Newly revamped train offers travelers luxury of a star-rated hotel

Passengers take part in a traditional handicraft activity in a multifunctional carriage during the trial run of the "comfortable tourist train". （Photo provided to China Daily）

An inaugural 12-day trip on a newly renovated five-star travel train set off from Wuhan, Hubei province, on Wednesday night, expecting to provide luxurious experiences for tourists.

A total of 172 tourists are on board to visit Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, nshun, Bijie and other destinations in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces as a travel group.

They will visit attractions such as Erhai Lake, Huangguoshu Waterfall, Cangshan Mountain and Yulong Snow Mountain, experience tie-dye handicraft and hot springs, watch singing and dancing performances, and savor local specialties such as flower banquets and sour soup beef hotpot.

Prices range from 10,999 yuan ($1,600) per person for an upper berth in a four-person cabin to 26,999 yuan for a deluxe double room. The fare covers train tickets, scenic area admission fees, hotel accommodation, local transportation, on-train services, and meals.

It's the first "comfortable tourist train" developed by China Railway Wuhan Group, renovated from a traditional green train known for its slow speed, low price and crowded space.

Instead of narrow seats and small bunk beds, the revamped train aims to offer hotel-like accommodation. It includes double and twin rooms, as well as shared cabins with three or four beds.

Amenities include KTV rooms, chess and card rooms, en-suite bathrooms, nonslip flooring, safety handrails, and emergency call buttons.

Onboard services include a medical team providing 24-hour care, a tour guide team offering cultural interpretation, and a butler team handling one-on-one requests.

"Our train is like a mobile star-rated hotel. We have all the facilities you would find in a hotel," said Zhong Hao, service steward on the train.

"There is a call button in your room that connects directly to our service room. Whenever you press the call button, we will come to your room right away. In addition, each room is equipped with a smart display screen, which shows your meal options as well as real-time updates of the day's weather forecast and temperature," Zhong added.

He added that the stewards clean the room when passengers go sightseeing. By the time they return, the rooms are fresh and tidy, just like in a hotel.

To enhance tourists' onboard experiences, there are also tea parties, healthy life salons, and intangible cultural heritage folk handicraft experiences, that carry no extra charges.

A 17-day group tour to the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, scheduled to be organized once or twice a month from May to September, costs up to 58,999 yuan per person.

Of the train's 15 planned trips this year, roughly 70 percent of berths have been sold. The seating capacity of the train is 231.

"The train aims to integrate railway with culture and tourism, respond to the national policy of developing the silver economy and meet the public's demand for high-quality tourism. And the high occupancy already proves the strong market demand," said Hu Shujun, deputy general manager of Wuhan Wutie Travel Service Media Co, a subsidiary of China Railway Wuhan Group.

A woman surnamed Wang, 68, from Wuhan, boarded the train on its trial run on April 10.

She said that while traveling on this train, she can enjoy a comfortable stay at night, and the scenery along the way is wonderful too. "All the facilities are just like those in a high-end hotel," she added.