Night Train to Shanghai

The trip is unspooling nicely, but I realized that I need to keep on top of planning constantly. One of Daniel’s friends had forgotten to relay a message that we needed train tickets to Shanghai, so we ended up delaying our next move for another day.

I am also quickly learning that travel this month will be difficult due to the upcoming National Day, a celebration in China akin to our Independence Day. National Day occurs on October 1 and usually gives the Chinese a one week vacation for the first week of October. I had read about this and had been cautioned that travel would be difficult as the Chinese will all be traveling and vacationing during that week. What I had not counted on was the fact that the Chinese government would be celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year and that travel difficulties were starting much earlier than I had anticipated.

All throughout our stay in Beijing, we could see the preparations for National Day. On the day we went to the Forbidden City, we saw crews of workers planting hundreds--if not thousands--of flowers along the avenue in front of the gates. Other workers were painting fixtures, and bleachers had been set up along the street. The next day, while riding our bikes, an immense procession of planes flew very low overhead. The lead plane looked something like Air Force One, with jet fighters flying at the tips of its wings. A procession of equally fascinating jets followed. It was unusual enough that regular Beijing residents were all looking up. I asked our tour guide if someone important was coming in, but he told me that it was practice for National Day. Later that night as we were in bed, we were startled to hear long rolling booms--too long for thunder. Apparently, the government was doing a test run on fireworks. Two days later we started to hear people on bullhorns shouting in the hutongs. There were also sounds of crowds massing. I thought it was something political, but Daniel explained that it was school groups practicing for some part in National Day.

On the day we left, I ran into a French couple from the hostel at the subway stop nearby. They were exhausted and told me that Tiananmen Square and some of the subways had been closed and they had been walking a long way. I was instantly worried that somehow the subway would be closed in the south part of the city, and we would be unable to get to the railway station. I told Kinsey we’d better pick up the pace as we might have to walk a long way, and the train was leaving in two hours.

In a slight panic mode, we boarded the subway and crossed our fingers. One stop into our journey and the subway conductor got on the intercom to broadcast a message--something that rarely happens as the subway messages are usually automated. Alarmed, I picked out an older white man on the train and asked if he spoke English. He nodded, and I asked if he knew whether any of the stations were closed. He told me that he didn’t think so. The message had nothing to do with closed stations, and he assured me we should be fine.

Now, I have to admit that I have to do some racial profiling in China. If it weren’t for ex-pats and sometimes even tourists, I would be in trouble navigating the system. Better than non-Chinese, though, are college-age kids. If you are in trouble, you look around and target someone young, college-age, or young professional. Even if they say they can’t speak English, they can often help you find a street or orient you on your map. Strangely, the worst offenders for not helping at all were the taxi drivers. Half the time, the drivers wouldn’t take me places even if I had the address written in Chinese. As a result, we rode the subway or walked most of the time, which was fine, and much cheaper anyway.

We managed to make it to the train station and discovered that it was a sea of humanity. Hundreds and hundreds of people were hanging out everywhere in front of the station. The station itself was huge. There were electronic boards outside announcing the different trains…but everything was in Chinese.

Before we left, people kept asking me whether the language barrier worried me, and truthfully, I answered no. I had read traveler boards where people kept saying it was fine, no problems, so I figured if they could all do it, I could too. What I am discovering though, is that I can get around China, but there are moments that are tough. This was one of them.

I quickly realized that I had little train experience to begin with, so I would have to ask for help. I scouted out a young college-age Chinese guy whose English was limited but he was willing to help. He explained that I needed to go inside to the second floor, but couldn’t explain much else. I thanked him effusively…after all any information was critical, and Kinsey and I started to go inside. The next thing I knew, he was at my side with his own luggage and proceeded to go up with us. On the second floor, each corner of the foyer had a wing with a board that explained which trains departed from that area. He helped me find the right wing and then disappeared to find his own train. Once inside the correct wing, I found an Australian girl who was also traveling but her friend had explained to her how the station worked. She helped me learn which boards to watch and how to decode my ticket…which car we’d be in and which beds we’d have.

By now, I felt much better, so Kinsey and I scouted out a place in the crowded waiting area where we could keep an eye on the announcement boards. We still had an hour to wait and the room was hot and stuffy. No wonder everyone was outside.

When our train was posted, we marched out to the boarding area. There are two types of overnight accommodations on Chinese trains: hard sleeper and soft sleeper. Hard sleepers have compartments with six bunks, three on one side and three on the other. Soft sleepers have compartments with four bunks, two on each side. I had picked soft sleeper, the more expensive option, just because I thought I’d try to make our first experience as easy as possible.

After we boarded, I was immediately impressed. The trains were new, gleaming, and the rooms were clean and comfortable. We stowed our luggage under the bottom bunk and sat down on the beds. There were tvs at the end of each bed, a small table, and nice bedding. We quickly settled in and then our bunkmates arrived: two Chinese businessmen.

At first I was a little uncomfortable. I had never really given much thought to who would be sharing our room with us. Businessmen was not my first thought, although in hindsight, I can see that it should have been. In any event, no one was particularly chatty. We boarded at 9:40 pm and expected to arrive in Shanghai around 8 am.

After about an hour, the businessmen decided to go to sleep, so they turned out the lights. I stayed up to write and Kinsey read for a short while, then we all went down for the night. Unfortunately, all of the beds we have used in China so far have been very very hard. The four-star hotels must have cushy mattresses, but everyone else seems to think thin rock-hard beds are perfectly fine. If you sleep on your back, it’s actually not too bad. But I am a side sleeper, so sleeping has become difficult.

At about 5:30 am, a train attendant came in and announced a stop. One of the businessmen, got up to leave. The rest of us slept until about 9 am, and then got ready for the day. I did take a quick tour of the train. We were in car #13. Car #8 was the dining car, but when I passed through in the morning, all of the tables were taken by sleeping and groggy passengers who had not paid for bunks. If you want a cheap fare with an airline experience, apparently you can pay for just a chair.

After disembarking, we opted for a cab. The hostel had given instructions for the subway, but indicated we would have to walk over an overpass. Hauling luggage up and down overpass steps did not appeal to me, so we headed for the cab line and hoped Shanghai drivers were more receptive than Beijing drivers. Luckily, they were.