Hard sleeper
The Hard sleeper (Chinese: 硬卧; pinyin: yìng wò, abbreviated YW), is a passenger railway compartment class in the People's Republic of China. Hard sleeper is a class on most Z-series, T-series express trains and K-series rapid trains. They are less expensive than soft sleepers.
The differences between hard soft sleeper compartments are as follows:
- 6 bunks instead of 4[1]
- No door[1] (some type have)
- No blind on the window (but there are curtains)
- Less comfortable bedding, e.g. only one pillow
- No TV screen[1]
In addition, the carriage has only Chinese style toilet at each end whereas the soft sleepers may have a Western style toilet at one end.
Despite its name, the bunks are padded, only less than soft sleepers. Like soft sleepers they have a table, hot water and a rubbish bin. The lower bunk (下) is the roomiest followed by the middle bunk (中). The upper bunk (上) not only has the least room, but one has to be relatively agile to climb up to it. There are slight differences in ticket cost depending on the bunk position.
Shortly after the trip starts, the carriage official will come around and exchange tickets for berth tokens. Tickets will be returned before arrival at the destination.