火车票卖完了，怎么办？

I opened the booking page and saw just three Chinese characters: no tickets. Oh no—the train tickets to Suzhou for the National Day holiday were sold out!

October 1 is China’s National Day. Many people begin their holiday on October 1, so these days are also called “National Day Golden Week.” Some people go home, some travel, and others visit friends. Train stations, airports, and tourist sites are often very crowded.

Last week, my friend An’an asked me, “Shall we go to Suzhou for two days during the holiday?” I really like Suzhou’s little bridges and old houses, so I agreed right away. We wanted to leave Hangzhou on the morning of October 2, and come back on the evening of October 3.

First, we looked at hotels. A small hotel not far from the old street still had rooms, and the price was acceptable. An’an quickly booked a twin room. She said, “The hotel is booked, and now all we need are the train tickets.”

We thought there were many trains, so buying the tickets a little later would be fine. But when I opened my phone, all the tickets for the morning of October 2 were sold out. The eight, nine, and ten o’clock trains all had no tickets. I also checked the afternoon trains, but there were still none.

I became a little anxious, because we had already booked the hotel. I called An’an and said, “The train tickets are sold out. What should we do?” An’an asked, “Are there any other trains?” I said, “There is a very early train, but it leaves at 5:30 in the morning.”

Five thirty was too early. We would have to get up at four, and there was no subway at that time. Taking a taxi to the train station would not be cheap either. An’an said, “Then can we change it to October 3?”

I changed the date right away. There were still two tickets on the morning of October 3, but then we could stay in Suzhou for only one night. We would also have to change our hotel dates. I first checked the hotel booking, and found that the free-cancellation deadline had not passed yet.

I contacted the hotel and asked, “Hello, I’d like to change my check-in date. Is that possible?” The hotel replied that there were no rooms left for October 3. If we canceled the original booking and booked another hotel, the price would be much higher.

At that moment, An’an had a new idea. She said, “Everywhere is crowded during Golden Week. Do we have to go to Suzhou? There are also many fun places near Hangzhou.” I thought about it and felt that she was right.

We started looking at short trips near Hangzhou. There was a quiet small town that was just over an hour away by bus. It had tea fields, a little river, and an old street. Most importantly, we would not need to fight for train tickets.

We decided to take a bus there on the morning of October 2 and return to Hangzhou that evening. That way, we would not need a hotel, and we would not have to get up very early. We canceled the Suzhou hotel, and the money was refunded quickly.

When our travel plan changed, I felt a little disappointed at first. But An’an said, “Going to one less popular tourist site might make the trip more relaxing.” I thought that made a lot of sense. A Golden Week trip does not have to be far away.

Later, we made another simple plan. We would visit the tea fields in the morning, eat lunch in the small town, and walk around the old street in the afternoon. We also planned to bring water, hats, and some snacks. If it was too crowded, we would go home early.

This experience taught me that it is best to buy tickets early for Golden Week trips, and to prepare a second plan. If the tickets are sold out, you can check other trains, or change the date. If there really are no suitable tickets, then choose another place.

Here are some useful sentences: The train tickets are sold out. Are there any other trains? I would like to change the time. Can this booking be cancelled for free? Let us change our travel plan.