New high-speed sleeper trips received a lukewarm reception on their debut, with only half of tickets for the first journey from Beijing to Shenzhen booked as of Sunday, South China Morning Post reported, citing railway authorities’ official website. That contrasted poorly with two slower trains on the same day with sleeper cars, with standing room only remaining for both normal-speed trips from Beijing to Guangzhou. For those who opted for non-sleeper high-speed and standard-speed journeys, securing tickets remained a challenge as many routes sold out within minutes of going on sale for the Spring Festival holiday. (For more, see our roundup of recent Chinese media coverage about the annual Spring Festival sojourn.)