Fast as a Bullet!

On my trip to China in August this year, we went on 3 bullet trains to get around China. This was a great experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Our first one was from Beijing to Pingyao after our 3-night stay. We had an early start as the train was at approx 08.05 am but with Beijing traffic, it can take over an hour to get to the station. We left at 6.15 am to make sure plenty of time. Check-in was pretty smooth as our guide Andy came through with us to the platform to ensure we got on OK.

We did our own luggage as only a small group of us so up and down escalators with our suitcases which could be quite a challenge if have 2 bags. My tip would be to take 1 suitcase and a backpack for hand luggage so much easier if you do have to transport your own luggage. We did have porterage from Chengdu which I think our groups will have after us doing our own.

Our train number was G627 which takes approx 4 hours to get to Pingyao which is 582km away but with speeds of up to 350km/h (217mph) these trains move pretty quickly. They do not travel at that speed the whole time but the fastest we went was just over 301km/h (187mph) – now that is fast! It didn’t actually feel like it was going that fast whilst on the train.

Other than flying it is one of the fastest ways to get around China.

Our 2nd train was D2565 from Pingyao to Xian in the afternoon at 15.02 – again we did our own luggage here on the escalators – no lifts really at these stations so not ideal if you are less mobile.

Pingyao to Xian is 502km and this train took again almost 3 hours so we arrived arrive approx 6 pm – this train was busy and had people sat in our seats that were pre-booked so had to ask them politely to move.

Our last train was D1917 Xian to Chengdu with a distance of 744km so took approx 4.5 hours and highest speed was 250km/h so didn’t go as fast as the others.

I did enjoy using the train and quite an experience whilst in China so I definitely recommend it as a way to get around.

Keep hold of your tickets as you will need them to exit your arrival station.

Some lovely views as you travel through the country.

The trains also look like a bullet at the front…..

There is a buffet cart that comes round for drinks & snacks. As we had an early start on the 1st day we were given breakfast boxes to take with us as too early for breakfast.

There are toilets on board too – Chinese & Western (wait for the Western one). Not easy to use a Chinese toilet on a moving train!

My advice is to take a good book, magazine, music to listen to or do what we did to pass the time………..