Travel of the Chinese. The cheapest way to travel in China. Enjoy the scenic view of one of the largest waterfalls in Asia, Huangguoshu

Article text updated: 05/29/2018

Let me tell you a secret - I have already begun to test the waters for independent travel on vacation in the spring of next year. Nor have I even begun to write trip reports on my own in China, Hong Kong, the Philippines and New York. To set myself a goal, a beacon and move the writing of the story off the ground, I decided to write this announcement today.

The trip to China took place in mid-November 2011 as part of the route "Ekaterinburg - China - Hong Kong - Philippines - China - Yekaterinburg". The Chinese part of our trip included:

1) Tours around Beijing and surroundings. In particular:

• visit Summer Imperial Palace.

• A trip to the farthest section of the Great Wall of China - Mutianyu Great Wall . In total, there are three sites equipped and restored for tourists to visit.

• Walk along the famous pedestrian Wangfujing street .

2) Flight to the city Guilin in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China. And from there transfer by suburban bus to the village of Yangshuo (Yangshuo), where we spent four days.

• We rode bicycles and mopeds through the orange groves and strawberry fields in the vicinity Yangshuo villages .

• They also went on a raft Lijiang River .

3) Transfer by night train to the city Shenzhen), which stands on the border with Hong Kong. We arrived in Shenzhen on the third shelf of a Chinese reserved seat car.

4) Arrived in Shenzhen in the morning. We ate and went to cross the land border with Hong Kong. Until the evening we walked around Hong Kong and at night flew to the Philippine island of Sebu (Cebu).

5) Then we wandered around the Philippines for a week (the islands of Bohol, Pangalao, Boracay) and flew through Manila to shangha th where we spent one day.

In Shanghai, we managed to visit the aquarium and walk around the center.

We really liked China. Absolute security, friendly people, ancient history and amazing nature. Delicious and varied cuisine!

We will return to this country again and again. That's for sure. At least to see those sights that we did not have time to see the first time. I have a dream to walk along the most terrible path in the world in mountains of Huashan , meet the dawn in Zhangjiajie Mountains and see the clear waters of the national park Jiuzhaigou .

When preparing an independent trip to China, there are many nuances. For example, the Chinese do not speak any language other than Chinese. And you need to prepare for this. Train tickets cannot be purchased earlier than 4 days before the trip. And a ticket for 1 flight on an airplane, unlike the rest of the world, costs exactly 50% of the round-trip flight.

Note. In addition to this report, below is a link to a story about a trip to China in the fall of 2017, which details how to buy train tickets from Russia through the Ctrip service. It also describes how many troubles there were due to the presence of Turkish stamps in the passport.

A Chinese proverb says that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step. We will assume that today I have already made my first small step in writing a report and recommendations on a trip to China as a savage ...

How to organize a solo trip to China

Before starting a detailed account of our vacation in the Middle Kingdom, let's tell you how we organized our trip. Maybe my advice will be useful to someone.

So, the procedure for developing a travel plan for China is, in general, similar to organizing a trip to any other country. You need to think in detail about five strategic points:

1. Choose tourist places where you would like to go on an excursion, determine the sights that you would like to see.
2. Make a travel itinerary around the country and book air tickets. If possible, also purchase tickets for the train or boat.
3. Decide where you will spend the night and book hotels. In China, we booked hotels in advance. But in Mexico and Sri Lanka, rooms were reserved only at the first point of our route. True, then we traveled in rented cars.
4. Go to the insurance company and buy a medical policy. I draw your attention to the fact that when you rent a car, you need to inform the insurers about it. Driving a car is considered a dangerous sport and insurance will cost more.
5. Get a visa.

Let us now consider these issues in more detail using the example of our route.

First. Select places for sightseeing in China

Why was China chosen for our trip? Because it is the third largest state on our planet. Its history goes back thousands of years. Making a choice of which sights to see in the People's Republic of China is not easy. As I wrote above, I wanted to see the "Avatar Mountains" in Zhangjiajie Natural Park, walk along the most terrible trail in the world in the Huashan Mountains, see the transparent lakes of Jiuzhaigou. I really wanted to see the rice terraces in the province of Yunnan (Yunnan) and walk through the gorge of the jumping tiger (Hutiao Xia) in the same area and dozens of other attractions.

At the same time, the wife set the condition: “Take me to whatever pampas you want, but a few days of a beach holiday on our vacation should be reserved anyway!” I read the reviews of tourists about the seaside resorts of China and realized that "service, as in the USSR, does not attract me." Moreover, it turned out that you can buy cheap flights from Hong Kong to the Philippine island of Cebu (Cebu).

