From Kunming to Hangzhou by train

[FaithNC]

I am a photographer and I will be in Kunming at the end of this month. I have to go to Hangzhou for a visit and I do not want to fly. How convenient to go by train? Specially for a English speaking person? When the train leaves, what is the fair and can I book the ticket before? How difficult is it to book?

[Jose]

I don't know about prices, but the train you should take is the K182 service, which runs between Kunming and Shanghai. You can check the timetable here: http://www.soku.net/huoche/TrainNum/1c7db82ecbc536f3.Html

If you cannot read Chinese, Kunming is the first station at the top of the table and Hangzhou is the 22nd. The journey takes over 43 hours, certainly not for the fainthearted! Are you really sure you don't want to fly?

If you decide to go by train, and you have to go back to Kunming after visiting Hangzhou, the K181 service runs in the opposite direction, from Shanghai to Kunming: http://www.soku.net/huoche/TrainNum/63b56ec1b30871e1.Html

[jiutouniao]

The price varies from RMB230(around) to RMB620(around) for different railway cars, such as seats, couchettes,cabins....you can purchase it 7-10 days at most prior to your departure and I suggest you buy it as early as you can after deciding you travel plan, especially if you don't wanna sit nearly 2 days on train:lol: you can get it from stations,agencies and receptions in hotels.

[md1101]

you can check all the train information here: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/index.htm

Its in English and you can check prices as well

In addition to the K182 service there seems to also be a K80 which is 5 hours shorter.

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Result of trains from KUNMING to HANGZHOU

K182

Kunming Shanghai 20:51 16:00 1d19h09m Yes

K80

Kunming Shanghai 14:42 04:38 1d13h56m Yes

It says Shanghai but that just means its the last stop (as in the Kunming to Shanghai service). The time specified is for the time to Hangzhou

just check that site for more details. booking shouldnt be too hard. you should be able to get your hotel concierge to arrange it for you.

[FaithNC]

Thanks everybody. I am thinking of doing it for fun, just to see the country as I always enjoy train journey. But anybody have any experience? Can tell me pros and cons?

[td36285n]

I took a train from Kunming to Chengdu in early May. Since I don't trust Chinese airlines, travellling by train to distant parts in China is my preferred method of transportation. Anyways...

Pros

- Great Sichuan scenery

- Cheaper than air (if you are travelling at peak holiday season, which I was)

- Get to meet interesting people.

- On-time

Cons

- Get to meet other interesting people (thieves, scam artists, etc.)

- Toilets are always occupied

- Can't buy tickets until 3-4 days before intended date of departure.

If you want to know more, I wrote an article about it in my website.

[Lu]

Pro: what the last poster said.

Con: you'll be in the train for a looooong time. I like train journeys too, much better than flying, but after 15 hours it tends to get boring.

You can get train tickets 3 days in advance at the train station, but it might be easier to get them through a travel agence. Or maybe you can ask at your hotel if they can arrange them for you. There is a small fee, but you won't have to deal with ticketsellers who don't speak English, and you'll be sure of a ticket (not sold out).

And for a journey this long, make sure you have a sleeper ticket. You don't want to sit, or worse, stand, all the time.

[mr.stinky]

spend the extra for the soft sleeper. you will only have four to a compartment as opposed

to six in the hard sleeper, but you also get more storage space for your stuff, and a

solid door (as opposed to nothing) to keep the noise out.

if you go soft sleeper, the upper berth gets hit by air conditioning all night (if its working).

the lower berth will be full of other passengers wanting a place to sit. some of them even

have tickets for the same car.

bring earplugs! they play loud music throughout the day until about 10 pm, i think it

starts back up around 6 or so. (we had all-day yanni from km to guangzhou) there is

an on-off switch on the wall midway up the corridor, but it resets after 15 minutes.

the dining car is not bad, but prices are higher than most chinese want to pay. good for

you, as the wait won't be long. most passengers seem to get by with big buckets of

ramen noodles.

bring toilet paper.

bring toilet paper.

bring toilet paper.

bring toilet paper.

bring toilet paper.

bring toilet paper.

[md1101]

unless things have changed.. im pretty sure you can get train tickets at least 10 days in advance at the station. which is what you want to do to make sure you get a sleeper. some train stations allow 15 days and some even 20 days in advance... the window booths of the train station ticket counters say how many days in advance you can get (ie some booths will say 3日内 (up to 3 days in advance), some 10日内 (for 10 days in advance) and some possibly more). line up at the right booth.

but yeah... you should try and get the hotel reception to do it and avoid the hassle of the lines.