Taking the overnight bullet train from Hong Kong to Shanghai
One of the things I’m most grateful for is my body and its ability to carry me through many things, including travel days when I am cooped up in tiny seats on planes and trains for many hours. I’ll do pretty much anything to save a few dollars and included in that is bearing the long travel days in tiny airplane seats. However, when I was returning home to Shanghai from Hong Kong at the end of six weeks of full-time travel, I knew I would regret it if I didn’t spend a bit extra to upgrade myself from a seat to a bunk cabin on the overnight train. And so, that’s how I ended up in my first experience sleeping on an overnight train in China.
When I was researching what it would be like on the train to see if there was anything I should make sure to prepare beforehand, I couldn’t find much information on it, so I decided to document the whole experience and share it in case it would be helpful for anyone who’s in the same situation that I was.
You can also watch my linked video below that has the same information in audio and visual format, but otherwise feel free to keep reading!
tickets & getting on
I purchased my ticket in the Railway12306 app beforehand, so all I needed to do at the train station was scan my passport at the gate after immigration and it let me through. I headed straight to my assigned cabin bed once I boarded. I was traveling during the Chinese New Year holiday so my cabin was full and I was with a family of four.
the state of the cabin
Each cabin has four beds. The upper bunk is usually a bit cheaper than the lower bunk. For some reason the app didn’t let me choose and just assigned me the lower bunk. The bed was wider than I was expecting it to be and it came with a pillow and blanket that were decently comfortable. Each bed space also comes equipped with a charger port, two lights you can use once the room light has been turned off, and a rack to hang your glasses, coat, or bags.
There is some space under the lower bunk bed to store your luggage as well as a small table in the middle of the cabin to use for writing, working, or just putting stuff on. After I put my luggage away and unpacked the essentials I’d need for the night, I went to change and get ready for bed.
amenities
They provide you with disposable slippers that were honestly pretty thick and high quality for disposable slippers, a toiletries bag with toothbrush set, a comb, some soaps, and even compressed towels.
food and drink
There was also a snack box for each person in the cabin that came with a banana, orange juice, and a bread roll, but there is also a dining car that sold food and drinks. I didn’t buy food because it was already late at night but I did foolishly buy some over-priced water before I realized there is also a water dispenser that I could use to fill up my water bottle.
the vibe
Honestly, the vibe is a bit like staying at a hostel since you get ready in a public area and share a space with other people.
The cabin itself isn’t that big, so it was a bit cramped with not a lot of space to move, but since this was an overnight train, I just hung out in my bed and it was fine. I did my entire skincare routine and the family in my cabin really didn’t care at all.
Each bed also has wrap-around curtains more privacy which was nice. I read a bit before going to sleep at around 11.
conclusion
Overall, for an 11 hour train ride, it was not bad. I did get woken up at 4 am by the dad in my cabin snoring SUPER loudly and could barely go back to sleep for the last two hours of the train ride, so I pray y’all don’t get snorers, but that really just added to the hostel vibe of the whole experience. The train pulled into the station by close to 7am. I disembarked in a breeze and just like that, I was back in Shanghai!