Which bed to get on a sleeper train
Traveling by train in China can be kind of slow but it is a great way to see the country and to mix with local Chinese. If you are traveling on an overnight train, I definitely recommend getting a ‘hard sleeper’ (yingwo) which is comfortable and cheap. A ’soft sleeper’ is of course more comfortable and private but prices start to approach that of flying.
Usually berths have six bunk beds, with three levels. If you think you might have trouble getting up onto the bunks definitely ask for the lower bunk bed. The middle bed is also not too bad. Definitely the worst is the upper bunk which seems to have least head room. You are also right near the fluorescent lights and speakers which pipe (mostly annoying) music throughout the day. It is also a pain having to get in and out of bed if you need to go to the toilet during the night.
[...] it was a little more expensive - 405RMB to be exact, for an upper berth. I previously wrote that hard sleepers were a perfectly fine way of traveling. I had seen the soft sleeper compartments but had never [...]
I’ve just travelled from Wuhan to Shenzhen in the upper bunk of the hard sleeper. It was a much better experience than i expected: the carriage was relatively quiet and the lights were turned down at 2200hrs. It was maybe the best night’s sleep i’ve had since being in China. Prior to ‘lights out’, it was great to meet locals.
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