How do I book a sleeper train in China, and what should I know about safety?

The railway's rules list these sleeper classes: hard sleeper (硬卧), soft sleeper (软卧) and deluxe soft sleeper (高级软卧) on conventional trains, and first-class and second-class sleepers (一等卧, 二等卧) on overnight bullet trains, often called 动卧; China Railway also sells bullet-train soft sleepers (动车组软卧). Hard sleeper has upper, middle and lower berths; soft sleeper, bullet-train soft sleeper and first-class sleeper have upper and lower only. Second-class sleeper has three tiers on most trains, but some newer overnight bullet trains use four-berth compartments with upper and lower berths only; the booking page shows what your train has. Trip.com describes hard sleeper as an open six-berth bay and soft sleeper as a four-berth compartment with a door; the railway pages we read do not give layouts in words.

Picking a berth: since June 2023, Railway 12306 (website and app) lets you choose the berth on trains that show a 铺 mark next to the train number. Add the passenger and a berth-selection list appears. If what you asked for has sold out, the system assigns one at random, and you can accept or cancel. On other trains the online system assigns the berth. At a station ticket window or ticket agency you can ask for the berth you want (upper, middle or lower) when you buy. Passengers aged 60 and over are given lower berths first. If you book through another seller, check that its page offers a berth choice before you pay.

Price: a lower berth usually costs more than a middle, and a middle more than an upper; we found no official pricing rule, only fares shown on 12306. In a June 2023 example the gaps on the Z6 Nanning to Beijing hard sleeper were about ¥15 a step (lower ¥487.5, middle ¥472.5, upper ¥455.5); the Z501 Zhengzhou to Haikou hard sleeper showed the same pattern (lower ¥593.5, middle ¥575.5, upper ¥550.5). Read the price for your train in the app; dynamic fares on some trains move these numbers.

With children: one child under 6 can travel free with each paying adult and share the adult's berth. A child travelling free who uses a berth alone needs a child discount ticket, which costs less than an adult berth; check the price on the booking page.

Safety. Under China's Railway Law, order inside stations and on trains is the responsibility of the railway police. In an emergency, tell the train crew; the national police number is 110. The railway's travel notice makes looking after your belongings your own job; Trip.com's guide suggests keeping passport, wallet and phone near your pillow rather than on the rack above.

Travelling alone as a woman: the national ticketing system does not allocate berths by sex. In April 2023, 12306 customer service told Chinese media that sleeper berths are sold at random and that a passenger who is uncomfortable can ask the attendant or call 12306, and staff will try to arrange a swap. We found no current official women-only compartment on national booking channels.