Hours of study of reports on the forum of independent travelers of Vinsky crystallized the following plan for traveling by savages in November:

1. Arrival in Beijing. Visit to the Summer Imperial Palace. If we have time, then we will drive to the Forbidden City. In the evening, walk along the famous Wangfujing pedestrian street.
2. On the second day we will go to see the Great Wall of China. In total, there are several sections of the wall that attract tourists: Badaling (Badaling), Jinshanling (Jinshanling) and Mutianyu (Mutianyu Great Wall) and Simatai (Simatai). The closest is Badaling, but the whole billion Chinese tourists come there. Symatai, it seems, has not been restored and looks cooler. We chose a compromise option: the Mutianyu Great Wall section, where there are not so many tourists, and it is not very difficult to get there and there are very beautiful mountains.
3. Flight by internal Chinese airlines to the city of Guilin (Guilin). Here we had to buy train tickets to the border city of Shenzhen with Hong Kong and then take an intercity bus to leave for four days in the village of Yangshuo. The village is famous for its magnificent landscapes of karst hills. As I said earlier, we rode bicycles and a moped, rafting on bamboo rafts on the Yulong River.
4. On the evening of the fourth day, we arrived back to Guilin, where we boarded the train and reached Shenzhen overnight on the third shelf of a reserved seat car. Here we ate at the station and crossed the border with Hong Kong through the underpass. We took the subway to the terminal express station at the airport, left our luggage in the luggage room, and went to the observation deck of Victoria Peak. When it got dark, we took the subway to the Avenue of Stars embankment, where we watched the evening laser show.
5. After midnight, we flew to the Philippines to the island of Sebu (Cebu). From Cebu, we took a ferry to the island of Bohol. We took a tuk-tuk from Bohol to Pangalao. Here for four days we sunbathed, swam, went on an excursion to watch the Chocolate Hills, a butterfly park and a tarsier nursery (torsiers). We also went down the Loboc river cruise.
6. Then - the way back to Cebu and the flight to the island of Caticlan (Caticlan Island). From Caticlan every half an hour there is a sea shuttle to Boracay. Here is a wonderful place - a beach with white sand and crystal clear sea (White Beach). Here we just relaxed by the sea.
7. A few days later we flew to Shanghai with a three-hour layover in the capital of the Philippines, Manila.
8. Arrived in Shanghai in the evening. We spent the night in a hotel, left our luggage at the reception, and went to the city center ourselves. We saw the skyscrapers, the famous Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower and went on a very impressive excursion to the Shanghai Oceanarium (Shanghai Haiyang Shuizuguan). In the evening we had a flight to Beijing (Beijing) and five hours later - a flight to Yekaterinburg.

The itinerary of our trip to China looked like this:

Second. Booking tickets to travel independently in China

At the beginning of my report, I already noted that one of the peculiarities of China is that plane tickets cost exactly 50% of the round-trip price for the round-trip route. I described in detail how to find and book cheap flights in the 10th part of the story about prices in Sri Lanka. Having studied the offers of airlines, we found an acceptable option: a flight Yekaterinburg - Beijing - Yekaterinburg operated by S7.

To search and buy tickets within China, independent travelers are advised to use websites elong.net And ctrip.com. Another difference in the Chinese transport system is that, usually, the closer the departure date, the higher the discounts on tickets. So, we booked tickets on the Ctrip website with a 40% discount.

The payment was made with a mastercard. When filling out the payment form, the program did not allow you to enter the name of the bank with numbersBank24.ru and I had to type something like "bankTwentyfourdoten"…

On one of the segments of the trip (from Guilin to Shenzhen), it was planned to travel by train. Here is the next difficulty: in China, you can buy train tickets only within the country just a few days before departure (like 4 days). And, according to unverified data, only at the departure station.

The train schedule and prices for railway tickets can be seen on the portal TravelChinaGuide.com. Experienced travelers advise you to double-check the accuracy of the timetable on the official website of the Chinese Railways www.huochepiao.com, as there may be inaccuracies on the TravelChinaGuide.

Employees of the TravelChinaGuide website can buy train tickets for you and deliver them to a predetermined address. So I placed an order in which I asked to buy travel documents and send them to my hotel in Yangshuo (remember that tickets can only be redeemed four days before the trip). But a day later, employees of this agency contacted me and said that my payment from the card was not going through and I should call the bank. The bank clerk said that it is possible to pay for tickets via the Internet, if only the verification function is turned offCCVbank card code. What such a procedure is fraught with for the security of payments, he could not explain. In general, I wrote to the Chinese partners that I would cancel the order and rely on the will of God. I'll ask the hotel staff to buy tickets for us. It turns out - we'll go to Shenzhen by train. But no - then on a night bus (in the Middle Kingdom you can move between cities on a comfortable bus with recumbents. True, the sunbeds are short, it is not very comfortable for tall people to sleep). Well, or, as a last resort, we will fly by plane or take a taxi.

