Quote:
Originally Posted by The Chemist
Their quoting of the China Daily article is incredibly misleading (as usual for Western media when reporting about China). Yes, the MAXIMUM (i.e VIP ticket) for the train from Shanghai to Chengdu is about ￥2300 （～$350). But what they don't tell you is that you can get a soft seat ticket on the same train for only ￥500 （~$80), or a standard soft sleeper ticket on the same train for ￥1000 (~$160). The cheapest airfare on the route that I can find is ~￥1260, so the high speed overnight train is cheaper, plus you don't have to pay for a hotel for that night - you leave Shanghai in the evening, and in the morning you're in Chengdu!
The misleading way they're reporting it, it'd be the equivalent of complaining about the price of an airplane ticket on a certain route but only telling you the business class price.  |
I may be way off here, so please correct me if I'm mistaken, but according to your figures a return journey for a family of three is $480. Considering the average monthly wage for workers is only about ￥3292 or $499, I think it's fair to suggest the tickets are a bit out of reach for the average corporate servant. However, I suppose there are people out there, and you may well be one of them, that feel that spending 8% of their yearly income on train tickets is somewhat of a bargain.
http://finance.sina.com.cn/china/dfj...06041104.shtml