02-09-2019, 11:07 AM
Buying tickets has certainly been relaxed! We bought them in person because the website only supports using a residence card, not a passport. You have to give your passport to the ticket agent so they can record your details, but they don't keep it for more than a minute or two. I wouldn't describe it as surrendering my passport.
Other than that, there's not much to say about the purchasing process. We told the agent where and when we wanted to go, she told us the price, we gave her the fare and our passports, she recorded our details and gave us the tickets.
We're back from Xi'an already. We had a good time there, but found there were too many people at many sites. (This is largely our own fault. We usually visit China during major holidays so my wife's parents can spend time with our daughter, but then wherever we go is flooded with everyone else who's on vacation at the same time.) The first night we were in Xi'an, we went to a park to see their Spring Festival lights, and when we were leaving there were so many other people leaving the subway station had been temporarily closed.
Other than that, there's not much to say about the purchasing process. We told the agent where and when we wanted to go, she told us the price, we gave her the fare and our passports, she recorded our details and gave us the tickets.
We're back from Xi'an already. We had a good time there, but found there were too many people at many sites. (This is largely our own fault. We usually visit China during major holidays so my wife's parents can spend time with our daughter, but then wherever we go is flooded with everyone else who's on vacation at the same time.) The first night we were in Xi'an, we went to a park to see their Spring Festival lights, and when we were leaving there were so many other people leaving the subway station had been temporarily closed.