Looking ahead, I’ll say that we managed to buy train tickets at the ticket office in Guilin without any problems on our own.

I can give the following advice on planning an independent trip. Be sure to check that the dates of your trip to China do not fall on public holidays. Many travelers write that at this time it is extremely difficult to buy travel documents and find free hotel rooms.

Third. Hotel reservations

Hotels for a trip to savages in China booked on the portal agoda.com. You can also use booking.com.

• I chose an inexpensive hostel to stay in Beijing 161 Hostels located in the old city. Price per night - 1500 rubles. Our room had a shower, sink and toilet. If the room was with amenities on the corridor, then the price would be less than a thousand per night. Public areas are kept immaculately clean. So, if you want to save money, book a cheaper room. The staff speaks decent English. There is internet. The metro stop is five minutes from the hotel. Wanwudzin Street and the Forbidden City are within easy reach.

Photo. Where to live in Beijing. Which hotel to choose. The white circle on the top right is the sign of our hostel 161 Hostel.

• In Yangshuo village, we stayed at the four-star West Street Vista Hotel. The quality is so-so, tolerable. As it turned out, there are a lot of cheaper hotels around. Service in the hotel - "Soviet".
• We spent one night in Shanghai at the New Asia Hotel. It stands near the subway, next to the famous Pudong area. You can live ... Adjusted for Chinese service.

Another tip for traveling around the country on your own. In Chinese hotels, it is customary to take a cash deposit upon check-in. I don't remember whether we always paid 200 yuan, or for 1 night. Therefore, before the vacation, I had to buy yuan in Yekaterinburg. With us, you can exchange rubles for Chinese currency, for example, at Sberbank branches at the following addresses: st. Moscow, 11 or st. Tveritina, 34. At the same time, I had to place an order in advance. Foreign currency was brought in a week. The course is unfavorable. So we only bought 600RMB, so that there is something to pay for the journey from Beijing Airport (Beijing Capital InternationalAirport, BCIA) to the hotel and pay a deposit for the first night.

In general, dollars were changed in Shanghai once in a hotel. They waited a long time until the employee filled out all the paperwork. They say that if you change at the bank, you will have to wait even longer. And several times withdrew Chinese money from ATMs - very convenient.

Fourth. Purchasing travel health insurance

Everything is clear here. Going on an independent trip, if you do not want problems, insure your health. We always take out a medical policy for 50 thousand dollars.

Insurance cost 620 rubles per person. Indirectly, this can serve as proof of the safety of tourists. So, in Mexico, the insurance policy cost 2400 rubles.

From crime, I heard only about such a layout of tourists. You walk around Beijing and turn your head around with your mouth open. Two pretty Chinese women come up and offer to be your guide in English. Like, they want to practice their English. At some point, it is proposed to go to a cafe with traditional Chinese tea, but they have no money. You agree to pay. They are going away. The waiter brings a bill for several thousand rubles ... Refuse to pay - there are scoundrels ...

Fifth. Obtaining a Chinese visa in Yekaterinburg

If you decide to travel to China on your own, you can apply for one of two types of tourist visa category "L": individual or group. The second one costs half as much, but there are pitfalls. I highly recommend getting an individual visa.

The fact is that with a group visa, it is necessary that all members of the group come to passport control at the same time. My wife and I witnessed the following scenes:

• At the Koltsovo airport in Yekaterinburg, passengers are denied check-in at the check-in desk: “Please wait until all members of your group have arrived.”
• At the Beijing airport BeijingCapitalInternationalAirport at passport control, the whole group cannot go through the procedure, as two figures got drunk in the trash and yell that they will not give 200 rubles for a photo: “We have already paid all the expenses!” The entire delegation of 15 people, exhausted by the seven-hour flight and dreaming of getting to the hotel as soon as possible (it is two in the morning in the yard), is forced to beg the ghouls not to barrage.

We, with our individual visa, went through all the procedures without a hitch. And what happens if one of these drunks is late for the flight? ..

We received a visa to China without the help of travel agencies. There is nothing complicated.

• We go to the website of the Consulate General of China in Yekaterinburg ekaterinburg.chineseconsulate.org/rus/lsyw and download the questionnaire. We fill.
• We paste a photo 3.5 * 4.5 cm.
• We arrive at: st. Tchaikovsky, 45 with a package of documents for obtaining a visa: application form, internal and foreign passport, copies of important pages of passports, copies of airline and hotel reservations, medical insurance and certificate of employment in any form (position, salary) and in a good mood. We'll have to stand a little in the cold (they launch in batches).

We handed over the documents and received passports with visas in a week.

