Aushang: Verfasst von wtanaka (648) am Fr, 2006-02-24 12:37. | Betreff: Stuck with a hard seat ticket?

I read a story about someone "stuck" with a hard seat ticket on a long train ride:

That day, a "hard seat" train ticket was my only option to leave from Wu Han, the transportation hub in the middle of China to Guizhou, a capital city in the south west mountain region some 15 hours away. All other classes, soft sleeper, hard sleeper, and soft seat--in decreasing order of comfort--were sold out.

While such a journey can make for an "experience" or a source for complaining, depending on your disposition, there actually is a way out of it -- from what I hear, more times than not.

The key is a "bu piao," or upgrade ticket.  To get one you:

1. board the train using your existing ticket.
2. find the ticket seller on the train (usually on or near the middle car of the train)
3. ask for a "bu piao"

You'll have to pay the difference in cost between the ticket you want and the ticket you hold, plus a small (10 yuan or so) surcharge.  Of course this depends on a space being available, but I hear that this is true most of the time.