The Beijing-Harbin train line is a very popular train route in China particularly in winter months when Harbin hosts the famous Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival. There are both high-speed trains and normal trains for this route, some of which are more convenient than others. Most trains depart or arrive in Beijing at the Beijing railway station except G bullet trains that are at the Beijing south station. These trains arrive and depart in Harbin at three stations, Harbin railway station, Harbin north and Harbin west. All these stations are fine and equally convenient.
Beijing – Harbin high-speed trains
There are 6 high-speed trains (G and D train) in each direction along this route. Trains depart from early morning to late afternoon. G trains are faster than D trains hence the shorter duration of travel but D trains are fairly cheap compared to G trains. From Beijing to Harbin, we recommend G381 as it is the fastest train. From Harbin to Beijing we recommend D26 as it is only a few minutes slower than the G train but much cheaper and the schedule is very convenient. Read more about high-speed trains here (link to page 1.1).
These Beijing-Harbin high-speed trains offer 3 classes of travel for the following fares:
Business class – ¥1691.5 (G trains)
VIP class – ¥1019 (G trains)
First class – ¥834 (G trains) – ¥420.5 (D trains)
Second class – ¥541.5 (G trains) – ¥306.5 (D trains)
Watch this video about high speed trains
Beijing to Harbin to Beijing high-speed trains timetable
| Train # | Dep. | Arr. | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| D29 | 6:58 | 14:43 | 7 h 45 min |
| G381 | 7:53 | 14:59 | 7 h 05 min |
| D25 | 9:58 | 18:37 | 8 h 39 min |
| D101 | 13:49 | 21:39 | 7 h 50 min |
| G383 | 15:05 | 22:20 | 7 h 15 min |
| D27 | 15:15 | 23:00 | 7 h 45 min |
| Train # | Dep. | Arr. | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| D28 | 6:57 | 14:51 | 7 h 54 min |
| G394 | 7:08 | 14:44 | 7 h 36 min |
| D26 | 9:30 | 17:28 | 7 h 58 min |
| D102 | 10:37 | 18:31 | 7 h 54 min |
| D30 | 14:18 | 22:22 | 8 h 04 min |
| G382 | 16:22 | 23:33 | 7 h 11 min |
Beijing – Harbin overnight normal trains
On this route, it is also possible to take the cheaper but slower overnight trains. From Beijing to Harbin, we recommend T47, Z203, Z15 and Z17 as they are faster and have the most convenient times. T47 and Z15 has deluxe soft sleeper. Z203 and Z17 only has soft sleeper. Z203 has soft seats.
From Harbin to Beijing we recommend Z16 and Z18 for the same reasons. Trains Z15/16 are popular due to the relative good speed for an overnight train, the convenient departure and arrival times, and also the fact that they offer the luxury soft sleeper class (compartments for 2 people with a private toilet). Also, because this train makes no intermediate stops, you can get a very good night of sleep without interruptions. Ticket prices are as follows (prices vary depending on the train):
Deluxe sleepers – ¥828.5 (upper) – ¥865.5 (lower)
Soft sleepers – ¥409.5 (upper) – ¥427 (lower)
Soft seat – ¥281.5
Hard sleepers – ¥261.5 (upper) – ¥270.5 (middle) – ¥279.5 (lower)
Hard seats – ¥152.5
Beijing to Harbin to Beijing normal trains timetable
| Train # | Dep. | Arr. | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Z157 | 5:58 | 16:55 | 10 h 57 min |
| K339 | 11:07 | 3:33 | 16 h 26 min |
| T297 | 12:00 | 1:57 | 13 h 57 min |
| K265 | 13:55 | 8:41 | 18 h 45 min |
| T17 | 16:55 | 6:04 | 13 h 09 min |
| T47 | 18:57 | 6:12 | 11 h 15 min |
| Z203 | 20:31 | 6:47 | 10 h 16 min |
| Z17 | 21:15 | 7:18 | 10 h 03 min |
| Z15 | 21:21 | 7:26 | 10 h 05 min |
| K39 | 23:00 | 15:26 | 16 h 26 min |
| Train # | Dep. | Arr. | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| K40 | 1:28 | 21:25 | 19 h 57 min |
| Z158 | 10:43 | 21:08 | 10 h 25 min |
| K340 | 17:26 | 9:58 | 16 h 22 min |
| K266 | 19:27 | 12:53 | 17 h 26 min |
| Z204 | 19:44 | 6:28 | 10 h 44 min |
| T298 | 21:10 | 10:50 | 13 h 40 min |
| Z16 | 21:20 | 7:24 | 10 h 04 min |
| Z18 | 21:28 | 7:30 | 10 h 02 min |
| T48 | 22:07 | 9:14 | 11 h 07 min |
| T18 | 22:08 | 9:48 | 11 h 40 min |
Watch this video about normal trains
Learn more about:
– High-Speed China trains
– Normal China trains
– Classes of travel on China trains
– China train stations
China train travel Tips
– How to buy train tickets
– How to pick up your train tickets
– Peak travel times to avoid
– How to read a train ticket
– Luggage on China trains
– Child discounts