I recommend that you carefully study the Vinsky forum of independent travelers. In our time, it was possible to stay 24 hours (now 72 hours) in some Chinese cities. Check out the forum for the latest news and details.

To travel wild in China, we received an individual tourist visa category "L". The visa was also issued independently.

Sixth. Other travel arrangements

Readers often ask me if it is possible to go to this or that country as savages without knowing English (I speak English very well, I studied Spanish before going to Mexico, I know a little German). Usually I answer like this: “If everything goes without incident, then you can travel without a foreign language. But in case of problems, for example, during a rental car accident in Mexico, ignorance can turn into a lot of problems.”

Well, and so, a trip on your own in China has become our school of travel without a language. In the vast majority of cases, the Chinese speak only their native language. I am seriously preparing for the holidays. I took with me on vacation:

• A short Chinese-Russian dictionary with basic expressions (downloaded on the Internet). Very helpful to rulitsya with taxi drivers, waiters and just passers-by. You poke your finger at the hieroglyphs “how to get to the bus station” or “where is the bus stop” and they show you the direction with gestures.
• Photos of all hotels along our route and names, addresses in hieroglyphs.
• Metro maps of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
• Detailed description of how to get to the desired attractions. For example, how to get on an excursion to the Summer Imperial Palace: Line 4 of the Beijing Subway. Get to Xiyuan Station. We exit to the surface through exit C2. Then we turn off and walk 500 meters on foot or rent a cycle rickshaw for 5 yuan.”.

On the right page, you can see Chinese train tickets (234 yuan each). In the relevant part of the review, I will tell you how to "read" them.

By the way, in order not to forget, in the PRC, a measure of the weight of products is “jin”, equal to about half a kilogram. Therefore, the price on the price tag is usually given per pound. Keep in mind.

The weather in China during our holiday in November 2011 was great. In Beijing it is sunny and +15 degrees. In Yangshuo - sunny and plus 25. In Shanghai - overcast, light rain and +15 Celsius.

The country has one time zone. The time is ahead of the Urals by +2 hours, i.e. Moscow - for 4 hours.

Seventh. Travel expenses in China

So, having completed all the points for planning our vacation in the PRC, described above, I only have to calculate the cost of a trip to the savages.

In the following table, you can see the aggregated planned and actual items of expenditure.

For the convenience of planning your budget and understanding how much money you need to take with you, how much is spent on food and excursions, I will give more data for each day.

As you can see, I would have made a good financier, since the planned and actual budgets practically converge head to head. Well, the final plan of our vacation looked like this.

About a beach holiday in China

Among Russian tourists, the most famous seaside resort is Hainan Island. And here the most popular beaches are Yalong Bay (亚龙湾) and Lihuitou (Luhuitou). The best time to travel here is from November to May.

As I found out later, there are other resorts in China where you can go on a beach holiday. For example, according to the reviews of a few of our tourists, there are very good beaches in the port city of Beihai (北海市, Beihaishi), located in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China. This is 550 km south of Guilin, in the southeast of the country, slightly north of Hainan. The season is from April to November, when the sea temperature is pleasant for swimming.

In the Shenzhen area (from where we got to Hong Kong), you can relax on the beaches of Dameisha (大梅沙) and Xiaomeisha Beach. The best time for vacation is from November to January.

Another place where you can spend a vacation at sea is the city of Xiamen (Xiamen, Xiamen Shi, 厦门市) in Fujian Province.

Eighth. My first vacation DSLR

If we talk about my photography equipment, then this report can be a good illustration of how the skills of a novice photographer grow as they gain practical experience in photography. The fact is that until the fall of 2011, I photographed only on a soap dish. I have never held a mirror in my hands. And so, a week before the trip, I became the owner of a Nikon D5100 Kit 18-55mm VR SLR camera. So, as you read the report, you can evaluate my progress. In my opinion, by the end of the vacation, I almost turned into a professional photographer ... 😉

Photo. On our third trip to China, we visited the city of Turfan (XUAR), in the vicinity of which we managed to climb mountains. Read the report - very helpful! Taken on a Nikon D610 with a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. Settings: 1/320, -0.67, 8.0, 110, 155.

The first chapter of the report tells what problems can arise if you have a Turkish visa in your foreign passport, gives a map and a description of the route, gives tips on buying a ticket for a Chinese train from Russia, and recommendations for preparing for traveling to China on your own.

Which tour is best? Popular tours to China on our website are the best tours according to the reviews of our tourists. We understand that it can be difficult to decide which places to visit, and we will help you find best tours online for travel to China.

10 most exciting sightseeing tours in China in Russian! The Celestial Empire strikes with a variety of landscapes, an abundance of monuments of architecture, culture and history. You can choose a tour online or take the suggested tours to China as a basis to create your own.

