Save Time and Money With These Sleeper Trains From Beijing

Katie Coy | Jan 9, 2024 5:20 pm | Add a comment | 365 reads

With Chinese New Year just about one month away (Feb 10) it’s a good time to start planning your travels! A great way to save both time and money whenever a holiday hits is to get an overnight sleeper train. Simply leave Beijing in the evening, get yourself a night of rest – it’s a good idea to bring earplugs and an eye mask – and wake up ready to explore a brand new city! 

Here we’ve put together a list of just some of the sleeper trains you can take from Beijing to places ranging from famous cities to lesser known destinations, the latter of which may be a good idea for avoiding the holiday crowds!

Remember, tickets go on sale 15 days before the departure date and always sell out fast over a holiday, so be sure to secure your tickets ASAP! On apps like Trip, you can reserve a ticket in advance and they will try to buy the tickets for you once they go on sale, however there’s of course no 100 percent guarantee that they’ll be able to get it. If they’re unable to book the ticket for you, you’ll receive a full refund. 

Train D903 to Guangzhou (Guangdong) and Shenzhen (Guangdong)

Departure Station: Beijing West Station
Time: 8.08pm

Guangzhou (Guangdong)

Arrival station: Guangzhou South Station
Arrival time: 6.33am
Journey length: 10h 25m
Price: Sleeper up to RMB 990

Things to see and do there:

  • Canton Tower
  • Pearl River night cruise
  • Temple of Six Banyan Trees
  • Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
  • Sacred Heart Cathedral 
  • Shamian Island

Shenzhen (Guangdong)

Arrival station: Shenzhen North Station
Arrival time: 7.08am
Journey length: 11h
Price: Sleeper up to RMB 990

Things to see and do there:

  • Meridian View Centre
  • Sea World
  • Shenzhen Museum
  • Window of the World
  • Dameisha and Xiaomeisha beaches
  • Dafen oil painting village

Train T47 to Harbin (Heilongjiang), Daqing (Heilongjiang) and Qiqihar (Heilongjiang)

Departure Station: Beijing Station
Time: 7.03pm

Harbin (Heilongjiang)

Arrival station: Harbin Station
Arrival time: 6.45am
Journey length: 11h 42m
Price: Hard Sleeper RMB 279.5, Soft Sleeper RMB 427.5

Things to see and do there:

  • Harbin Ice & Snow World
  • Sun Island
  • Zhongyang Pedestrian Street
  • St. Sophia Church
  • Siberian Tiger Park
  • Walk on the frozen Songhua River
  • Unit 731 Museum

Daqing (Heilongjiang)

Arrival station: Daqing West Station
Arrival time: 8.31am
Journey length: 13h 22m
Price: Hard Sleeper RMB 317.5 , Soft Sleeper RMB 484.5

Things to see and do there:

  • Lianhuanhu Scenic Area
  • Lianhua (Lotus) Lake
  • Dumeng Grassland
  • Lindian Hot Springs

Qiqihar (Heilongjiang)

Arrival station: Qiqihar Station
Arrival time: 9.43am
Journey length: 14h 36m
Price: Hard Sleeper RMB 331.5, Soft Sleeper RMB 509.5

Things to see and do there:

  • Zhalong Nature Reserve
  • Bukui Mosque
  • Longsha Park
  • Shuishi Forest Park
  • Bingxue Scenic Area

Train T41 to Yan’an (Shaanxi) and Xi’an (Shaanxi)

Departure Station: Beijing West Station
Time: 6.48pm

Yan’an (Shaanxi)

Arrival station: Yan’an Station
Arrival time: 5.02am
Journey length: 10h 14m
Price: Hard Sleeper RMB 230, Soft Sleeper RMB 351

Things to see and do there:

  • Baota Hill
  • Yangjialing Revolutionary Site
  • Yellow Emperor Mausoleum Scenic Area
  • Luochuan Park

Xi’an (Shaanxi)

Arrival station: Xi’an Station
Arrival time: 8.08am
Journey length: 13h 13m
Price: Hard Sleeper RMB 288.5, Soft Sleeper RMB 440.5

Things to see and do there:

  • Terracotta Warriors
  • Cycle or Stroll along the Xi'an Ancient City Wall
  • Shaanxi History Museum
  • Big Wild Goose Pagoda
  • Get food on Muslim Street
  • Drum & Bell Towers
  • Mount Hua
  • Hanyang Tomb

Train D939 to Kaili (Guizhou), Guiyang (Guizhou) and Kunming (Yunnan)

