{"id":9253,"date":"2013-08-12T17:35:25","date_gmt":"2013-08-12T21:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=9253"},"modified":"2016-03-17T05:03:13","modified_gmt":"2016-03-17T09:03:13","slug":"how-to-buy-train-tickets-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/how-to-buy-train-tickets-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Buy Train Tickets in China"},"content":{"rendered":"

Traveling around China by train<\/strong> (\u706b\u8f66 – hu\u01d2 ch\u0113) is a great way to travel like a local and see the country.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 While taking the train sounds like a great idea in theory, how does one go about procuring tickets?\u00a0 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!<\/p>\n

First of all, look up the train that you want to take. This is a great online resource<\/a> for checking train timetables in China.\u00a0 Next up, find your local train ticket office<\/strong> (\u706b\u8f66\u552e\u7968\u5904 – hu\u01d2 ch\u0113 sh\u00f2u pi\u00e0o ch\u00f9).\u00a0 These are located all over the place, so it shouldn’t be hard.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Photo from Micah Sittig on www.flickr.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Finally, put your Chinese skills to the test and order that ticket!\u00a0 To help you practice, here’s a sample conversation between two people in the ticket office.\u00a0 Do your best to just follow along with the Chinese characters and pinyin.\u00a0 If you need it, the English translation can be found below.<\/p>\n

Chinese Characters and Pinyin<\/h1>\n

\u4f60\u597d\uff0c\u6211\u60f3\u95ee\u4f60\u4e00\u4e0b.\u00a0 \u516b\u6708\u4e09\u5341\u53f7\u7684\u7968\u53ef\u4ee5\u4e70\u5417\uff1f
\nn\u01d0 h\u01ceo, w\u01d2 xi\u01ceng w\u00e8n n\u01d0 y\u00ed xi\u00e0. b\u0101 yu\u00e8 s\u0101n sh\u00ed h\u00e0o de pi\u00e0o k\u011b y\u01d0 m\u01cei ma<\/p>\n

\u53ef\u4ee5. \u4f60\u60f3\u53bb\u54ea\u513f\uff1f
\nk\u011b y\u01d0. n\u01d0 xi\u01ceng q\u00f9 n\u01ce’er<\/p>\n

\u6211\u60f3\u5750T5\u8f66\u4ece\u5317\u4eac\u897f\u7ad9\u5230\u6842\u6797.
\nw\u01d2 xi\u01ceng zu\u00f2 T w\u01d4 ch\u0113 c\u00f3ng b\u011bi j\u012bng x\u012b zh\u00e0n d\u00e0o gu\u00ec l\u00edn<\/p>\n

\u4f60\u8981\u786c\u5ea7\uff0c\u786c\u5367\uff0c\u8fd8\u662f\u8f6f\u5367\uff1f
\nn\u01d0 y\u00e0o y\u00ecng zu\u00f2, y\u00ecng w\u00f2, h\u00e1i sh\u00ec ru\u01cen w\u00f2<\/p>\n

\u8f6f\u5367\u591a\u5c11\u94b1\uff1f
\nru\u01cen w\u00f2 du\u014d sh\u01ceo qi\u00e1n<\/p>\n

\u516d\u767e\u4e94\u5341\u516d\u5757\u4e00\u5f20.
\nli\u00f9 b\u01cei w\u01d4 sh\u00ed li\u00f9 ku\u00e0i y\u00ec zh\u0101ng<\/p>\n

\u786c\u5367\u5462\uff1f
\ny\u00ecng w\u00f2 ne<\/p>\n

\u786c\u5367\u56db\u767e\u4e8c\u5341\u516b\u4e00\u5f20.
\ny\u00ecng w\u00f2 s\u00ec b\u01cei \u00e8r sh\u00ed b\u0101 y\u00ec zh\u0101ng<\/p>\n

\u597d – \u6211\u60f3\u4e70\u4e24\u5f20\u786c\u5367\u7968.
\nh\u01ceo – w\u01d2 xi\u01ceng m\u01cei li\u01ceng zh\u0101ng y\u00ecng w\u00f2 pi\u00e0o<\/p>\n

