Shanghai Travel Forum

Hi! we will be in shanghai march 16 and were planning to go to beijing on the 19 via z train, and will buy ticket as soon as we arrive shanghai. Ive read an article that i have to book atleast 7 days ahead or there will be no available train ticket to beijing . And also will be returning to shanghai from beijing on march 22 via z train too if possible. Is it true that there might be a possibility that train tickets wont be available. Your advise will be highly appreciated!!

I regularly help friends and other travellers with train ticket errands, so let me know if you need help. Always good to buy in advance (train tickets go on sale 10 days before departure date) especially if you're travelling in a group and would prefer to be together as much as possible.

I think basically the opposite is true - it is not usually possible to book any train more than four days in advance. Yes, the trains are busy, but there are a lot of them. Your hotel can get a ticket for you.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/

They are comfortable enough, as I think all accommodation is in soft sleeper. Some of the trains include dinner in the price.

Certainly in Guangxi and Guangdong you can't buy that far in advance. In addition you can't normally buy the return journey either.

Not that case here in Shanghai. For goodness sakes I've been here for the past 4+ years. Are you?

I remember Z train is different from other trains.
Z train is 10 days in advance but other trains are only 4 days.
The booking period also changes during Chinese new year, so it's rather confusing.

Again, no, not like that in Shanghai. Most of the time it's 10 days, for any trains. Z and D trains used to be 20 days, but now they're also only 10 days.

thanks for your advise guys!!! appreciate it so much. By the way ellyse, if its not too much, can you help me get a z train ticket? Please tell me what to do, thanks! Its for two, me and my husband.

one more thing,if z train ticket to beijing wont be available , is it possible to get plane ticket as soon as i arrive shanghai (MARCH 16), we are budget travellers so i want to know if plane ticket will cost me too much. Some says plane ticket to beijing sometimes are even cheaper than train tickets ( because of discounts) . Is it true?( I plan to go to beijing on the 19)

I've replied to your VTMail.
No, plane tickets are never cheaper than the overnight trains. Especially when you take into consideration the extra time and money spent travelling between downtown and airports (airports are generally about 100-150 RMB taxi ride from the downtown areas) as well as accommodation costs for the extra (which otherwise would've been spent on the train).

hi ellyse:

Is there someone reliable you know in
Shanghai who can book 2 first class soft seat tickets for me
on the D32 train for a specific date (May 6) which falls during a holiday week.
I know which hotel I am staying in Shanghai but they can't help and I won't be there soon enough (just 3 days) to handle the ticketing myself.
Will payment by credit card be acceptable or be used as a guarantee with cash payment on delivery. appreciate your help.

I'll VTMail you.

... you VTmail them but you don't VTmail me!

:-(

I wasn't getting at you, I was just explaining the situation here in the South. I'm sure you know a lot better than me how things are in Shanghai.