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The train ride from Guangzhou to Beijing was one of the most interesting experiences of my life. 24 hours on a train gives one time to reflect on life, gaze at the green countryside from the window and really feel the closeness of humanity. The map on the left shows the physical geography and the one on the right shows the train route. Notice how a good portion of the trip is spent in the fertile alluvial river plains (South of Beijing) which forms China proper, the country's heartland and traditional area of Chinese influence. It reminded me of driving down the central valley of California along I-5, passing mile after mile of farm land. In this case, however, the crops were much greener than California and included rice, corn, lychee trees and aquatic lotus ponds.
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From the map below you can see we crossed China's two great waterways, the Huang He (Yellow River) and the Chang Jiang (Yangzi River, literally "Long River"). At over 6300km in length the Chang Jiang is the third longest river in the world after the Nile and the Amazon and completely dwarfs the Mississippi River(3780km). The Chang Jiang is China's most navigable river. Flowing from Tibet it connects the important industrial centers of Chongqing, Wuhan, Ningbo and Nanjing to the massive seaport of Shanghai.
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Our train carriage consisted of 16 open compartments, with each compartment sleeping 6 people -- the bunk beds were three rows high. Besides reading, eating and talking we played a lot of cards, especially cho di dee ( Chinese Poker ).
Under the table notice the metal thermos bottle. You could fill the thermos at one end of the train carriage with piping hot water and take it back to your compartment -- perfect for making tea, instant coffee (for the American!) and ramen noodles ( our main staple on the train ).
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Click to enlarge.
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Click to enlarge.
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Mainly I enjoyed sitting in the aisle of the train carriage by the window watching the cities and landscape of China go by. In the morning, a few hours before pulling into South Beijing station, I reflected on the trip in my journal:
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Saturday August 5, 2000
Woke up to the hustle and bustle of an early morning train car. People chatting, train cars lurching, food carts crashing by.
Now I'm all combed, teeth brushed and I have my cup of instant coffee. All is well.
The weather here is very hot and muggy -- muggy more than anything else. Sudden cloud bursts keeps everything cool and damp. Also everything is green -- lots of small farms growing well in the red soil, rich with iron.
A lot of buildings in China are in an advanced state of decay: missing bricks, broken fences, dark stains due to moisture and soot. Broken staircases and general piles of rubble and debris piled quite frequently...
BUT, the Chinese people are tireless, constantly working, hurrying about, talking, working, lifting, moving and building. It's like progress and improvement is more important than maintenance and general up keep -- on the family level taking care of basic family needs like clean clothes, food and shelter come way before tidiness.
It's a pleasant morning sitting by the window, sipping coffee, watching this country flow by outside and having the early morning humanity squeeze by me down the narrow aisle of the train car.
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Next stop Beijing.
Continue.
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