Beijing South

The Beijing South Railway Station is the largest train station in Beijing and one of the largest stations in Asia. It covers an area of 320,000 square meters and the 24 platforms can handle a capacity of 30,000 passengers per hour, equating to 241.92 million annually. High-speed trains primarily depart from this station towards the south, for example, to Shanghai.
However, for foreigners, using the trains is not quite straightforward. I still lack a Chinese SIM card and thus a phone number for quick booking on my smartphone. Therefore, I buy my ticket at the counter with my passport. Locals use their ID cards to purchase tickets and pass through security checks and check-in to the platform using ID card scanners. I always have to manually enter my passport number to the staff at the side. This procedure is repeated upon leaving the destination station. But the ride is fast and comfortable. Traveling at 300 km/h, we zoom to Cangzhou on the Fuxing (the name of the Chinese high-speed train) and arrive within an hour.