Train Hanoi - Beijing (China)

There is a safe, comfortable & affordable twice-weekly train service between Beijing & Hanoi.  A Chinese express train with modern air-conditioned 4-berth soft class sleepers and restaurant car runs from Beijing to Dong Dang on the Vietnamese frontier.  At Dong Dang you pass through customs & passport control and board a connecting Vietnamese metre-gauge train for the final run to Hanoi.  Note that at Nanning you may be asked to get off and wait on the platform for an hour or two while the train is shunted.

**  Dong Dang is the frontier.  Change trains.  Beijing to Hanoi is 2,996km or 1,861 miles.

Note that the departure days from Beijing changed in 2004.  The train used to leave Beijing on Mondays & Fridays.  Departure from Hanoi is confirmed as Tuesdays & Fridays.

Which station in Hanoi?  The train to Beijing departs from a separate section of Hanoi's main railway station, sometimes called the 'B' station.  Road access is on Tran Quay Cap street, on the opposite side of the tracks from the main 'A' station at 120 Le Duan street, so make sure you make this clear to your taxi driver.  Or you can enter the main 'A' station and walk across the tracks on a walkway, but allow time to do this as it's a bit of a trek.

Daily alternative trains Beijing-Hanoi with change in Nanning:  If you can't get tickets for this twice-weekly Beijing-Hanoi through train or if you need to travel on one of the other days of the week, simply use the regular daily sleeper trains between Beijing & Nanning, then the daily train between Nanning & Hanoi.

Getting a Chinese visa in Hanoi:  You'll need a visa to enter China, and indeed you will need to show your Chinese visa at Hanoi railway station when buying your train ticket to Beijing. It's reported that the Chinese embassy in Hanoi will not now issue visas for anyone who is not a Vietnamese citizen or resident (this may well be a new policy for 2010).  So either get your visa in your home country before you leave, or arrange your Chinese visa in Hanoi through a suitable travel agency such as www.danviettravel.com.

How to buy tickets in Hanoi...
At Hanoi station, go to ticket window 10 for foreigners & international trains.  You will need to show your passport and a valid visa for China.  You can pay in US dollars or Vietnam dong, credit cards are reportedly not accepted, although there's a MasterCard sign.  This train cannot be booked online as the train staff will ask for your orginal passport together with Chinese visa!

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