Departure Station: Beijing West Station
Time: 8.22pm

Kaili (Guizhou)

Arrival station: Kaili South Station
Arrival time: 7.18am
Journey length: 10h 57m
Price: Sleeper up to RMB 940

Things to see and do there:

  • Xijiang Miao Village
  • Zhenyuan Ancient Town
  • Kaili Ethnic Minority Museum
  • Leigongshan Natural Reserve
  • Qinglong Cave
  • Feiyun Cliff

Guiyang (Guizhou)

Arrival station: Guiyang North Station
Arrival time: 8.08am
Journey length: 11h 41m
Price: Sleeper up to RMB 990

Things to see and do there:

  • Jiaxiu Tower
  • Qingyan Ancient Town
  • Flower Stream Park
  • Hongfeng (Red Maple) Lake
  • Tianhe Pool Scenic Area
  • Nanjiang Canyon
  • Baihua Lake
  • Qianling Hill Park
  • Huangguoshu Waterfall

Kunming (Yunnan)

Arrival station: Kunming South Station
Arrival time: 10.43am
Journey length: 14h 31m
Price: Sleeper up to RMB 1,190

Things to see and do there:

  • Stone Forest
  • Dragon Gate at Western Hill
  • Green Lake
  • Yunnan Ethnic Village
  • Dongchuan Red Land
  • Yuanyang Rice Terrace
  • Dianchi Lake
  • Flower and Bird Market
  • For more ideas on what to do in Kunming, check out this post

Train Z207 to Wuhan (Hubei), Yueyang (Hunan) and Changsha (Hunan)

Departure Station: Beijing Fengtai
Time: 8.19pm

Wuhan (Hubei)

Arrival station: Wuchang Station
Arrival time: 7.15am
Journey length: 10h 56m
Price: Hard Sleeper RMB 279.5, Soft Sleeper RMB 427.5

Things to see and do there:

  • Yellow Crane Tower
  • Yangtze River Cruise
  • East Lake
  • Eat food at Hubu Alley
  • Tan Hualing
  • Hankou Bund
  • Guiyuan Buddhist Temple
  • Chuangchun Temple

Yueyang (Hunan) 

Arrival station: Yueyang Station
Arrival time: 9.21am
Journey length: 13h 2m
Price: Hard Sleeper RMB 317.5, Soft Sleeper RMB 484.5

Things to see and do there:

  • Yueyang Pavilion
  • Dongting Lake
  • Junshan Island

Changsha (Hunan)

Arrival station: Changsha Station
Arrival time: 10.48am
Journey length: 14h 29m
Price: Hard Sleeper RMB 343.5, Soft Sleeper RMB 527.5

Things to see and do there:

  • Yuelu Mountain and Yuelu Academy
  • Juzi (Orange) Island
  • Stone Statues at Guizai Mountain
  • Hunan Provincial Museum
  • Mawangdui Han Tombs
  • Taiping Street
  • Xiangjiang Scenic Belt
  • Tianxin Pavilion

Train K105 to Shangqiu (Henan), Bozhou (Anhui) and Fuyang (Anhui)

Departure Station: Beijing West Station
Time: 11.31pm

Shangqiu (Henan)

Arrival station: Shangqiu South Station
Arrival time: 7.05am
Journey length: 7h 34m
Price: Hard Sleeper RMB 174, Soft Sleeper RMB 263

Things to see and do there:

  • Old Town of Shangqiu
  • Ebo Tai
  • Baiyun Temple
  • Mangdang Mountain Cultural Relics Tourism Area

Bozhou (Anhui)

Arrival station: Bozhou Station
Arrival time: 8.01am
Journey length: 8h 30m
Price: Hard Sleeper RMB 190, Soft Sleeper RMB 285

Things to see and do there:

  • The Underground Tunnel
  • Bozhou City Wall
  • Bozhou Grand Mosque
  • Bozhou Ancient Town
  • Confucius Temple
  • Bozhou Mountains

Fuyang (Anhui)

Arrival station: Fuyang Station
Arrival time: 9.20am
Journey length: 9h 49m
Price: Hard Sleeper RMB 208, Soft Sleeper RMB 315

Things to see and do there:

  • Zhuyin Temple
  • Bali River Scenic Area
  • Jiangshang Hot Springs
  • Digou Scenic Area
  • Wuli Lake Ecological Wetland Park
  • Wenfeng Pagoda

READ: Mandarin Monday: A Complete Guide to Ordering Steak in Chinese

Images: Canva