ChineseTrainTicketsChinatraintickettypescanbeclassifiedinto:OnHigh-speedtrains(C,D,Gtrains):firstclassseat,secondclassseat,businessclassseat,PremierClassseat,softsleeper,luxurysoftsleeper;Onordinarytrains(Z,T,K,Y,L

trains):hardsleeper,softsleeper,luxurysoftsleeper,hardseat,softseat.

High-SpeedTrain(CRH)IdentifiedbythelettersG/D/Cplusseveraldigitsandusuallyinwhiteorgreywithbullet-likelocomotives,thehighspeedtypesarefast,clean,well-equippedlikeanairplaneandrunmoresmoothly.Theyarethefirstchoiceofmostpassengers.Butmostofthemdonotrunovernightandthepriceisgenerallyhigherthanthenormaltype.BusinessClassSeat(商務(wù)座),onafewservicespendingontraintype,suchastheCRH380ALorCRH380BLtrains.C,DorGtrainBusinessClassSeatsaretheequivalentoffirstclassonanairplaneandareonlyavailableonGandsomeDtypes.Therearetwosofa-likeseatsononesideandoneontheotherside.Theseatscanbeadjustedflatforpassengerstoliedown.Thefareisthehighest-abouttwicethatoffirstclass.BusinessClassSeatpicturesPremierClassSeat(特等座),canvary,pendingontraintype,frombeingsimilartoBusinessClassstyleseatsorFirstClassseatslocatedinpremierorsightseeingpositionssuchasbehindthedriverscab.3seatsperrow(2+1)orcompartmentseats.UnlikeBusinessClassseats,theseseatsarenotlie-flatseats,butcaningeneralrecline.FirstClassSeat(一等座),usedforCRHseriesEMUtrains.FirstClassSeatsonC,DorGtrainshavefourseatsinarow,twooneachsideoftheaisle.Theyarewiderandsofterthaninsecondclass.Withasmallpillowandafoldablefootrest,theyofferamorecomfortableexperience.Theticketfareisabout20%to40%higherthansecondclass.FirstClassSeatPictureSecondClassSeat(二等座),usedforCRHseriesEMUtrains.SecondClassSeatshavefiveseatsinarow,threeononesideoftheaisleandtwoontheotherside.Theseatsarelikethoseineconomyclassonanairplane.Thebackrestcanbeadjustedtoacomfortableangleandhasasmall,foldabletableattached.Theseatscanberotatedsoallpassengerscansitfacingforward.Theseatsinotherclassesalsohavethisfeature.SecondClassticketpriceisthelowestamongallhighspeedclasses,soitisthemostpopularandmostfrequentlyused.SecondClassSeatPictureSleeperBerth(softsleeper,luxurysoftsleeper),usedforCRHseriesEMUtrains.Foundononlyafew'D'trainsrunningovernightbetweenShanghai-BeijingorBeijing-Shenzhen.Similarasasoftsleeperonconventionaltrainsbutarelimitedto4berthstoacompartment.Someupperberthscanfoldawaytopermitrunningpurelyasseatedpassengers.OrdinarytrainUsuallycoloredblue,redorgreen,theyareidentifiedbyZ/T/K/L/Yplusdigitsorjustseveraldigitswithoutletters.Theyrunatalowerspeedthanhighspeedtypes,buttheyrundayandnight.Thefacilitiesaregenerallyofalowerstandard,e.g.thetoiletsaremostlysquattingones.Withrelativelylowerprices,theyareoftenthechoiceofbudgettravelers.Hardseat(硬座)isthebasicfare,thecheapestamongallclasses.Asthenameimplies,itcanbesomethingofanordeal,especiallyforalongjourney.Notonlyaretheseatshard,theseatbacksarealmostverticalandcannotbeadjusted.Thecarriagesarealwaysnoisy,smelly,andcrowdedwithnon-seatpassengers,especiallyduringpeakseasons.Therearefiveseatsinarow,twoononesideandthreeontheotherside.Asmalltableissetbetweeneverytwooppositerows.Onbusierroutes,passengerswhocannotarrangeforbetterseatsbecauseofovercrowdingmustalsopurchasethistypeofticket.Insomecases,ticketsaresoldwithnoseatassigned(無座),whichallowstherailwaytosellmoreticketsthanthereareseatsinthecar.Still,eventhenumberof"noseat"ticketsofferedforsaleislimited,tokeepovercrowdingwithinlimits.HardSeatPicturesSoftseat(軟座)isonelevelabovetheHardSeat,onlyavailableonafewtrains.Therearefourseatsinarowwithtwoonbothsides.Theseatsarecushionedandsofter.Thefareisabout1.5timesofahardseat.SoftSeatPicturesHardsleeper(硬臥)isthebasicaccommodationforanovernighttrain.Despitethename,thebunkscomfortablyaccommodateanyonebelowsixfeet.Bunksarearrangedthreeonasideinacompartment—indicatedbytop,middleandbottomontheticket.Therearenodoorsforthecompartments.Asthecompartmentslackdoors,itishardtohaveagoodsleepduetocontinuoussnores,kids’crying,andthesoundofthetrainmoving.Thefareisabouttwiceasmuchasahardseat.HardSleeperPicturesSoftsleeper(軟臥)containsawiderbunkbedinanenclosedcabin,twobunkstoaside.Thereismoreroomforluggagestoragethaninhardsleeper.OccasionallytheremaybeanentertainmentsystemwheremoviechannelsareavailableforviewingthroughheadphonesandanLCDdisplayforeachbunk.Thefareisabout50%higherthanthehardsleeper