The best tours of 2019 are not only the most famous Chinese cities: Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Guilin, Hong Kong, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu and Lhasa. Each of the individual tours is designed so that you also visit the sights of China, which few people know about, saw real china.

• All tours are adapted to the dates, rhythm and wishes convenient for you on a trip to China. Create your own tour now!
• Let us introduce ourselves and let us know how we can help you.

Shaolin Kung Fu Tour

During this tour you will learn about the history of the origin of martial arts and kung fu, magnificent nature awaits you - caves and grottoes, mountains and rivers. You will get acquainted with the unique culture of Shaolin, visit the Shaolin Temple - the most famous temple in China!

Agree, we know not so much about China. This is a rather closed socialist country with its own specifics. China is unlike any other country in the world, including Asian ones. The Chinese are completely self-sufficient - they do not know English, they have their own rules of life, their own characteristic mentality, their own Internet, search engine, their own social networks, their own payment system. The whole world uses Made in China things - from towels to phones, but no one knows what China really is ..

You don't need to know Chinese to travel in China. Moreover, many live there for years without knowing Chinese and feel great. Yes, not all Chinese speak English, and far from everywhere. Most often these are young people living in large cities. But - for travelers this is not a problem, because you can always use such means of communication as:

Gestures in China

Facial expressions and gestures are a universal international language that is understood by most peoples of the world. In fact, people perceive a huge part of the information non-verbally. It doesn't even need language. Where to find a place to sleep, where you can eat, how much a product or service costs - all this can be explained, literally, on the fingers.

Translators and communication apps in China

Mobile applications for online and offline translation. If there is no internet, you can use offline-GoogleTranslate and any other dictionaries and translators, such as Pleco Chinese Dictionary, Chinese-Russian Dictionary and others. But the best option if you have mobile Internet is Baidu Translate. You substitute the microphone, speak the necessary phrase in English, and it is immediately translated into Chinese in writing. It is best to download this program, although all Chinese, even in not very large cities, have such a translator on their phone and if they do not understand what you are trying to convey to them in English, they will definitely use it, they will not even ask for it necessary.

Drawings

If neither gestures nor Google Translate helped, and there is no Internet on the phone, and your interlocutor does not realize that you can use Baidu Translate, that is, the best tool is a schematic drawing. If you need to find out where and at what time the bus runs to the place you need, just draw it on paper. For example, when I needed to know how to get to Huangshan National Park, I drew mountains, a bus, and a clock with a question mark. Everything became clear.

Preparations for hieroglyphs

These are magical pieces of paper that open all the doors, you just have to show them and poke your finger at the right word. All the words and names of settlements that you may need on the road, it is advisable to prepare in advance, print or save screenshots with them on your phone. For all other words and names that become necessary along the way, it is best to ask to write the first Chinese who more or less speaks English and who you meet on the way.

I did this all the time, and it saved me a lot. No long explanations, silently show a piece of paper, and they give you a ticket or show you the way.

→In this note you can see and download pictures with some hieroglyphs:

Connection. Internet and mobile communications

SIM card

So, the simplest thing is to buy a Chinese SIM card in China mobile still at the airport. If it was not there, then find a store in the city and buy it there. For this you only need passport and 70 yuan for the simplest tariff with 2 GB of Internet. Do not buy SIM cards in private shops - they cost 2-3 times more expensive there.

Ask to call

If you didn’t manage to buy a SIM card or spared money, it doesn’t matter ( I, for example, could not buy it, although I really wanted to, and I do not regret). The Chinese are not Russians, and when asked to call, they do not shy away from you, but, on the contrary, they always respond willingly, it is even an honor for them that you are a foreigner, turned to them with a request, and for them to help you is a joy. Just walk up to any person on the street and ask him to call from his phone. Maybe with gestures. I did that all the time. And they will not only give you a call, but they will also find all the necessary information and give you money ( it happened a couple of times).

WiFi in the cafe

In China, in fact, you will never be truly disconnected. Almost everywhere, even in a remote province and in the most godforsaken cafes there is wi-fi. Therefore, if you need to find out something, contact someone urgently, chat with your parents via Skype, go to almost any cafe and ask for a Wi-Fi password, and you don’t even have to order something there.

Ask to share WiFi

If there are no cafes on the horizon, and you are traveling by train or bus, and you urgently need to get some information about the place where you are going or contact those who are waiting for you, the easiest solution is to ask your neighbor to distribute you the Internet from your mobile phone.

At first, the Chinese themselves often offered me their Internet and always distributed it to me without any problems. When I realized that for them it was in the order of things, I began to use it constantly. I need the Internet, I ask, they give me. Everything is very simple. And don't be afraid to ask. This is not Russia, no one will look back at you with a stern look, saying: “Dude, are you crazy? Can't you dance a lezginka?

