Travel by rail is an enjoyable, relaxing, and inexpensive way to see China's countryside. New or modernized equipment has replaced the old train systems in most areas. Travelers who lack the time to cover vast distances by train can still get a delightful taste of rail travel by journeying on popular short distance routes from Shanghai to the nearby cities of Suzhou, Wuxi, Nanjing, or Hangzhou; or from Beijing to Tianjin. Amenities have been added to first-class train travel (known as "soft seat"), including comfortable waiting lounges at some train stations. Tardy travelers should note that the trains are consistently punctual.

Trains travel at three speeds: Local, fast and express. Ticket reservation service is available at travel services and hotels. Express trains link Beijing, the nation's capital, with capital cities of all the provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, except for Tibet.

A new kind of air-conditioned coach equipped with soft seats that unfold like airline seats has been put into service on trains. These trains are designed at speed of 160 km/hour with a capacity of 68 passengers per coach.

Trains are generally convenient in China. However, if you're traveling from a large city you may have trouble buying tickets. Thus you should purchase your tickets two or three days ahead of time. If you are traveling from a smaller city or town you will often not be assigned a seat. If all the seats on the train are already full you'll have to stand or sit on the floor, which can be inconvenient if you're in the aisle because you will need to move out of the way frequently to let people and food carts gets by. In this case it is usually better to sit at the end of the train car. Sit on your luggage if it's big enough, or use a Therm-a-Rest pad.

Chinese trains have three classes of seating; hard seats, soft seats, hard sleepers and soft sleepers. The lowest class is hard seats(yingzuo). Most seats available on a train are of this type. Despite the name the seats aren't hard or especially uncomfortable. The seatbacks don't recline though, which usually makes it hard to sleep unless you have a window seat and a pillow. Do not to ride hard seats because it is too uncomfortable.

International Railway

The international railway through special expresses shuttle between Beijing, Ulan Bator, and Moscow, and Beijing, Manzhouli, and Moscow; Beijing and Pyongyang; Urumqi and Alma Ata; Beijing and Hanoi; and Beijing and Ulan Bator. It takes six to seven days from Moscow to Ulan Bator and from Manzhouli to Beijing.

Train No. K97, the Beijing-Kowloon Through Express, departs at 9:11 from Beijing every other day and arrives at Kowloon at 13:10 the next day.

Train No. K98 departs at 15:00 from Kowloon and arrives at the Beijing West Railway Station at 18:58 the next day.

Train No. 99, the Shanghai-Kowloon Through Express, departs at 9:19 from Shanghai every other day and arrives at 13:10 at Kowloon.

Train No. 100 departs at 15:00 from Kowloon and arrives at 19:10 in Shanghai the next day.

Passport and return certificates for compatriots from Hong Kong and Macao are requested to buy tickets of these through expresses. Payment for these tickets is accounted in Hang Kong dollars and is paid in RMB on mainland China.