June 14, 2004

The city on wheels

There are a lot of things to complain about in China but the trains aren't one of them. I'd have to say that I think China has the best railway system in the world. An incredibly extensive network with some 52000km of track connecting just about every corner of the country.

And the trains themselves are pretty impressive. Typically about twenty carriages long with a selection of seats or sleepers. Sleepers come in two varieties, soft (ruan wo) and hard (ying wo). Hard is actually quite okay, it just means six bunks to a compartment rather than four, and no door. On a couple of runs, in Xinjiang in particular, it was pretty comfy.

Soft though is where the real luxury is at. For almost the price of an airfare you get just four bunks in the compartment, a door you can lock, volume control for the speaker (very useful), white linen table clothes, and, on the Beijing to Xian run at least, personal TV screens with a choice of Hollywood movies. I had Matrix 2 and Star Wars on my trip.

Of course, at the other end of the spectrum, hard seat, things aren't quite so rosy. The seats are padded but the journey can be tough depending on your number of near neighbours and their predilection for smoking and scattering the floor with food scraps. The dining car can sometimes be a refuge or you can try for an upgrade (bupiao).

In all cases though the whole journey is a very socialable experience. With the longer trips laster more than 24 hours there's plenty of time for talking, reading, listening to music, or just watching the scenery roll by. What better way to spend the day.

Posted by David at June 14, 2004 09:32 PM