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How to book and travel by high-speed train around China

   China holidays

How to book and travel by high-speed train around China

   China’s rail network is a fast-paced wonder that makes exploring this
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   A high-speed train runs through the city of Urumqi, China.

   [ ] Rail easy … a high-speed train runs through the city of Urumqi.
   Photograph: Alamy

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   heralds what has been called the largest human migration in the world,
   with millions of people making journeys home for the holidays. China’s
   growing high-speed rail network – which is the longest in the world,
   too – carries a significant transport burden, with almost 60% of the
   population using it over a three-week-plus period.

   It’s not just locals who can take advantage of the vastly improved
   journey times that the network offers: tourists too can use high-speed
   trains to visit more of China – and a whole lot faster. Many high-speed
   rail journeys are, ultimately, quicker than flying.

   A train running on the Kaili section of Shanghai-Kunming high-speed
   railway in south-west China.

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   A train on the Kaili section of Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway.
   International visitors can use the Ctrip website to book their rail
   tickets in China. Photograph: Alamy
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   get booked up quickly so it pays to be organised.

   Daytime high-speed trains have first- and second-class seats; some have
   business class. Second-class seats are cheapest but still spacious and
   comfortable. Prices vary: one-way second-class from Shanghai to Beijing
   costs 553 RMB (£65) for the 819-mile journey, while the Beijing to
   Kunming service, currently the world’s longest high-speed rail route,
   costs around £130, second-class. China’s high-speed trains are
   generally divided into two types: G trains, which run at 186 mph
   (300km/h) and upwards, and D trains, which run at 155-186 mph
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   Photograph: Alamy

   This service, on China’s most westerly high-speed line, takes 11 hours
   and 31 minutes to connect Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province, with
   Ürümqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Essentially the
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   route, including Zhangye, home of the Danxia mountains, and Jiayuguan,
   where the Great Wall ends. At points, the track reaches an altitude of
   3,607 metres, making it the highest high-speed rail track in the world,
   while the train also stops at the oasis town of Turpan, geographically
   China’s lowest point at 154 metres below sea level.
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   Suzhou. Photograph: tupianlingang/Getty Images

   Not all high-speed rail journeys have to be long: the network is useful
   for making day trips from China’s major cities. This train whisks you
   from Shanghai’s skyscrapers to the canals and gardens of Suzhou in 25