Blocked websites in China and VPN

As you probably know, resources such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, Wikipedia are blocked in China. But many Chinese, like people around the world, are getting around the bans with VPNs. I used different programs (for example, Super VPN), but the best for me in China was VPNRobot. You download it, open the application and press the connect button below, wait a bit for it to connect, and then calmly post your photos on Instagram.

Money

Exchangers

So, in large cities there are always currency exchange offices, and there are even with a very favorable rate. They meet in the center and at stations. Friends told me about it. I myself, honestly, did not find such, although I was actively looking for them. I found only one at the station, where they offered me such a predatory course that I refused. Until the end of my trip, I never changed a single dollar of mine. Maybe you'll have better luck.

ATMs

ATMs are everywhere in China. And they all accept regular VISA bank cards. In all the cities where I have been, and in all ATMs from different banks, I have always withdrawn money without any problems, and at a good rate. Only once did the ATM refuse to read my card, but at the nearest store, the sellers on a moped took me to another bank - it was faster and easier than explaining to me where it was. And another businessman told me that his platinum VISA card was not accepted by ATMs, so it’s better to use regular cards and don’t show off.

Transport

Trains. How to travel by train in China

There are several types of trains in China, they can be distinguished by the letter in front of the train number. So,

The main types of trains in China

Category "K". This is a long distance train with seats. The ticket says it's a hard seat. In reality, these are quite soft chairs, on which you can lean back and sleep peacefully if you drive at night ( pictured below). The train rides quite simple and friendly people. They will feed you and share Wi-Fi. The ticket for it is the most inexpensive. For example, I paid 172 yuan (1548 rubles) for the 16:00 trip from Guangzhou to Zhangzajie (about 1,000 km). In this video you can see how such a train looks from the inside.

Category "Z". The so-called "sleeper". Almost a copy of our reserved seat. Only there are no sides, but instead of them there are 3 shelves in a compartment on each side, the most convenient in the center. There are small half tables and seating in the hallway. The ticket said "hard sleeping car" and I was preparing for the worst, but it turned out to be a new, clean, modern train with a soft mattress on the shelf, a snow-white pillow and a blanket, but no bed linen. Everything looked so clean that I did not even disdain to sleep like that, without bedding.

Washing area with three sinks is located separately from the toilet, which is very convenient because you do not have to wait in line to wash. No toilet paper, no soap. There are a couple of outlets where you can safely leave your phone on charge, no one will pull it off.

The train is cheap. I bought a ticket from Shanghai to Guangzhou (16 hours on the road - 1200 km) for 365 yuan (3285 rubles). Here's what a "sleeper" is:

Category "G". This is a speed train (2nd class). A fast, comfortable, ultra-modern train that travels at a speed of about 350 km/h. The place is seated, comfortable, if desired, you can recline and sleep. It took me 4 hours to cover the journey from Changsha to Huangshan (700 km). Ticket price 331 yuan (2979 rubles). But in this video, again, you can feel like a passenger of such a train.

How to buy train tickets in China

It is better to take train tickets in advance, because good places for a convenient time are quickly sold out. And there is one great site where you can buy tickets for Chinese trains from your country - CTRIP— english.ctrip.com

Of course, you will have to pay a small commission for such a purchase, but you will already have tickets in your hands. It is most convenient to use the mobile application of the resource, on the site you can immediately see how many seats are left, and you can also receive bonuses for each purchase.

E-tickets must be printed at the box office before boarding the train.

At large stations, this is done at the long-distance ticket office, so before getting in line, it is better to clarify whether this is the ticket office. Otherwise, you will stand in vain and you may miss the train. When your turn comes up, you can silently hand the cashier through the window a mobile phone with a screenshot of an electronic ticket and a passport.

It is always better to come to the station in advance, because at the entrance you need to go through several checks, so there are usually huge queues. It also happens that tickets are bought and printed in a separate station building, and it is not always easy to find it. Therefore, it is better to be at the station at least 1 hour, and even better 1.5 hours before departure.

Buses in China

Everything is easier with bus tickets. You can just come to the bus station, name the destination or show a piece of paper with the name, and choose a convenient date and time when asked. Buses run in completely different directions and very often, so the nearest bus, most likely, will not have to wait long. The prices are tolerable, about the same as in Russia.

How much money should I take with me to China? What can you eat from Chinese cuisine, and what is not worth it? How not to get caught in a tourist scam? And also about the specifics of the Chinese mentality and the attitude towards foreigners, read here: What you need to know when planning a trip to China? Part 2

Since there is a crisis in the yard and everyone is moaning from the collapse of the rubles, it's time to tell you how you can go to China cheaply, so it simply doesn't happen cheaper. Foreign youth have been practicing this style of travel for a couple of decades, at least they even came up with a special word - backpacker, i.e. backpacker. "backpack".

