Beijing Travel Forum

hi!i'm planning a trip to Hong kong later this month and was thinking of taking a train from Shenzhen to Beijing.how long will the trip take & how much is it gonna cost me in US currency(one way)?which is the most affordable&clean hostel to stay in thats near the sights?and pls. can anyone tell me if it's still snowing in Beijing?im not used to snow since i come from the Phils. so don't want it to be a shock to my system..;) and is the situation more stable now given the power failure 'coz of the bad weather recently? thnks a bunch!

Try www.seat61.com as this has great info on Asian Trains.

If you're coming from Hong Kong, why not see if you can take the direct Hong Kong -- Beijing train? That would save you the trouble of going to Shenzhen.

It leaves Hong Kong every other day (ie not daily) at 1516 and arrives in Beijing (main train station) at 1541 the next day. Look on http://www.it3.mtr.com.hk/B2C/UserPage/sysFareTable_Eng.asp (scroll down!) for the prices.

Otherwise, there're 2 trains daily going from Shenzhen to Beijing West train station.

K106 leaves Shenzhen at 1100 and arrives in Beijing West at 1558 the next day, journey time 28h58min. T108 leaves Shenzhen at 1446 and arrives in Beijing West at 1348 the next day, journey time 23h02min. Hard seat costs 257 RMB (not recommended for a journey taking this long, not comfortable); hard sleeper costs 437/452/467 RMB for upper/middle/lower bunk; soft sleeper costs 690/720 RMB for upper/lower bunk.

Look on http://www.xe.com for exchange rates. It's roughly 1 USD to 7 RMB.

tnx for the link kiwijes!

hello ellyse!thanks smuch 4d info!ur a big help cz i thought Beijing wont be that far..i ddnt knw it would be a 24hr train ride!

do u know of a good hostel?thnk u!

In Beijing, you mean? I usually recommend Downtown Backpackers: http://www.backpackingchina.com/nr/ourhostel.html

Even if it won't be snowing, Beijing is still in winter month so the cold air and very low temps will be a shock to you.