A Fair Comparison
Orient Express vs China's Luxury Trains
The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is the world's most famous luxury train. Here is how China's new generation of luxury trains compares - and which suits you.
Both offer the same promise: a slow, all-inclusive journey in a private cabin with fine dining and white-glove service. But they are built on very different ideas. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is a rolling time capsule of 1920s Art Deco glamour, running short one-night routes across Europe. China's luxury trains are modern all-en-suite hotels on wheels, running multi-day all-inclusive expeditions across the Silk Road, Xinjiang and Tibet.
| Venice Simplon-Orient-Express | China Silk Road Express | |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | Belmond (LVMH) | Star Express (Fosun Group) |
| Carriages | Restored 1920s-30s vintage cars | Modern luxury cars, launched 2024 |
| En-suite bathroom | Only Suites and above (Historic cabins share corridor facilities) | Every one of the 38 rooms |
| Typical journey | 1 night (Paris-Venice) | 5 to 17 days |
| Entry fare | from $4,300 per person, per night | from RMB 36,800 (5 days, all-inclusive) |
| Approx. cost per night | $4,300 - $18,500 | about $1,000 - $2,500 |
| Panoramic car | No (vintage small windows) | 270-degree panoramic observation car |
| Region | Europe | Silk Road, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Tibet |
On the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, only Suites and Grand Suites have a private bathroom - Historic cabins share corridor facilities. On China's Silk Road Express, every one of the 38 rooms is an en-suite cabin with its own bathroom. For many travellers, that is the single biggest difference.
The Orient Express is a one-night celebration, a way to mark an occasion between two European cities. China's trains are multi-day expeditions - 5 to 18 days - where the train is your home and the landscape changes outside your window each morning.
A Historic cabin on the Orient Express costs from $4,300 per night. A 5-day all-inclusive journey on China's Silk Road Express starts around RMB 36,800 - roughly $5,460 for five nights, or about $1,090 a night, with an en-suite cabin, all meals and excursions included.
See China's answer to the Orient Express, and decide for yourself.
Meet the Silk Road ExpressChoose Your Train →