causing something.

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