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Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year, is the most important traditional holiday to Chinese people. Many people living in Mainland China would choose to reunite with their families from the places they worked or studied when the Spring Festival is approaching. This is how Spring Festival Travel Rush is originated.
According to the official press release, 2011 Spring Festival Travel begins on January 19 and ends on February 27. In a period of 40 days, a total number of 2.85 billion people including 230 million rail travelers will join in the largest annual human migration in the world. Railway network in China will then experience the biggest challenge as there is a big gap between the capacity of China railway system and the social transportation demand.
Will you get around the Mainland China during the famous Spring Festival Travel Season? If so, please take your time to have a careful look at Rail Traveler' s Guide for 2011 Spring Festival Travel Season unveiled by China Train Guide.Com to make your rail travel in the extremely hot season easier and more enjoyable.
Part One: Ticket Booking
Unless you are a backpacker, China Train Guide.com suggests you book your ticket through your travel agency as it's a time consuming job to purchase the ticket yourself. Ticket agencies and ticket counters at railway stations in China sell ticket for different places, for example, passenger can book Shanghai to Shenzhen train ticket while she/he is still staying in Beijing city.
If you have to go to the railway station to purchase ticket yourself, please make sure you have enough cash in your pocket as most ticket agencies and ticket counters in China don't accept payment by credit card.
Important things to be noted for successfully book train ticket during China's Spring Festival Travel Rush include:
- To remove misunderstandings, expatriate travelers are suggested to search www.chinatrainguide.com for latest train schedule and write down the train they want to book, together with the arrival / departure information, ticket type and ticket number on the paper and hand the paper note to the ticket booth workers. Please provide more than 1 train number, in case tickets on your first first-choiced train are sold out, you can have alternative options.
- Success opportunity to book original train is much higher than to book passing-by train. For example, D313 originates from Beijing to Shanghai via Suzhou. If you get on the train from Suzhou, then you are taking a passing-by train.
- China's Ministry of Railway will put more than 5 hundreds of temporary trains (Linke) during the Spring Festival Travel Season to fit the demand. You can ask people working in the ticket office if there are some remaining tickets on temporary train if tickets on scheduled trains (Tuding train) are sold out.
- It's more easy to book the deluxe soft sleeper as it has a high price comparing to other types of tickets. Success chance to purchase seat ticket is much lower than that of sleeper tickets.
Part two: Advanced ticket booking period during 2011 Spring Festival Travel Season in major cities
- Beijing:
Advance ticket booking period for C train (Beijing Tianjin Intercity Express Train), D train, Z train and temporary train is 10 days and advance ticket booking period for other trains including K train, T train, four number train and etc are 5 days.
- Shanghai:
Advance ticket booking period in Shanghai is 11 days (including the journey date). Tickets for high speed G train start to sell at 8 am 11 days in advance and tickets for other trains start to sell at 3pm 11 days in advance.
- Guangzhou:
Advance ticket booking period for Wuhan Guangzhou High Speed bullet train is 10 days and advance ticket booking period for other trains is 6 days.
- Shenzhen:
Advance ticket booking period in Shenzhen is 10 days for most of the trains.
- Chengdu:
Advance ticket booking period is 11 days in Chengdu.
- Harbin:
Advance ticket booking period is 10 days for all kinds of trains in Harbin.
- Qingdao:
Advance ticket booking period is 21 days for D and 11 days for other kinds of trains.
- Wuhan:
Advance ticket booking period for Wuhan (including Wuhan, Wuchang, Hankou) to Nanchang D train is 20 days and advance ticket booking period for other trains (including Wuhan Guangzhou high speed train) is 10 days.
- Xi'an:
Advance ticket booking period in Xi'an is 10 days for all kinds of trains.
- Kunming:
Advance ticket booking period is 11 days in Kunming.
Part three: checking ticket availability:
In some occasions, you may need to check if there are still remaining ticket on some train for your journey date. Website of China Railway Customer Service Center provides remaining ticket checking services.
Part four: Peak period of 2011 Spring Festival Travel Season.
According to the official press release, the peak period of 2011 China Spring Festival Travel Season begins on January 26 and ends on February 10. China Train Guide.Com suggest you try your best to avoid the rush peak if you can as the train will be severely overloaded and crowded over this time.
Part Five: Luggage, Ticket checking and Safety Issues
People returning home by train with the first purpose to have reunion dinner as well as a good time with their family before the new year day. Most people would return with several bags full of food, clothing and other gift for their family members. The smaller luggage you take, the more comfort and ease you get from the rail journey.
We suggest you reach the railway station as early as possible. China Train Guide.com received lots complaints saying Chinese don't know how to line up each Spring Festival Travel Season. We still remember during last year's peak season, a girl from some western country couldn't get on the train even though she had ticket in her hands!
The reason was that there were hundreds of passengers crowded at each entrance of the train car and she just couldn't squeeze through the crowd! If she had got to the train station earlier, she should have gotten abroad easily.
During the Spring Festival Travel Season, the authority will strengthen security of railway transportation system. It's more safe on the sleeper car of the train, however, there is no 100% safety. The conductor will be on duty 24 hours a day at another end of the sleeper car to care for the passenger's safety. China Train Guide.com suggest you to contact the conductor for special attention. In case you have luxurious goods, you can let the conductor to collect them for you. Please take your valued belongings with you when you are away from the compartment.
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