Traveling around China by train (火车 – huǒ chē) is a great way to travel like a local and see the country.  With a highly developed rail system that connects all points of this massive country, riding that train in China is much better and cheaper than flying.  While taking the train sounds like a great idea in theory, how does one go about procuring tickets?  Well, you could pay a high fee to agencies that will do it for you, or you could practice your Chinese and just do it yourself!

First of all, look up the train that you want to take. This is a great online resource for checking train timetables in China.  Next up, find your local train ticket office (火车售票处 – huǒ chē shòu piào chù).  These are located all over the place, so it shouldn’t be hard.

Finally, put your Chinese skills to the test and order that ticket!  To help you practice, here’s a sample conversation between two people in the ticket office.  Do your best to just follow along with the Chinese characters and pinyin.  If you need it, the English translation can be found below.

Chinese Characters and Pinyin

你好，我想问你一下.  八月三十号的票可以买吗？
nǐ hǎo, wǒ xiǎng wèn nǐ yí xià. bā yuè sān shí hào de piào kě yǐ mǎi ma

可以. 你想去哪儿？
kě yǐ. nǐ xiǎng qù nǎ’er

我想坐T5车从北京西站到桂林.
wǒ xiǎng zuò T wǔ chē cóng běi jīng xī zhàn dào guì lín

你要硬座，硬卧，还是软卧？
nǐ yào yìng zuò, yìng wò, hái shì ruǎn wò

软卧多少钱？
ruǎn wò duō shǎo qián

六百五十六块一张.
liù bǎi wǔ shí liù kuài yì zhāng

硬卧呢？
yìng wò ne

硬卧四百二十八一张.
yìng wò sì bǎi èr shí bā yì zhāng

好 – 我想买两张硬卧票.
hǎo – wǒ xiǎng mǎi liǎng zhāng yìng wò piào

你要两个下铺还是一个下一个中？
nǐ yào liǎng gè xià pù hái shì yí gè xià yí gè zhōng

有两个下铺吗？
yǒu liǎng gè xià pù ma

有.
yǒu

好 – 一共多少钱？
hǎo – yí gòng duō shǎo qián

一共八百六十六块. 八月三十号，T5车从北京西站到桂林，两个硬卧，都是下铺. 对吗？
yī gòng bā bǎi liù shí liù kuài. bā yuè sān shí hào, T wǔ chē cóng běi jīng xī zhàn dào guì lín, liǎng gè yìng wò, dōu shì xià pù. duì ma?

对.
duì

你有护照吗？
nǐ yǒu hù zhào ma

有 – 这是我的，这是我朋友的.
yǒu – zhè shì wǒ de, zhè shì wǒ péng yǒu de

好 – 出票了.
hǎo – chū piào le

谢谢.
xiè xiè

不用谢.
bú yòng xiè

English

Hello.  I’d like to ask you a quick question – can I buy tickets for August 30th?

Yes you can.  Where would you like to go?

I’d like to take train T5 from Beijing West Station to Guilin.

Do you want a hard seat, hard sleeper, or soft sleeper?

How much is a soft sleeper?

It’s 656 RMB for one ticket.

How about the hard sleeper?

The hard sleeper is 428 RMB per ticket.

Alright – I’d like to buy two hard sleeper tickets.

Do you want two lower bunks or one lower and one middle?

Do you have two lower bunks?

Yes.

Great – how much is it in total?

In total it’s 866 RMB.  August 30th, T5 from Beijing West to Guilin, two hard sleepers, both lower bunks.  Right?

That’s right.

Do you have a passport?

Yes – this is mine, and this is my friend’s.

Alright – the tickets have been printed.

Thanks.

You’re welcome.

 

If you need more practice, follow along with this YouTube video.