Chinese Railway Classes of Travel

It’s easy, we admit, to forget the green trains of yesteryear, which travelled at a mere 40 km/h, when you fall asleep on either a top-of-the-line Business Class seat on a CRH380 train, or when you stretch your arms after having a good night’s rest in a deluxe soft sleeper. Whether you’ve around all 30+ provinces at full speed or want to do Beijing-Shanghai on a regular, slow train at under CNY 200 for a “hard seat”, here’s a look at all classes of travel for China on the rails.

High Speed Rail (and HSR Sleeper)

BUSINESS CLASS (商务座)

Business Class on a CRH380AL

God Class on steroids. 2+1 seating configuration. A full-length lie-flat bed, complete with your own lamp (which looks more like a microphone, especially if you put the ubiquitous cover on it), your own TV screen, as well as your own power socket, fold-out table, and best of all, in this People’s Republic of Foodies, FREE FOOD! (You will have to request your free feeding plate, though, in person. Nobody hands you that when you board. Makes sense: especially on trains leaving around mealtime, nobody knows if you’ve eaten — or not!)

Available on: All CRH380AL and CRH380BL trains.

SIGHTSEEING AREA (观光区)

Seats in the Sightseeing Area on a CRH380A

Take your seat at the front or back of the train and watch the driver swing into action as he conquers 300 km/h and beyond. (Just to be on the safe side, we don’t recommend flash photography here.) There are buttons to push for optimized customization — if you wanted more privacy, tap a button to create an “instant curtain” between you and the driver, and there’s also another button for turning lights on or off or to mute announcements. Seating configuration is either 1+1 or 2+1. On CRH380A trains, all seats are marketed as Premier Class; on CRH380AL and CRH380BL trains, two seats are lie-flat Business Seats; others are First Class seats.

Recent Developments: Probably as part of a nationwide safety campaign, the option to look at the cockpit has been reduced on most high speed trains It is likely your train will have an opaque window instead of a transparent one. Here’s hoping they bring it back to life sometime soon! Due to this kind of “visual impairment”, so to speak, prices for some, if not all, of seating in this part of the train have dropped.

Available on: All CRH380 trains.

PREMIER CLASS (特等座)

Deluxe Class on a CRH3C

Premier Class means different products on Chinese high speed trains:

On the CRH3C trains, Premier Class is the same as the Sightseeing Area on the CRH380 trains. 8 seats are available (with somewhat cramped legroom) with a view of the driver.
On the CRH380 trains, Premier Class refers to the same Sightseeing Area on shorter CRH380A trains or, for the same trains, the 6-seat First Class Compartment areas.

Available on: All CRH3 and CRH380 trains.

FIRST CLASS (一等座)

First Class on a CRH380BL

On especially older HSR trains, the very best seating possible. Seating configuration is 2+2. Most seats come with a recline button, which you lift or push to make your seat “go back”. On some trains, you’ve also your own lamp. On CRH2 and CRH380A & CRH380AL trains, you have your own private window.

Available on: CRH1, CRH2, CRH3, CRH5, and all CRH380 trains.

SECOND CLASS (二等座)

Second Class on a CRH380A

CRH express trains only. Relatively good seating, although we wish you didn’t get the somewhat annoying middle seat. Otherwise, the seating is pretty good. On newer trains, you even get your own power socket! If you’re on a budget, this is the class to travel in. It gets you from Beijing to Shanghai for just CNY 555 at speeds up to 313 km/h!

Available on: CRH1, CRH2, CRH3, CRH5, and all CRH380 trains.

DINING CAR (餐车)

(Pic is temporarily missing… sorry…)

SOFT SLEEPER (软卧)