Tickets for bullet trains linking Xiamen and Shenzhen, a line that was just put into use last year, are selling well ahead of the May Day holiday.
This is the first May Day Holiday after the opening of the Xiamen-Shenzhen High Speed Railway. Although there is still half a month left, most available tickets have been sold out as passengers have been grabbing tickets early for the upcoming holiday.
According to reports, there are now no first-class, second-class or standing tickets left from Shenzhen to Xiamen and only a few tickets are still available from Xiamen to Shenzhen on 30th April, and tickets on 1st May are also nearly sold out.
“The Xiamen-Shenzhen High Speed Railway helps cut the travel time between the 2 cities to less than 4 hours. In addition to less traveling time, the reasonable ticket prices also make it the first choice for many middle-aged and aged tourists,” an industry insider said.
In addition to railways, quite a few airlines at home and abroad have also started to offer discount tickets for passengers who are traveling from Xiamen to Hong Kong. Dragonair, an international airline headquartered in Hong Kong, has lowered its round-trip ticket prices to RMB 450 between the two cities. Some other airlines are now also offering big discounts for tickets from Xiamen to Hong Kong to lure passengers.
In contrast, air ticket prices from Xiamen to Shenzhen are not that cheap. The lowest price for air tickets from Xiamen to Shenzhen are more than RMB 700, and the price will remain high until after the May Day Holiday.