Fire Car!

Huo Che, the Chinese for train, translates literally as a fire car. This is just meant to be a blurb on the types of train cars you can get tickets for, and my impressions of them all now that I've taken all of the different types.

Cars can be of 4 different qualities: Hard seat, soft seat, hard sleeper, soft sleeper. The prices increase respectively.

Hard seat:
This is the main staple of trains. They're the cheapest seats you can buy, and for foreigners, the ticket booths will often assume you want a more expensive seat. They'll usually try to upgrade you to a soft seat. I suggest if you know Chinese (even just a little bit), don't upgrade! The people in these cars are SO friendly, and because there's so many of them, at least some will know a decent amount of English. I love travelling in hard seats because the first 10 minutes, they do nothing but stare at you, and then someone reveals they know some English, and you get to chat with them. This has been one of the ways I've learned a lot of Chinese. If their English fails, they often fall back on Chinese, and this is how I learn. They also enjoy teaching you basic Chinese, so if your Chinese is really poor, they'll teach you some simple stuff. Some of the most interesting people I've met in China have been in hard seat. Not only is it cheap, but it's fun!

Soft seat:
I've taken these only on bullet/really fast trains. They're generally skipped over unless the trip is under a few hours long. The seats are more comfortable, as implied by the name, and there's often a table tray in the seat in front of you that folds out. If you get the opportunity to take it long distance, don't bother. Save the money, take soft seat on quick trips. I tend to have these seats when I go to Shanghai (under an hour train ride), or Suzhou (15 minute train ride). Generally, you won't strike up a conversation in here, since most people are business men who don't give a shit about you, but it has been done.

Hard Sleeper:
For a long time, this was my preferred car for long distance trains. It's cheaper than soft sleeper, and the beds really aren't that different. However, there are 6 beds in each section. There's a bottom bunk, middle bunk, and top bunk on the left and right of each section, and not much head clearance for any of them. I've read that top bunk is cheaper, and bottom bunk is most expensive, but I haven't actually noticed a price difference. However, the idea would make sense. Top bunk has almost no head clearance at all, as the ceiling is maybe 2 feet above the bed, and the light and speakers are right in your face. Bottom bunk is nice, but you may have to wait for the others to go to bed, as it is common for everyone to chill out on the bottom bunk until they go to bed. Middle bunk seems to be the best choice, but if you're really tall, over 6 feet, you may have people walking by bumping into your overhanging feet. I have no issues with any of them, and generally get "stuck" with top bunk.

Soft Sleeper:
This is the luxury. Each section has four beds, not six, and the beds are a bit softer, although not enough to make a difference for me. Each section also has a door, which you can shut for privacy when everyone wants to sleep, and there is a plug available just outside each section, on the opposing wall. Most of the time, you'll see rich Chinese and some foreigners here. If you want to meet someone to chat with, like another foreigner, or a friendly Chinese guy, don't bother trying the people in these cars. Go to the diner car. People are far more social there (possibly because they serve beer). The diner car usually separates the sleepers from the seats. Most foreigners seem to like to get these if they can, especially for really long trips. I don't like them anymore, because they're too expensive, and no one's social.

Standing Tickets:
Couldn't get a seat? The train may be sold out, but they'll sell you a ticket anyway. You just have to stand for the whole way... kind of. Standing tickets are cool, because you get thrown in hard seat, you'll lean up against the side of the aisle seats, and everyone will stare. Foreigners are supposed to have a lot of money, and most standing tickets are sold to poor Chinese people, so a foreigner... standing?! You get a lot of people chatting with you, a lot of nice people, and on long trips, where you'd assume a standing ticket would be brutal, is no problem. People will be more likely to get up and stretch their legs, and so they will offer you their seat in the meantime. In fact, some people will give you the seat and stand for a few hours themselves, just to be nice. I've had standing tickets a few times, and it's changed how I viewed China. They are really hospitable, and while someone sitting in your seat in Canada would be cause for confrontation, it's just a fact of life here, and they have no problem with it. I now offer my seat to the Chinese people with standing tickets routinely, because I like to stand anyway.

There is one problem though. If your train goes through the night, beyond 3 AM, you're going to run into trouble, because even the night owls will drift off around then. If you haven't found an empty seat by then, standing is BORING. Maybe bring newspaper to sit on or even lie down on (the Chinese do it) in the aisle, or try to get a seat at the diner car after they've stopped serving food. Often, for an extra fee (around 30 yuan), they'll let you stay in there from 11 PM to 5 or 6 AM. Rest your weary head on the table, and watch out for cockroaches.