The strategy of selecting the different transportation means in China

[nan_tu2]

http://drtu.com/en/?p=42

 

I lived in the America where leisure travel means road trip. As the Chevy�s

advertisement says: In the Chevrolet, see the USA. I have driven to most of the

states in the US except Maine and Alaska. The efficient, safe and toll free

highway system is a perfect choice to get around for travelers.

 

In China, the transportation choices are rather complicated. I have traveled to

all the provinces (30 out of 30, not including Taiwan) using various

transportation means. I have traveled by train, by car, by bus, by airplane, by

bike, by tricycle, by motocycle and even by foot. Here are my summary of the

pros and cons for each of these means.

 

Although Chinese national highway system is amazingly new and well developed, it

is also very expensive. All the national highways are toll roads. The average

toll is 50cents/km. Therefore, the 400 km distance from Beijing to Shanxi's

Datong will cost 200 RMB on toll. The national highway system is joined by the

local expressways. While the national highway system is very enjoyable to drive

on (the toll keeps a lot of buses and trucks out), the local roads are not.

Signs are not well developed and the traffic jam in big cities is very common.

 

If you do not want to drive on your own but still prefer to be on the road, then

the bus is an efficient ways to get between cities and most of the touristy

places. If the distance is long (ie, over 10 hours), a sleeper-over-night bus is

a good choice. The sleeper bus is equipped with lying down plank and serves as a

bed. The problem is of cause that the bus needs to stop every other hour in the

rest area. The frequent bus stops and the snores from the neighbors made the

night very tiring. Even such bus is staffed with two drivers, overnight driving

is still a major safety concern. I have never seen a nonechinese tried this

transportation before. If the distance is shoot and the roads are well

developed, (ie: those roads in Guangdong), the public long distance bus is

recommended. They are cheap and efficient.

 

Airplane is an excellent choice for long distance traveling. Most of the Chinese

cities are connected by airplanes. Because of the competition, air fare within

China is reasonable and getting cheaper everyday. For example, there are times

that the airfare from Beijing to Shanghai (1500km) can be as cheap as 300RMB

(excluding the airport tax and fuel surcharge which are 150RMB total), from

Beijing to Kunming (3500km) can be had for 350RMB (excluding the airport tax and

fuel surcharge which are 150RMB total). But the airports are usually far away

from the city. Getting to the airport is time consuming and expensive. The

airport shutter is cheap but usually run from designated stops and at specific

times. Taxi fare from GuangZhou to the GuangZhou Baiyun airport is usually

120RMB and from Beijing to Beijing international airport is usually 100RMB.

 

Traveling by train is one of the best ways to travel in China. The Chinese

railway system is the most traveled in the world. It covers all the provinces

including Tibet. It is very efficient and rather cheap. There are over night

trains which connect most of the Chinese cities. The trains offer hard seat,

soft seat, hard sleeper and soft sleeper. Traveling in hard sleeper is rather

comfortable and soft sleeper is even better. The train schedule is designed to

allow travelers to get from one city to another over night. In other words, one

can sleep on the train and get to the other city the next morning (saving a

night of hotel cost). Traveling by train also allows interaction with the people

and offers scenic views of the landscapes. China is developing the high speed

trains which travel on average over 200km/hour. The D trains in China are

already traveling at 150km/hour on average and offers very confortable seats,

similar to those ICEs in Germany.

 

If you are the brave soul, there are other ways to travel such as by bicycle or

by motocycle. However, none of them is suitable for long distance traveling.

 

As an expereinced traveller who have been to 47(out of 48) lower states in the

US and all 30 (out of 30) province in China, I recommend the following strategy

for traveling in China.

If the distance is shorter than 400km and the destination scenic spots are

outside the city (ie.from Beijing to Datong in Shanxi), driving by youself or

hire a taxi is recommended.

If the distance is over 400km, traveling by train is preferred

If the distance is over 1500km and the time is tight, then go by air plane. It

the time is not an issue, then go by train.

 

For local travellings:

In the city, use taxi

Day trips, use public tourist buses (most of the city offers tourist buses that

goes to scenic spots out side the city, such as the Ming tombs outside Beijing)

 

 

Mark

http://www.drtu.com/en (in English)

http://www.drtu.com/blog (in Chinese)

(20,000 around the world pictures)

 

 

[yann1]

Taiwan isn't a province of China by the way. I don't understand what all this (which is interesting to a certain point) has to do with photography.

[christopheroquist]

Given that we're in the travel section of these forums, photographers travellering to China and hoping to make their way around from site to site might find this discussion a valuable resource.

 

What is the best way to book domestic air travel within China? I've heard that travel agencies are generally able to provide siginificant discounts that airlines won't offer directly. Is it better to book far in advance, or is it possible to still get cheap flights a day or two before your trip? I'll be going to China in August and it would be good to know that we can get flights on short notice if we decide to change our plans for one reason or another.

 

Chris

[nan_tu2]

The largest online travel agent (similar to www.expedia.com in the US) is www.ctrip.com and www.elong.com (the later was sold to www.expedia.com).

 

Both these companies sell etickets online and via their call centers (using 800 and 400 numbers)

Similar to the US, the 800 number is a toll free number for line phones and the 400 number is a toll free number for cell phones.

 

The airfare is usually cheaper if you book a week or more in advance. The closer it gets to the flight date, the more expensive the ticket gets. The smaller travel agents can not match the discount provided by the ctrip.com or elong.com because they do not have the volume.

 

When I travel, I keep the ctrip.com's 400 number in my cell phone. I book hotels and flights just couple of days before I travel. I once booked a hotel room at 3am in the morning and standing at the hotel lobby. I could just walk to the counter and get a walk-in rate. But I saved some money by calling ctrip's 400 number.

 

By the way, their telephone booking service is the best I have seen in the world, friendly and efficient. I have called them more than 40 times and on any time of the day (say 3am in the morning), they have always picked up the phone within 3 rings. That is why I have never booked hotels or flights with any body else.

 

You can check the flight schedule and the price online with ctrip.com or elong.com. Then you just call them with your cell phone. They will charge your credit card and send you a confirmation text message with your flight details. I believe that you can also have them send you a paper ticket and pay for the ticket in cash (cash on delivery) if you do not have a RMB credit card.

 

I do not know if ctrip or elong provides English service in their phone booking service.

[ilkka]

Driving is chaotic and very dangerous in all cities. Self driving can hardly be recommended, at least to novices. (Not novice drivers, but novices in China). Not sure, but I think a local driving licence is needed before one is allowed to drive.

 

The only way to stop on the way in the many interesting villages is to have full control of your car. That is not possible in train or bus. Labour is cheap. It does not cost much to hire a car with a driver. My driver asked for Rmb 100 per night to stay overnight, plus a reasonable charge per kilometer, when we hired a car and driver for a few days tour from Shanghai to Huangshan, for example.

 

Sure, when the distance gets bigger, it is best to fly closer and then hire a car and driver. You would need a Chinese speaker to do this at reasonable cost.

[ranong]

great info! thanks for your time and the info. this is the info that is needed for travel photography!

 

eddie