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More precisely, it is always cheaper, the minimum cost of a trip can be 0 (zero in words) c.u., when you fit in with the locals, you ask for food from them and hitchhike. I don’t like this method, so I won’t describe it here, there are enough resources already.
Is it possible to travel to China for very little money? Maybe! Will it be interesting? Mmmm ... From the point of view of gaining experience - of course, look at people and get to know each other, as far as it is generally possible in China. Will it be comfortable? It is unlikely. (c) tov. Sukhov.
Let's take a look at each component of the journey:

A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first mile!

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Text: Comrade Shapiro
Top photo: Vladimir Popov
Original article

The purpose of this book is to answer two questions: “How can I travel around China on my own without knowing Chinese?” and “Why is China interesting?” The author uses a non-linear way of presenting information familiar to the Internet user, which makes it possible to show China in all its diversity.

* * *

The following excerpt from the book Traveler's Guide to China (Dmitry Finozhenok, 2015) provided by our book partner - the company LitRes.

We are going to China

How to travel in China on your own

The idea of ​​traveling on your own in a country whose language you don't understand seems like pure madness. But if a Chinese peasant from a remote village can easily cope with this, then is it worth giving in to a resident of a big city? Moreover, the transport system of China is designed for huge passenger flows, and therefore is well thought out and surprisingly friendly to passengers.

According to the visa regime for Russian citizens, the territory of China is divided into two unequal parts: mainland China and special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau).

About Mainland China

Formally, this term is not quite correct: two districts of Hong Kong (Kowloon and New Territories) are located on the mainland.

To visit mainland China, Russians require a visa (the most popular visas are tourist visas for 15 and 30 days), Hong Kong and Macau allow visa-free entry for up to 14 and 30 days, respectively. Remember: when you visit the Special Administrative Region, you leave the main Chinese visa area. Therefore, if Hong Kong or Macau is an intermediate point of your trip to China, then you will need a double-entry Chinese visa.

Major international airports in China (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Shenyang, Harbin, Guilin) ​​offer visa-free transit with the ability to enter the city for up to three days. It is important to remember that when applying for a transit visa, electronic tickets in Russian are not considered documents confirming the departure.

A tourist visa to China is the only thing that cannot be done without the help of a travel agency. Even if you are applying for a visa yourself, you will need an invitation letter from a Chinese travel agency or hotel. Everything else in preparation for the trip can be done by yourself.

Route selection

Despite the huge leap that China has made over the past thirty years, only a small percentage of the Chinese speak English and even less speak Russian. All the tourist can hope for is globalization. The more modern a Chinese city is, the friendlier it is to foreigners and the easier it is to live in it.

How to recognize a modern city

The American sociologist Richard Florida, the author of the concept of the creative class, established a direct relationship between the level of tolerance and the innovative potential of the city. The modern city creates an environment open to change that attracts not only creative people, but also bohemians, migrants, various subcultures and minorities. Therefore, the easiest way to find a modern city is to follow them. If you want to find bohemia - look at night satellite images (the brighter the city glows, the more intense the nightlife); if you want to find geeks, look for Comic-Con venues, etc.

The second limiting factor in choosing a route is the climate. In most parts of China, it is quite hot in summer. Therefore, the cities of the east coast are a reasonable choice, where the proximity of the sea softens the heat. It should be remembered that in the very south of China, not only tropical showers are possible, but occasionally typhoons.

You should also pay attention to the level of air pollution in the cities you are going to visit. Try not to stay long where the pollution index exceeds 100 points. Air pollution data is updated daily and is available at http://aqicn.org.

The farther south, the more diverse and brighter nature becomes. Everyone who had to return home from the southern resorts remembers the depressing impression of the gray and lifeless, compared to the south, city. Therefore, it is better to start the journey from the north of China and move to the south.

between cities

In terms of size, China ranks third in the world, its area is only half the size of Russia. Nevertheless, the country's transport system is built in such a way that almost every corner of the country is separated from the capital by a day's journey.

Cartographic illusion of grandeur

If you look at the usual political map of the world, it may seem that four or five Chinas will fit on the territory of Russia. But this is just the result of distortions that are inevitable when transferring an image from the surface of a sphere to a plane. The closer to the pole is the territory, the stronger this effect. For example, China is five times the size of Greenland, but on a map they appear almost identical.

There are two main types of transport: plane and train. The high population density in Southeast Asia allows many low-cost airlines to operate efficiently. Unfortunately, with my height of two meters, a plane with front seats supporting my knees is not the most convenient way to travel, I prefer trains, especially since the shelves in them are noticeably longer than Russian ones, and I have to spend the night only once.

