China Transportation Guide

Flying in China is convenient. The airlines have many new aircrafts implemented and the services improved. However, the airfares have gone up due to the rocket-high fuel prices. If the travelers prefer travel comfortably and could not afford time, it seems flying is really the only option. The tickets can be purchased from ticketing consolidators, local travel agents and many online ticketing portals. Discount tickets are available but have to be booked early enough.

Trains are the most common way for Chinese to get around the country. If the travelers have time, the train ride can be very rewarding and a best way to see the vast country. Basically there are three classes available: hard seat, hard sleeper with its six bunks per compartment and soft sleeper with its four bunks per compartment. For foreign travelers, soft-sleeper is recommended since it is not always full and comparatively spacious than that of hard sleeper. The soft sleeper compartments on some express trains among major cities of China are well-equipped with personal LCD entertainment system and public western toilets. The shortage of the train tickets normally happens in Chinese winter and summer vacations. So the tickets must be booked ahead of time through the local travel agents mainly.

The highways have been built around almost whole country. Traveling on road is getting much easier than ever before. Public bus is preferred by back-packers and experienced who want to see China as much as possible. However, it is not good for conventional travelers because of the unfixed bus schedule and the apparent language barriers between the travelers and the local service staffs