China Go: A Night on High-Speed Rail (HSR) from Hong Kong to Beijing

China's High-Speed Rail (HSR) system is the world's largest and most utilised, connecting over 550 cities and reaching speeds of up to 350Km/h. Operated by the state-owned China State Railway Group (a.k.a. China Railway), the network spans over 45,000 kilometres and continues to expand. The HSR system provides fast and efficient travel, with its development significantly impacting China's economic growth and regional development. 

For many foreign travellers who visit any Chinese cities without needing to travel from cities to cities over long distances, chances of getting onboard a HSR train are very slim — not to mention those travelling in group tours. To gain an experience on the high-speed transport, I worked out a travel itinerary from Macau to Beijing, using overnight HSR train from Hong Kong, instead of flying directly to Beijing. The travel plan gave me several hours in Hong Kong before getting on the train. 

This post will give an account of my experience from taking an overnight G-series HSR train to Beijing — "G" is the acronym for "Gaotie" (高铁 meaning "high-speed rail") and is the fastest series among the high-speed trains, reaching 350Km/h. Let’s start from getting its ticket.

Ticket Booking / Reservation

The official 12306 China Railway (中国铁路12306) is the default application to book train tickets in China. Note that train tickets for any dates can only be booked two weeks in advance. For high-speed trains, users can select the desired type of seat (Premium / 2nd class) or type of sleeper (upper / lower berth, etc) — HSR trains have only soft seats / sleepers whereas the cheapest hard seats / sleepers are available on slower trains.

However, the application is always "system is busy" when accessed from outside China. Thus, for foreigners to make advance bookings, third-party applications with support for English language are alternatives.

Trip.com, a Chinese booking platform, offers reservation up to 2 months in advance and will try to secure the train tickets when they are available for sales — with a small booking fee. This makes things easier instead of trying to snatch a ticket yourself, especially during peak travel seasons when tickets sell out fast.

For maximum chances of securing a HSR train ticket, Trip.com will first collect the highest price applicable for the preferred type of seat or sleeper (if applicable). When the preferred date of travel is opened for booking, at 8am two weeks prior to the travel date, Trip.com will first try to book the best seat / sleeper. If those are sold out, it will then try to book the next lesser-comfortable seat / sleeper — in this case, any difference in ticket price will be refunded. If all tickets are sold-out, the reservation will be cancelled and paid amount will be refunded — do read Trip.com's refund policy before booking.

Things to note:

• HSR trains with sleepers from Hong Kong to Beijing are only available on Friday to Monday nights at 8:25pm. The designated train is G898 and the journey will take 10.5 hours.

• Another HSR train, G80, is also available in the day, taking 8 hours to Beijing with seats only. Other non-HSR options are also available and taking longer travelling time.

• No paper tickets or e-tickets will be issued for bookings made online. The passport (for foreigner) / ID card (for China resident) used to purchase the ticket is required to gain entry into the train departure area.

Hong Kong HSR Station

Hong Kong West Kowloon Station (香港西九龙站) is the only station to go for the high-speed rail in Hong Kong. It is inter-linked to Austin MTR Station, Kowloon MTR Station and Elements, a shopping mall. Citybus A22 (via a bus-stop next to Austin Station) and Airport Express train (via Kowloon Station) connects the HSR Station to Hong Kong International Airport.

The HSR Station is very much like an airport with restaurants, convenient stores, souvenir shops, etc, in addition to immigration and customs clearances. There are also a couple of baggage storage service providers — which provider to use will depend on the size of luggage (if using a locker) and the duration of storage.

I left my luggage in Far East Storage's self-service locker for 4 hours while going around Hong Kong for delicious beef noodle and gelatos before returning to the HSR Station. I had dinner in the station at around 5pm, before collecting my stowed luggage.

Departure Process

Entry into the Departure Area starts two hours before train departure time — no earlier than that. The first gateway validates if the passport (for foreigner) / ID card (for China resident) has been registered as a train passenger. The Self-Service Channel (自助通道) is the default gateway to use by scanning the passport / ID card at the gantry. If there are any issues at this point, manned counters are right next to the Self-Service Channel.

The second gateway will be security and immigration clearance by Hong Kong customs. Followed immediately by security and immigration clearance by Mainland China customs — all foreigners are required to fill up the arrival cards before going to the immigration counters. Once cleared, relax in the waiting area till boarding time.

At 8:10pm, 15 minutes to the departure time of G898, the last gateway will begin to verify the passport / ID card again to allow G898's passengers to go through the gantries to the train waiting at the platform.

Once on the train platform, find the designated car and sleeper berth using the numbers indicated on the booking — entering via Gate 6B, I ended up at the other end of the train and had to walk some distance to Car 5, missing the opportunity to take a photo of G898 from the train head.

High-Speed Rail Train

Each sleeper compartment has 4 berths — 2 upper and 2 lower — and is air-conditioned. The lower berths have easy access to a foldable table and a rubbish bin underneath it. Each berth has soft mattress with pillow and thick blanket for sleeping and also a utility panel with a hanger, power outlets, glasses rack, phone rack, panel light and a reading light. On each bed are a snack box and a toiletry bag — complimentary of China Railway Guangzhou Group (中广集团).

The snack box contains a piece of French baguette, a banana, two packs of nuts, a small pack of orange juice and a wet wipe — the snacks are advised to be consumed on the train. The toiletry bag contains a small tube of facial wash, a small tube of face lotion, two compressed towels, a bamboo-made comb, a brushing set comprising a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush. Under the lower berths are disposable slippers for the passengers — can leave it if not needed.

Each compartment has a sliding door to cut out lights and noises along the corridor. Outside the compartment is a foldable seat — usually used by passengers on the upper berths who cannot sit up straight on their bunks. Luggage can be stowed in a small compartment above the door or under the lower berths. For larger luggage, there are luggage closets at the end of each car.

Personally, I prefer the lower berths as they are more convenient and comfortable, and no need to climb up and down — they cost a little more, of course, but easier to book as most passengers will go for the cheaper upper berths. Also, the upper berths have limited space and difficult to sit up straight, and rude to dangle both legs down the side of the bunk. Most upper-berth passengers have to consume their snacks, or whatever they do, in their own berths.

Journey to Beijing

At 8:25pm sharp, the HSR train will depart and begin the 10.5-hour journey. It will make another 4 stops along the way with 3 of them before midnight. Sitting in a train, it is difficult to "see" the high-speed effect of the train, especially in the dark night. The train will probably not be travelling at its top speed with the first 2 stops less than 1 hour away.

As the high-speed train accelerates, the aerodynamic noise of passing air increases — fortunately, I always have a pair of ear-plugs when travelling. However, my body can feel the pull and release of gravitational force, while sleeping, as the train gains and reduces speed through the night. The better time-duration that allows undisturbed sleep is after midnight till the 4th stop at 5:30am.

At 6:53am, the HSR train will pull in at BeijingXi / Beijing West Railway Station (北京西站) and all passengers are to alight here. This will be the last opportunity to walk up to the head of the train and take a photo of the high-speed train.

Beijing West Railway Station is connected to Beijing Subway and easy to continue the journey using Line 7 or Line 9 of the subway network.

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