A Chinese Train Experience

Last weekend Z and I went to Datong, an obscure city of 3 million in Shanxi province, west of Beijing. We took the train, which takes 6 hours each way. Unfortunately by the time we bought our tickets the only seats left on the train we wanted were hard seats. (In china train tickets come in 5 varieties – soft sleeper, hard sleeper, soft seat, hard seat, or standing room). Which would be ok except that our train home was going to leave Datong at 10.30pm on Sunday night and get us back into Beijing at 4.45am, just in time for a quick nap before work. They cost us 54kuai each way ($7.50). Also, I should mention that ‘hard seats’ are at a very rigid and uncomfortable 90 degrees. The hard seat carriage is also where the people who have purchased standing tickets get to stand. (Or more accurately - squat, lean, lie etc). When Z and I boarded the train in Beijing at 6.30pm on Friday night we were barely able to get ourselves onto the train, it was so packed full of people. We both had a weekend bag with us, and maneuvering ourselves plus our bags down the jam-packed aisle to our seats was quite an ordeal. As we approached our seats, the standing ticket people sitting in them realized they were out of luck this time, and graciously got up and joined their friends in the aisles. It was quite a relief to finally make it to our seats – even if they were ridiculously uncomfortable and we were packed into them like sardines.

As the journey progressed, the crowds did start to thin out a little. When there was room to breathe in the aisles, people started pulling out their miniature fold-up stools, their thermoses full of tea and assorted (and often unrecognizable) Chinese snack foods. Many of the aisle people looked like they were having a great time, which made me feel all the worse for feeling so sorry for myself and my sore bum. But we did arrive safely and on time in Datong at 12.45am, tired, but otherwise in one piece.

The journey home was much the same. Except that this time we would have to try and sleep. We came prepared though. Neck pillow, eye mask, earplugs and scarf/blanket. The seat arrangement on the trains means there are groups of 4 or 6 people were 2 or 3 people face the other 2 or 3 over a small bench/table. Given the angle of the seats, the table is quite an appealing place to rest a head if you’re trying to sleep, so I alternated between 90 degree sleep and slumped-over-the-table sleep. I think I managed a good 4 hours on and off. As you can see in the photo, others got a little more creative in their sleeping positions. And I don’t know how the aisle people managed much of anything. Not that we had much sympathy when someone sitting on the ground near our seats decided 4am was a good time to blast his techno music from his phone.

I would also give a quick rundown of the squat toilet situation on the train – but fortunately we adhered to a strict rule of no fluids within 3 hours of boarding the train, which worked wonders.

All in all, I think we had a very Chinese train experience. I’m very glad we had it, but am also hoping that next time we manage to buy tickets in time to get a more comfortable seat!