We Traveled China by High-Speed Train: Your How-To Guide! Our Overland China Journey (Part 6)
Planning to travel around China by rail? Navigating the world’s largest high-speed train network can seem intimidating at first, but once you know the rules, it is an absolute game-changer! As a slow-travel channel that strictly does not fly, we spent nearly a month crossing China entirely overland—starting from a small border station and taking everything from regional intercity trains to flagship 350 km/h bullet trains. In this complete China Train Guide, we break down every practical step you need to know before you go: 🎫 Booking Tickets: How to use Trip.com to reserve tickets 2 months out, understanding the 15-day ticket release window, and how pre-authorizing multiple train choices works. 🏦 Station Logistics: How passport scanning works (entering & exiting), airport-style security checks, restricted items, and finding your way around massive multi-station cities (understanding North, South, East, and West station names for DiDi!). 🚄 Onboard Experience: Comparing First Class vs. Second Class seating, complimentary snacks and drinks, onboard meal cars, seat-side QR code ordering, and facilities. 💡Pro-Tips: Shuttling between station hubs (like Kunming), navigating station shopping, and managing ride-hailing/taxis upon arrival. 0:45 Chinese train stations 1:46 Restricted items! 2:07 What's at the station? 3:05 Trip.com app 3:30 Location of train stations is key 5:15 Train seating options 5:52 Train boarding 8:40 Food on trains - QR codes 10:14 Walkthrough of Trip.com app 13:15 Our experience and recommendation 🔔 We are exploring the world entirely overland! Subscribe and hit the notification bell to join our No Fly Zone journey! 📍 RECOMMENDED APPS & TOOLS FOR CHINA RAIL: Trip.com: Essential for reserving high-speed train tickets in English and tracking live gate/schedule updates. 1) TRIP.COM TRAIN GUIDE: https://www.trip.com/trains/tt-app/content/tt_static_content_ticketcollection_hongkong?bizType=HK&isHideNavBar=YES&locale=en-CA&from_native_page=1&fontFactor=100 2) DiDi: China's Primary Ride Hailing App:: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sdu.didi.psnger&hl=en (make sure to double-check station suffixes: Bei = North, Dong = East, Nan = South, Xi = West!). 3) Alipay/WeChat Pay: China is a cashless society. Rail Leg🚉 → Distance 📏- Cost 💰 Hekou → Kunming 372 km -$68 cad Kunming → Guiyang 465 km -$159,54 cad Guiyang → Chengdu 648 km - $212.44cad Chengdu → Chongqing 310 km - $74.50 cad Chongqing → Kunming 793 km - $265 cad Kunming → Hekou 372 km - $72 cad Grand Total | 2,960 km (~1,839 miles) Total cost $851 cad ($611 usd) 🎥 CHECK OUT OUR SECONDARY TRAIN CHANNEL! If you want to sit back and enjoy uninterrupted scenic window views from China's high-speed rail lines, head over to No Fly Zone Trains! No talking, just ambient train sounds and relaxing music: https://youtube.com/@NoFlyZoneTrains?si=0WoSLjp08LlPtr5L #ChinaTravel #ChinaTrains #HighSpeedRail #NoFlyZone #SlowTravel #OverlandTravel #TripCom #BulletTrain #TravelChina #TrainTravel We are Andrea & Keith - retired GenX Canadians who are slow-travelling the world without flying. Join us on our journey and share in our adventure! #noflyzonenomads #retirementlife #nomadlife #slowtravel #genx #cruiselife #traintravel #southeastasia #canada #cruise #train #retirementtravel #retired