China’s railway system being one of the largest in the world is perhaps the safest way to travel in mainland China. Whether you're taking a short trip to TaiShan or a long journey to Tibet, China has some of the most breath taking scenery in the world and the railway system is the best way to experience its grandeur!
The Qingdao train station allows you to purchase/reserve tickets 5 days prior to departure and opens at 5:00 am. Keep in mind that China’s railway system does not operate on a centralized ticket booking system. Beijing’s train station allows you to purchase/reserve your tickets 10 days in advance during national holidays, while the CRH (China Railway High-speed) that connects Qingdao to Beijing and 5 other cities (Shanghai, Wuhan, Shenyang, Changchun, &Harbin) can be reserved 20 days in advance. Thus, booking tickets for secondary destinations in advance is currently not an option. The best advice is to book your next leg of travel as soon as you arrive at your immediate destination. Traveling during China’s holidays can be difficult, but not impossible; it just takes some planning and simple street smarts. Remember that you can always upgrade a standing ticket once you are on board! Click here for
Qingdao's Train Schedule.
You have several options when reserving/purchasing a train ticket: standing (站票 Zhan Piao), hard seat (硬座 YingZuo), soft seat (软座 RuanZuo), hard sleeper (硬卧 YingWo) and soft sleeper(软卧 RuanWo). If you’re heading to Beijing on an overnight train, then you have five choices: standing, hard seat, soft seat, hard sleeper, or soft sleeper. The hard seat is 116 rmb and is comfortable enough for a day trip in either direction. The hard sleeper (which is NOT hard) is a compartment that has six sleepers, three on each side and is open to the corridor. Depending on location (bottom, middle, top) the price ranges from approximately 201-215 rmb. The soft sleeper has four beds per compartment and has a sliding door that separates it from the corridor. Soft sleepers are a bit pricey (326 rmb); your best bet for overnight travel is the hard sleeper.
Special Note: If you are headed to YanTai, XuZhou, NanChang, TaiYuan, ZhengZhou, or CaoXian you must depart from the CangKou Zhan sub station located at 167 CangKou Lu in LiCang District. Telephone: +86 (532) 8297-4292.
If your headed to Beijing, Shanghai, Taishan, Jinan, Zibo, Guangzhou, Chengdu, or any other southern/western destination you must depart from the SiFang station.
Qingdao Railway Station (Shinan District)
Closed Until June 2008 for Olympic Regatta Renovation2 TaiAn Lu
Telephone: +86 (532) 8601-1111 : general Information
Telephone: +86 (532) 9510-5105; 8296-2777 : reservations
ShiNan District > Qingdao Bay Area
Qingdao, Shandong Province China
