Boarding a bullet train in China: All questions answered

Published on 17-May-2019

Khushboo Razdan

China is home to the world's longest high-speed railway network. Spanning across 29,000 kilometers, it accounts for more than two-thirds of the total global high-speed railway network. So, as a curious foreigner who's recently moved to China, I decided to travel to Tianjin, a 30-minute train ride from Beijing South Railway Station – which itself is one of Asia's biggest.

To get there, I decided to take the subway since it's pocket-friendly and convenient. Beijing South Railway Station is located on both Line 4 and Line 14 of Beijing subway. In less than 30 minutes I had gained a hassle-free entry into the railway station. At first I was overwhelmed by its size, which is as big as 70 football grounds, covering an area of almost 500,000 square meters. But size is not the only feature that makes it unique.

Since it was a spontaneous travel, I still had to buy my tickets. And the first thing that caught my attention was an automatic ticketing machine. I saw people buying and collecting tickets in less than a minute using their ID cards. However, my attempt to use one of those machines was not successful. When I inquired, I was told that this facility is not available for international travelers since foreign passports are not part of the local database. One of the station staffers then guided me to a ticket counter where she arranged an English-speaking officer who helped me buy a ticket to Tianjin.

A composite photo of different views of Beijing South Railway Station, one of the largest railway stations in Asia. /VCG Photo

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