CHR (China High-Speed ​​Railroad)

Thirty years ago, the main type of locomotive in China was a steam locomotive. The first high-speed train appeared in China in 2007. Today, the length of high-speed lines (200 km / h and more) is 16 thousand km, which is more than in all other countries of the world combined. High-speed trains of the next generation, which are currently undergoing test trials, are already accelerating to 500 km/h. Trains have become serious competitors to airplanes and have practically replaced them on short routes (up to 500 km).

Most train numbers in China begin with a letter indicating the train category. There are six main types: C, D, G, K, T, Z. Category K is assigned to fast trains, there is a certain irony in that it is currently one of the slowest trains in China (maximum speed is 120 km / h). Category T stands for express, these are the same ambulances, but with fewer stops. Category D is intended for high-speed trains, their speed reaches 250 km/h. Categories G and C are assigned to bullet trains with a maximum speed of 350 km/h. For safety reasons, trains of the last three categories run only during daylight hours; at night, these tracks are used by category Z trains, night expresses of increased comfort.

beautiful far away

If the bullet train ran along the Vladivostok-Moscow route, the travel time would be only 32 hours. Now Russian Railways needs more than six days for this.

Life on wheels

In high-speed trains (D, C, G), as a rule, there are only seats, in category Z night trains - only compartments. And only in fast trains and ordinary express trains there are compartments, reserved seats, and seats.

Access mode

Train tickets are required to enter the platform and exit the station. Don't throw away your tickets until you leave the station building.

The numbering of seats in Chinese trains is different from the Russian one, the shelves on one side of the compartment have the same number. To distinguish between them, the type of place is indicated: lower, middle and upper. The third, upper shelf is available only in second-class carriages. It is located high enough to comfortably stretch your legs, but since the distance to the ceiling is not great, you have to literally crawl on it. The lower the shelf is, the more expensive the ticket, so the passengers of the lower shelves feel like wealthy people.

So on the tickets, the lower, middle and upper places are indicated, respectively.

During a trip on the train, a plastic card is issued - a substitute for a ticket. It is your pass to the car if you want to go out for a walk at the bus stops. If you lose this piece of plastic, you will have to buy your ticket again. Half an hour before the passenger arrives at their destination, replacement cards are collected and tickets are returned, so don't be afraid you'll miss your station.

How to find your train

Chinese stations are designed for a huge passenger flow, so it’s easy to navigate them. After going through the entrance control, find on the main board the number of the waiting room for your train (if there are several waiting rooms at the stations), in the waiting room - by the train number, find the exit to the platform. 20-30 minutes before boarding, the gates open, the stairs lead only to your platform. If you are not sure about your decision, just show the ticket to any employee of the station, he will definitely help.

Riding in a Chinese train is quite pleasant. All long-distance trains are air-conditioned, soft traditional Chinese music creates a calm atmosphere, and large windows allow you to admire the scenery.

It is not necessary to take food with you on the train, carts with hot food regularly travel around the carriage. The food is Chinese oriented, but the lunch box contains five or six courses, of which perhaps three or four will be delicious. You will have to prepare tea and coffee yourself, at the end of the car there is a tap with boiling water, and in each compartment there is a thermos.

Bed linen is not sold on trains, one set of linen is used throughout the entire train route. Therefore, never buy tickets with landing at intermediate stations. The towel is not included in the linen set.

The Chinese produce a lot of garbage, but it is regularly cleaned up. Every couple of hours the guide cleans up the mess, including wet cleaning. If you do not want your suitcases to be walked on with a floor cloth, do not put them under the seat, use special luggage racks.

In China, you can buy train tickets no earlier than 20 days before the departure date, so when you go on a long trip around this country, you will most likely not have a full set of tickets on hand. How to solve this problem with the least expenditure of vacation time?

The most comfortable option is to book tickets in advance with delivery to the hotel. The advantages of this approach are obvious: all that is required of you is to pick up tickets from the porter. The main disadvantage is that delivery works only in large cities. In addition, since you are ordering the delivery of a ticket on a date and not a specific time, you will have to stay at the hotel for at least two nights. Of the several delivery ticket services I've used, http://www.chinatripadvisor.com has been my best experience.

One country, one time

Since 1949, a single time, GMT +8, has been in effect throughout China (except for the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Tibet). This greatly simplifies travel planning, but the farther east, the more daylight shifts. In the summer in Shanghai, the sun sets at seven in the evening.

If your trip is away from big cities or if you just don't want to waste a day in some city, you can pre-order the purchase of an e-ticket, for example, through http://www.china-diy-travel.com. All you get is your booking number. After printing the document sent to you, you go to the station, and at a special box office you get a regular ticket. If you need help finding this ticket office, find any station attendant and just show him your printout, he will tell you where to go - verified by his own experience.

End of introductory segment.