2016 China Train Reviews

As train fan, I had to use CN trains as well. Some experience with bullet team few years ago. Journey now was even better!
1.booking: easy booking via app 'China Trains'was first great thing. easy selection of city, timing, seat class. booked soft sleeper Nanjing-Beijing and return bullet train to Suzhou.
some smaller cities could be included, wanted to Wuhu but was not in.
2.Payment: via paypal. but here one improvement needed. after paying with paypal in the app, assuming cost paid by PayPal credit card account, in email notification it was shown debit from bank account would take 10 days... had only 5 days.. to get the ticket i paid directly via PayPal. then it works.
3.email communication is very good, quick, transparent, even links how to use train, station, cabin and lots of explanation with photos.
felt very comfortable. printout pickup paper and get at China ticket station your ticket. well, this could be in future app ticket...
4.waiting hall in station, boarding and get my seat was quite easy. ticket shows everything. study it before.
overall feedback: will train again and very good serviced, felt comfortable..

This was our second trip to China and our destination was Hainan. We really appreciate your services and competences providing us the train tickets for my wife and I during our holiday. We enjoyed the trains on the route Haikou to Sanya and vice versa.
Your service was perfect and we received on time our tickets directly at hotel in Haikou. Everything was ok. During the booking procedures before our departure from Italy, you was always at our disposal for any requests we made. Thanks again for your support. Please find some photos of our trip. We hope to use again your service in the future.

Thank you for your ass stance while I arranged these tickets. At first it looked complicated, but the result was fine. I’ve arranged tickets delivery to hotel then avoid from problems in station. In reality, wasn’t any big lines of travelers in stations. To speak about journeys, than in generally all (ckeck-in, waiting rooms) was ok.

We were very pleased with both the Booking Service for the Bullet Train and the post-booking Information which was sent to us - in particular, the advice about arriving at the Station and finding the Platform, very helpful! The journey itself was exciting, smooth, comfortable and punctual :o) It was worth paying the bit extra for First Class, for the leg-room and wider seats.
We only had one disappointment: our seats (5D + 5F) were next to a solid part of the train, with only a very small view out of the window for 1 person (the right-hand person couldn't see out at all). The 2 seats in front of us had a good view through the window, but businessmen, working on lap-tops, were sitting there - what a waste!

everything was great, and we appreciated your responsiveness and help in navigating the process. The Chinese train system was very impressive and we would recommend that others consider train travel in China.

We had a great time in China and we want to thank you and Travel China Guide for the excellent service you provided.Our tickets were at our hotel when we arrived in Beijing.
After four nights in Beijing we headed for the station for a high speed train to Pingyao.The station is quite large and a bit confusing so I would definitely arrive early.People were friendly and helped us when asked showing our ticket made it clear when we asked for help.The stations were exciting and fun with lots of food and drink for the journey.
When going from city to city by train you may not leave from the station you arrived,always check you ticket as the high speed trains use one station and sleeper trains may leave from the older local station as in Xi'an to Shanghai .
We saw more and met so many local citizens by train I would not travel any other way.

Dear Ivy,

we would like to thank you for your help and all the quick & detailed answers that you sent to our e-mails.
Booking the train through your company was a very good idea. We collected the train tickets from Guangzhou to Beijing and Beijing to Shenzhen very easily - thanks to your detailed instructions - upon arriving in Guangzhou from Hong Kong. We just had to show the printing note received by e-mail from you to one of the cashiers ( & pay a small fee ) and they printed out the tickets for both trips for us.
Buying the tickets in advance was of great help because trains are quite crowded in China and if you do not book in advance, you have the risk of not being able to get a seat. We have the experience of going by train from Shanghai to Guangzhou a few years ago and travelling standing for 16 hours is no pleasure.. So, if you plan to travel by long distance trains in China you'd better book through an agency or at least go to the train station at least 3-4 days in advance and buy your ticket. Do not leave buying your ticket for the last minute or you might not get a seat.
Otherwise, trains are great - they go 250 km/ h very smoothly, comfortably and silently.
Thank you Ivy & the entire Travelchinaguide.com team !
Cosmin & Dragos

Jessica Zhang, Booking Consultant with TravelChinaGuide Tours Trains & Flights Booking Service, was very helpful with my bookings. I made reservations, then had to change them, and Jessica completed all my transactions without hassle. I elected to have the ticket delivered to my hotel in Suzhou, which was very prompt and convenient. Navigating the train station in both Suzhou and Shanghai-Hongqiao (a great way to arrive that airport) was easy. It was helpful having the receipt from TravelChinaGuide Tours to understand the ticket (see picture). When the gate for the train opened in Suzhou, there was a heavy crowd of people squeezing through the ticket turnstiles. Unfortunately, the ticket I received did not match tickets provided at the train station, so it did not work in the turnstile. I had to fight my way out of that crowd and to another line to wait for the agent to open a gate to let me (and others) through. This might have been easier to if I spoke the language. Once on the platform, all was good. It might have been difficult to deal with very large bags even in 1st Class, since aisles and seats were tight, but I was fine with bags that fit in airplane overhead bins. I chose a train station in Suzhou that did not have the highest-speed train routes, so we had several stops and only reached a maximum speed of 260 km/hr; but this was still only a 25-minute ride that would normally take at least an hour with no traffic in a car. Taking the train into the big cities, especially when there will be heavy traffic (Friday afternoon/evening) is highly recommended!

Hello, I was very happy with your service and with my train journey. The booking service was easy. I went to the station a couple hours before the time of departure and picked up my tickets without issue. A man who worked at the station helped me find the correct place to go. Here are a few pics of the journey. Though the window was icy, the train cabin was very warm. Thank you for your service!

The overnight train from Shanghai to Huangshan is the best way to get to the yellow mountains (The dramatic rock scenery found on scrolls) Huangshan (and staying a Xixi Honcun) is a great weekend trip from Shanghai.
My daughter who is currently 10, enjoyed the trip very much. It is an easy way to travel with children.
The overnight train has comfortable beds, is very clean, and has a restaurant car. If you want food on off-hours, bring your own snacks.
Book at least 48 hours in advance to get the best itinerary.