by laowai89 » Mon Apr 09, 2012 3:09 pm
Yeah buying tickets from the station itself is a pain - you're better off going to one of the 2 downtown ticket agents. One is on Guanqian Jie (the big pedestrianized shopping street) roughly halfway along - look for the characters 火车票 (huo che piao). Alternatively there's one on Xiangwang Lu just off Shiquan Jie (the bar street) - look for the 100 Happy Hotel and walk down the small street beside it - the ticket office is on the left side about 150metres along. These places charge 5RMB commission on top of the train fare but generally speaking it's a quicker service although don't expect the staff to speak English, and during festival periods they can be just as busy as the station ticket hall.
Also don't forget your passport - the government is cracking down on scalpers who buy up all the tickets and sell them at inflated prices so you need ID when you buy your ticket.