I have been to China in 2008 and went from Beijing to Shanghai with a Night-train, softsleeper. I'm going to be in China again in summer and I'd like to save some money, so I would prefer taking hardsleeper. In the softsleeper cabin you could put your luggage "over" the hallway if you slept in the upper bunks. Is that possible in hard-sleeper cabins, too?

"Usually, you can get the tickets 3 days in advance in 24 hours daily." <- does this mean that i HAVE to have my tickets 3 days in advance, or is it possible to buy tickets 1 day before I'm going somewhere or the same day, too? I will probably buy most tickets in advance, but for my first trip from Beijing to Xian I don't have those 3 days..