I feel as if I ought to re-introduce myself first as it's been so long since I last posted on Slowtrav. I do keep reading the forum, but I haven't really had any travel-related contributions for a while. Now, however, I'd really love some suggestions from knowledgeable chinaphiles of whom I think there are a number on Slowtravel.

My husband and I and a friend (who is living in china) wnat to take the overnight train from Shanghai to Beijing (approx duration 12/13 hrs) in about 2 1/2 weeks time. From photos I've seen on the net, the 2 berth soft sleeper compartments (only available on the T109 or T110 trains) is what we want as these have toilets en suite. The next best alternative is a 4 berth soft sleeper which does not have toilets en suite. My friend is convinced that any communal toilet in China will become unendurable after an hour or so. Also she says that everyone in China smokes so we must not share a compartment with anyone else.

I'm happy to book 2 x 2 berth soft sleepers but the problem is that it's very difficult to do so if you are not actually in Shanghai. The Man in Seat 61 suggests that you book through a travel agent or you get your hotel in Shanghai to do it, but so far we've had no success.

My questions are: Has anyone done this? If we ask our hotel to do it for us can we be confident that they will do so? Will communal toilets beome impossible very quickly and does everyone smoke? I'd be really grateful for any help anyone can give.

I can't help with booking seats as we used Audley Travel based in Witney to book a trip through Asia. They sorted out all the accommodation, trains etc. We were very thankful about this as we understand booking seats in China is a nightmare... We either had a 2 berth sleeper or if this wasn't possible we had a 4 berth sleeper booked for just the 2 of us. Be aware there isn't much storage space in the sleepers. We had all our luggage with us (2 checked suitcases and 2 carry on bags). I'm not quite sure how 4 people would manage to store all their luggage in a 4 berth sleeper.

However - TOILETS
We travelled on 4 different trains while we were in China. There were 2 communal toilets for each coach. There were 2 Chinese railway staff allocated to each coach who were responsible for cleaning and the toilets were kept very clean. All the Chinese we met had very high standards of hygiene. We preferred the squat toilets to the western ones on the trains (which did rather remind me of train toilets back in the 1970s or even earlier...)

I don't seem to remember problems with people smoking either.

Eleanor

I took a nighttrain twice when I was in China and honestly I don't recall any problem at all and I did see anyone smoke on the train. People were very respectful and quiet, very nice. There is hot water available in every section of the train so it's nice to remember to bring your tea with you as the chinese do!