\u4f60\u8981\u4e24\u4e2a\u4e0b\u94fa\u8fd8\u662f\u4e00\u4e2a\u4e0b\u4e00\u4e2a\u4e2d\uff1f
\nn\u01d0 y\u00e0o li\u01ceng g\u00e8 xi\u00e0 p\u00f9 h\u00e1i sh\u00ec y\u00ed g\u00e8 xi\u00e0 y\u00ed g\u00e8 zh\u014dng<\/p>\n

\u6709\u4e24\u4e2a\u4e0b\u94fa\u5417\uff1f
\ny\u01d2u li\u01ceng g\u00e8 xi\u00e0 p\u00f9 ma<\/p>\n

\u6709.
\ny\u01d2u<\/p>\n

\u597d – \u4e00\u5171\u591a\u5c11\u94b1\uff1f
\nh\u01ceo – y\u00ed g\u00f2ng du\u014d sh\u01ceo qi\u00e1n<\/p>\n

\u4e00\u5171\u516b\u767e\u516d\u5341\u516d\u5757. \u516b\u6708\u4e09\u5341\u53f7\uff0cT5\u8f66\u4ece\u5317\u4eac\u897f\u7ad9\u5230\u6842\u6797\uff0c\u4e24\u4e2a\u786c\u5367\uff0c\u90fd\u662f\u4e0b\u94fa. \u5bf9\u5417\uff1f
\ny\u012b g\u00f2ng b\u0101 b\u01cei li\u00f9 sh\u00ed li\u00f9 ku\u00e0i. b\u0101 yu\u00e8 s\u0101n sh\u00ed h\u00e0o, T w\u01d4 ch\u0113 c\u00f3ng b\u011bi j\u012bng x\u012b zh\u00e0n d\u00e0o gu\u00ec l\u00edn, li\u01ceng g\u00e8 y\u00ecng w\u00f2, d\u014du sh\u00ec xi\u00e0 p\u00f9. du\u00ec ma?<\/p>\n

\u5bf9.
\ndu\u00ec<\/p>\n

\u4f60\u6709\u62a4\u7167\u5417\uff1f
\nn\u01d0 y\u01d2u h\u00f9 zh\u00e0o ma<\/p>\n

\u6709 – \u8fd9\u662f\u6211\u7684\uff0c\u8fd9\u662f\u6211\u670b\u53cb\u7684.
\ny\u01d2u – zh\u00e8 sh\u00ec w\u01d2 de, zh\u00e8 sh\u00ec w\u01d2 p\u00e9ng y\u01d2u de<\/p>\n

\u597d – \u51fa\u7968\u4e86.
\nh\u01ceo – ch\u016b pi\u00e0o le<\/p>\n

\u8c22\u8c22.
\nxi\u00e8 xi\u00e8<\/p>\n

\u4e0d\u7528\u8c22.
\nb\u00fa y\u00f2ng xi\u00e8<\/p>\n

\"Here's<\/a>

Here’s what a Chinese train ticket looks like up close.<\/p><\/div>\n

English<\/h1>\n

Hello.\u00a0 I’d like to ask you a quick question – can I buy tickets for August 30th?<\/p>\n

Yes you can.\u00a0 Where would you like to go?<\/p>\n

I’d like to take train T5 from Beijing West Station to Guilin.<\/p>\n

Do you want a hard seat, hard sleeper, or soft sleeper?<\/p>\n

How much is a soft sleeper?<\/p>\n

It’s 656 RMB for one ticket.<\/p>\n

How about the hard sleeper?<\/p>\n

The hard sleeper is 428 RMB per ticket.<\/p>\n

Alright – I’d like to buy two hard sleeper tickets.<\/p>\n

Do you want two lower bunks or one lower and one middle?<\/p>\n

Do you have two lower bunks?<\/p>\n

Yes.<\/p>\n

Great – how much is it in total?<\/p>\n

In total it’s 866 RMB.\u00a0 August 30th, T5 from Beijing West to Guilin, two hard sleepers, both lower bunks.\u00a0 Right?<\/p>\n

That’s right.<\/p>\n

Do you have a passport?<\/p>\n

Yes – this is mine, and this is my friend’s.<\/p>\n

Alright – the tickets have been printed.<\/p>\n

Thanks.<\/p>\n

You’re welcome.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n