| <Chinese Learning> Buying a Train Ticket | |
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| Jun 25, 2007 20:50 |   |
 | There are generally three kinds of cabin in a train, hard seat, hard sleeper and soft sleeper. There are also soft seat in some trains. Before buying the ticket, one should be clear with these different seats/sleepers. |
| Jun 25, 2007 20:56 | #1 |
| Hard Seat: 硬座(Ying 4 Zuo 4) 硬 means hard and 座 means seat. Actually it's not a hard seat, but not comfortable at all. But it's the cheapest way and aslo a good place for you to communicate with others. If your journey is less than 4 hours, it's highly recommended. Hard Sleeper: 硬卧(Ying 4 Wo 4) is actually not hard at all. It's a six-berth cabin and others will share the room with you. Lower berth is the most expensive one and also most comfortable since you don't need to climb up to the upper berth. No one is allowed to smoke in the train if the train is air-conditioned. |
| Jun 25, 2007 21:00 | #2 |
| Soft Seat: 软座(Ruan 3 Zuo 4) is much more comfortable than hard seat since there are less people in one carriage. Soft Sleeper: 软卧(Ruan 3 Wo 4) is the most comfortable one and only four berthes are settled in one cabin. There are also super deluxe soft sleepers in some trains that only two berthes are settled in one cabin. One may also close the door of the cabin and keep your privacy. However, the price of the soft sleeper is the highest. |
| Jun 25, 2007 21:10 | #3 |
| While purchasing a ticket, you should tell the clerk the detailed destination, time and the kind of seats/sleeper. You may also tell them the detailed train number and date, seats/sleepers, etc. For example: May: 我买一张明天下午到武汉的硬卧。(Wo 3 Mai 3 Yi 1 Zhang 1 Ming 2 Tian 1 Xia 4 Wu 3 Dao 4 Wu 3 Han 4 De Ying 4 Wo 4) =I'd like to buy a hard sleeper to Wuhan, tomorrow afternoon. Clerk: 明天下午三点五十？(Ming 2 Tian 1 Xia 4 Wu 3 San 1 Dian 3 Wu 3 Shi 4) = How about 3.50 pm? May: 好的。(Hao 3 De) = Ok/Good. Clerk: 哪个铺？(Na 3 Ge 4 Pu 4) = Which berth? May: 中铺。(Zhong 1 Pu 4) = Middle berth. Clerk: 208块。(Liang 3 Bai 3 Ling 2 Ba 1 Kuai 4) = 208 Yuan May: 给。(Gei 3) = Here you are. |
| Jun 25, 2007 21:28 | #4 |
| Actually, it won't be so easy to buy a train ticket in peak season. It's better to buy it in advance. |
| Jun 26, 2007 16:44 | #5 |
| Thanks, very useful |
| Jul 3, 2007 02:59 | #6 |
| You are welcome~ |
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