machine work?Trains are the most common form of long-distance travel in China. There are two ways of buying tickets: on the national website or at ticket offices in streets and stations.
There are three types of tickets: hard seat, hard bunk and soft bunk. A hard seat ticket is often cheap, about half the price of hard bunk, while a soft bunk ticket is about the same as a plane ticket.
The system is nationalised, it is called China Railway. In the last ten years, China has built over 20,000km of 250km/h High Speed Railways. There are 8 S-N and 8 E-W routes, the trains are normally called CRH-xxx. The tickets for these trains are more expensive.
| 站台 zhàn-tái | platform |
| 售票处 shòu-piào-chù | ticket office |
| 时刻表 shí-kè-biăo | timetable |
| 误点 wù-diăn | delay (appears on train noticeboards) |
| 行李暂存 xíng-li zàn-cún | left luggage |
| 电子票 diàn-zǐ piào | e-ticket |
| 电子预订 diàn-zǐ yù-dìng | e-reservation |
| FACE TO FACE |
| 下一趟去 … 的火车是什么时间?xià-yī-tàng qù … de huŏ-chē shì shén-me shí-jiān?When is the next train to…? |
| 下午五点十分xià-wǔ wǔ-diăn-shí-fēnAt 17.10 |
| 我想买三张票wŏ xiăng măi sān zhāng piàoI’d like 3 tickets, please |
| 单程还是双程?dān-chéng hái shì shuāng-chéng?Single or return? |
On trains, if a child is no taller than 1.2 metres, the ticket is free; between 1.2–1.5 metres, it’s half price; over 1.5 metres, it’s full price.
| Where is the station? | 车站在哪里?chē-zhàn zài nă-li? |
| 1 ticket/2 tickets to... | 一/两张去 … 的票yī/liăng zhāng qù … de piào |
| first/second class | 头等/二等tóu-dĕng/èr-dĕng |
| I booked online | 我是在网上预订的wǒ shì zài wǎng-shàng yù-dìng de |
| Is there a supplement to pay? | 要付附加费吗?yào fù fù-jiā-fèi ma? |
| Do I have to change? | 我要换车吗?wŏ yào huàn-chē ma? |
| Which platform does it leave from? | 从哪个站台出发?cóng nă-gè zhàn-tái chū-fā? |
| Is this the train for...? | 这是去…的火车吗?zhè shì qù … de huŏ-chē ma? |
| Does it stop at…? | 它在 … 停吗?tā zài … tíng ma? |
| When does it arrive in…? | 它什么时候到达…?tā shén-me shi-hòu dào-da…? |
| Please tell me when we get to… | 到达 … 时请告诉我dào-dá … shí qĭng gào-sù wŏ |
| Is there a restaurant car? | 有餐车吗?yŏu cán-chē ma? |
| Is this seat free? | 有人坐这个座位吗?yŏu rén zuò zhè-ge zuò-wèi ma? |
| Excuse me! (to get past) | 请让一让！qĭng ràng-yī-ràng! |
Chinese taxis are cheap, convenient and operate on meters. It is not advised to take a taxi in major cities at rush hour, as bad traffic can result in large bills. The basic fee is 10-15rmb for 3kms in most cities. There is no need to tip. There are taxi stands at stations, airports and major hotels but taxis can also be hailed from the roadside. There are a number of popular taxi apps in China that can be pre-booked or called for immediate use.
| I want a taxi | 我想叫一辆出租车wŏ xiăng jiào yī-liàng chū-zū-chē |
| Where can I get a taxi? | 我在哪儿可以叫一辆出租车?wŏ zài năr kĕ-yĭ jiào yī-liàng chū-zū-chē? |
| Please order me a taxi | 请现在为我叫一辆出租车qĭng xiàn-zài wèi wǒ jiào yī-liàng chū-zū-chē |
| How much will it cost to go to…? | 去 … 要多少钱?qù … yào duō-shăo qián? |
| the station | 车站chē-zhàn |
| the airport | 机场jī-chăng |
| this address | 这个地址zhè-gè dì-zhĭ |
| How much is it? | 多少钱?duō-shăo qián? |
| Keep the change | 不用找零钱给我bù yòng zhăo líng-qián gĕi wŏ |
| Sorry, I don’t have any change | 对不起, 我没有零钱duì-bù-qĭ, wŏ méi-yŏu líng-qián |
Boat and ferry transportation is hardly used by Chinese citizens, since the country has a vast inland territory. Most of the time, on a body of water, there will be several bridges.
| How much is a ticket…? | 一张去…的票要多少钱?yī-zhāng qù …de piào yào duō-shăo qián? |
| Single/return | 单程/双程dān-chéng/shuāng-chéng |
| When is the last boat? | 最后一班轮船是什么时 间的?zuì-hòu yī-bān lún-chuán shì shén-me shí-jiān de? |
The three busiest airports in China are Beijing Capital International Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.
| 抵达 dĭ-dá | arrivals |
| 起飞 qĭ-fēi | departures |
| 国际的 guó-jì-de | international |
| 国内的 guó-nèi-de | domestic |
| 登机口 dēng-jī-kŏu | boarding gate |
| How do I get to the airport? | 我怎么去机场?wŏ zĕn-me qù jī-chăng? |
| Is there a bus to the airport? | 有公共汽车去机场吗?yŏu gōng-gòng-qì-chē qù jī-chăng ma? |
| Where is the luggage for the flight from…? | 来自 … 航班的行李在哪里?lái-zì … háng-bān-de xíng-li zài nă-li? |
| Where can I change some money? | 我在哪里可以换钱?wŏ zài nă-li kĕ-yĭ huán-qián? |
| checked luggage | 托运行李tuō-yùn xíng-li |
| hand luggage | 手提行李shǒu-tí xíng-li |
| Where can I print my ticket? | 我可以在哪里打印我的 票?wǒ kě-yǐ zài nǎ-li dǎ-yìn wǒ de piào? |
| I have my boarding pass on my smartphone | 我的登机牌在我的智能手 机上wǒ de dēng-jī-pái zài wǒ de zhì-néng shǒu-jī shàng |
When buying plane tickets, note that children are categorised by their age: below 2 (free), between 2 and 12 (half