.LuxurySoftSleeper(高級軟臥包廂)isthetoplevelsleeperthatisonlyprovidedbyafewtrains.Theticketisalsomuchmoreexpensivethanthatofsoftsleeper.Itonlycontainstwobedsinacabin,andaleisureareawithasofaandanindependentwesternstyletoilet..Someofthemhaveashowercubicleinthecar.Thefareisabouttwicethatofasoftsleeper.Theyareonlyavailableonsomelong-distancetripsbetweenmajorcities.SpecialTicketStandingRoomTickets(無座票)areissuedonlyafteralltheaboveticketsaresoldout.Passengersholdingtheseticketsareonlyallowedinthehardseatcarriages,standingalongtheaisleorattheendofacarriage.Thefareisthesameasthatofahardseat.Childrenunder3.9feet(1.2meters)andaccompaniedbyanadultcantravelforfree.Theydonothavetheirownseatorbunkbutshareonewiththeadult.However,ifaseatisrequired,itcanbepurchasedathalfthefullfare;whereasthatofahard/softsleeperisthefullpriceminushalfofthehard/softseatfare(about75%ofthefullprice).Iftherearetwoormorechildrenunder3.9feetinheight,onlyonechildenjoysafreerideandtheothershavetopayforchildtickets.Childrenbetween3.9feetand4.9feet(1.5meters)havetopay.Thefareforaseatishalfofthefullfareandthechildhashis/herownseat.Ifthechildtakesahard/softsleeperandsharesabunkwiththeadult,thefareisstillhalfofthehard/softseat.However,tohavehis/herownbunk,thefarewillbethefullfareofthehard/softsleeperminushalfthefareofthehard/softseat(about75%ofthefullprice).StudentTickets(學(xué)生票)areonlyforChinesecollegestudents.Foreignstudentscannotbuythem.Platformtickets(站臺票)areforpeopleseeingofforpickingupfriendsandrelativesandcostsCNY1.However,toreducecongestionandensuresafety,manystationshavestoppedsellingplatformtickets.Instead,acardwillbeissuedonlytothosereallyinneed.HowtoBuyChinaTrainTicketsChinatrainticketscanbeboughtfrom:1.OnlineagencieslikeCtrip.2.RailwayStationsorTicketOutletsinMainlandChina.3.12306.cn,theofficialwebsiteofChinaRailwayCorporation.4.95105105,theofficialhotline.ValidIDisrequiredforbuyingthetickets,whichinclude:ForeignPassengers:PassportHongKong,MacauandTaiwanPassengers:MainlandTravelPermitNote:Thepre-saletimeofChinatrainticketshasbeentemporarilyadjustedfrom60daysto30daysforonlineorphonebookings,while28daysforbuyingatrailwaystationsandticketoutlets.Itisunknownwhenthepreviouspre-saletimewillberegained.Herearedetailsofthefourwaysshowingyouhowtobuytickets:BookwithAnOnlineAgencyThisisthemostpracticalandconvenientwayforthosewhospeaklittleChinese,astheofficialChinaRailwaywebsite(12306.cn)onlyhasaChineseversionandacceptsonlyChinesebankcardpayment.Therearemanysuchagenciesandtheirservicelevelandfeemayvaryfromonetoanother.BuyatRailwayStationsandTicketOutletsYoucanalsogoinpersontopurchaseticketsatanyrailwaystationorticketoutletinMainlandChina.Bothoftheirpre-saleperiodsare28daysbeforedeparture.ThereisanadditionalchargeofCNY5perticketatticketoutletsasservicefee.Thereareseveralpreparationsyouneedtomakebeforegoing:Searchonwebsitetoknowthereal-timescheduleandchoosetherelevanttrain.Thereareelectricinformationboardsatstationsshowingthetrainschedule,buttheyarerarelyinEnglish.Havesecond,thirdormorechoicesoftrain,class,orevendeparturedate,bywhichtimetheticketsmayhaverunout,especiallyduringpeaktravelseasonandforpopularroutes.Printoutorwritedownthetrainnumber,class,departurestation,departuredate,arrivalstation,andallothernecessaryinformationandshowthemtothestaff,asonlyselectedstaffinmetropoliseslikeBeijingandShanghaimayspeakEnglish.BringyourvalidID,suchasapassport.Ifyouaregoingtobuyforothers,bringtheirs,too.PrepareenoughcashorChinesebankcard.AllpaymentsaretobemadeincashorUnionpayCard.Expectalongqueueatthestation.Donotqueueforautomaticticketvendingmachinesatthestation,astheyonlyrecognizeChineseissuedIDcards.Bookon12306.cnThisistheofficialwebsiteoftheChinaRailwayCorporationanditspre-saletimeis30daysbeforedeparture.HerebelowareseveralpointsyouneedtotakenoteunlessyouhaveaChinesefriendtoassistyou.YouneedtoknowChineseverywell,asitisonlyinChinese.YouneedtoregisterusingaphonenumberbasedinChina.YournameonthebookingsystemmustmatchexactlytheoneonyourID.Spacesandsymbols(hyphens)fromforeignlanguagesarenotallowed.OftennamesonIDsdonotcorrespondtopersonalizednames.Example:JamesGreen’snameshowsinhispassportasGreen(onthetopline)andJames(onthelowerline).ThedifferencebetweenthebookingsystemandtheIDmayresultinafailedbookingorboarding.CasesthatChineseR