The smallest luxury train in China. 44 guests in 22 double rooms across 11 cars. Designed for deep immersion in Inner Mongolia rather than covering long distances. Summer: endless grasslands, wildflowers, nomadic herder culture. Winter: frozen rivers, snow festivals, reindeer encounters. 6 days, 5 nights: 2 nights on the train, 3 nights in ground hotels along the route.
Entry-level suite. Private bathroom. Cosy, focused on the view. Note: "Gold" is the entry tier in Chinese luxury rail naming, not the top tier.
~8.6 m²Mid-tier suite with private bathroom. Elegant appointments, refined layout, located near the train tail.
~9.5 m²Top-tier suite. The largest room onboard, with premium fittings and the best views.
~12.2 m²Status: the operator has announced a resumption of service in the second half of 2026. The routes below are the product as designed — treat dates as indicative until the official 2026 schedule is published.
Hailar to Harbin through the Greater Khingan forest and the legendary grasslands. 2 nights in your private train suite, 3 nights in carefully selected ground hotels. The 6-day structure allows deep exploration of each stop, you're not just passing through.
Boarding point. Gateway to the Hulunbuir grasslands. Mongolian, Russian and Chinese cultural fusion. Acclimatise and enjoy a welcome dinner before departure.
China's coldest railway station. Deep in the Greater Khingan range. Visit the last Ewenki reindeer herders, feed the reindeer, listen to forest hunters' stories around the fire.
Gateway to the Oroqen homeland. Birch-bark and hide craft workshops with a national-level intangible heritage inheritor. Forest hikes and traditional Oroqen songs.
Journey's end. Russia's onion-dome churches, the Songhua riverfront and Volga Manor. Winter: the Ice and Snow Festival. Depart from Harbin Taiping airport.
Hailar → Zhalantun → Genhe → Harbin (round trip; Manzhouli→Harbin alternate endpoint). First winter departure: 21 January 2025. Zhalantun's Jinlongshan ski resort, the frozen forests around Genhe, and the Ice and Snow Festival finale in Harbin. A heated train sanctuary against the -30°C outside. Winter pricing from ~RMB 21,999 per person (standard) to ~RMB 29,999 (festival windows).
Hailar → Genhe → Alihe → Mohe. 6 days, 5 nights. Reach the northernmost railway station in China. The "find-China's-northmost-point"打卡 at Mohe, postcards from China's northernmost post office, and hands-on hide craft with a national-level intangible heritage inheritor. Operates June to August.
The Star Express booking page currently shows "no available departures" — this does not mean the train has stopped operating. Hulunbuir's transport authority has stated that the Hulunbuir Express will resume operations in the second half of 2026, with a route covering a wider stretch of the Hulunbuir grasslands and the border belt. Current bookable inventory has simply not been released yet.
How to book: unusually among China's luxury trains, the Hulunbuir Express can be queried and booked through the "Railway Tourism" (铁路旅游) section of the official 12306 app — the same app used for ordinary Chinese train tickets. No agent is required. You can also check the Star Express mini-program periodically or contact us for availability alerts. Do not assume suspension from an empty booking calendar.
44 guests maximum , China's smallest luxury train. Private, quiet, deeply personal. Everyone gets a window seat at dinner.
Summer (June-September): Hulunbuir grasslands, wildflowers, nomadic culture. Winter (Jan-Feb): frozen wonderland, snow festivals, reindeer, ice fishing.
Hailar → Genhe → Alihe → Harbin. 2 train nights + 3 hotel nights. Reindeer herder visits with the last Ewenki tribe, Oroqen birch-bark craft workshops, and Greater Khingan forest hikes.
Hailar → Zhalantun → Genhe → Harbin. Zhalantun ski resort, the frozen forests around Genhe, and the Ice and Snow Festival finale in Harbin. A heated train sanctuary against -30°C outside.
Mongolian for "joy, happiness, fortune". Walnut interiors with Mongolian textile curtains. Chinese, Mongolian, Russian and Western menus. Soupline noodles from the heritage Suzhou restaurant Songhelou. Italian GINORI tableware.
Mongolian for "games, entertainment". KTV corner, refined bar, oversized panoramic windows and a rooftop screen. Cultural salons, craft workshops, social gatherings.
At the train tail. Light birch-wood interior. Lectures, brand showcases, heritage craft workshops, or private small meetings on request.
One of the world's largest pristine grasslands. Mongolian herders, horses, iconic felt gers on the horizon. A landscape of horizon and sky.
Gateway to Hulunbuir. Mongolian, Russian, Chinese influences converge in architecture, food, and culture. Summer departure hub.
China's ice capital. International Ice and Snow Festival. Russian Orthodox cathedrals, frontier-city atmosphere. Winter route terminus.
Asia's largest wetlands, bordering Russia. Mirror-calm water reflecting grassland skies. Biodiversity hotspot and photographer's paradise.
44 Guests on the Sea of Grass compiles reviews of the butler service, the reindeer forests of Genhe, and the slow pace some travellers found too slow.
Read the traveler story →The Hulunbuir Express serves our Northern Grasslands journey, 6 days from Hailar to Harbin through Inner Mongolia's grasslands and the Greater Khingan forest.
Explore All Journeys →Life onboard →