TRAVEL | Z Trains in China

'Z' category trains (Z stands for Zhida, or 直达特快列车, meaning direct) are the fastest and most modern long distance trains in China, running on routes such as Beijing-Shanghai and Beijing Xian. They are composed of the very latest air-conditioned sleeper carriages, as well as bar and restaurant carriages.

Most Z-series train routes do not have any intermediary stops, and are generally overnight, all-sleeper trains that have travel time of around 10–14 hours.

Distance between Beijing and Xian is 1,200 km (750 miles), taking around 11 hours on this overnight train. Trip cost is around RMB420 (82NZD) per person. Save on a night's accommodation. A lot of Big 2 time!

The label of the sleepers. Each sleeper is numbered with a unique number. This is a picture of the sleeper train with 4 beds in each room.

Each train has about 10 "rooms"