I recall scoring a impossible to get Chinese student price ticket (legally as foreign exchange student,) I think from Wuhan to Guangzhou via Shanghai, during spring festival in the late 80s. With like a bazillion people filling the huge plaza in front of the Wuhan railway station, seemingly all angling for tickets. Catch was the ticket was w/o seat. A common thing then unless you bought the ticket where the train originated. Typically that meant you were chasing the conductor on the train for an hour or two (together with everyone else in the same situation) until you scored a ticket for a spot that became available. In my case either hard sleeper (preferred as trains were slow and a place to crash was good) or hard seater as all else was not in my budget... Anyway, at spring festival time it took me more like 5 ... 6 hours to score a hard seat.
... next to chicken feet lady... who ate them endlessly out of a bag... right until she threw up... and caused me to face the decision to go on seat or bed hunt all over again or live with the stench... The stench won and the hunt was on again...
Anyway, very, very different times then... For me and for China...