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Changhcun Train Station
China has plenty of peopleI have a week off from teaching, so I took a trip to Harbin for the weekend. I went with my girlfriend Lisa. We left from the Changchun train station on Saturday and returned by train on Monday evening.
We set off after lunch for the light rail train to the cities major train station. There was a warning at the entry to the light rail Lisa translated "If the first train is too full, please wait for the next. We will not issue any refunds due to overcrowding". My height guaranteed access to "fresh" air at least every time the train doors opened. Many others were not as fortunate. We arrived at the train station and found out waiting room nearly as full. You can get an idea from the picture I have included.
The train was nearly 1 hour late in arriving. In China the waiting rooms are typically upstairs. All joined to a long hallway that passes over the tracks. To board your train you walk down the hallway to the correct stairway and they walk/fall/push your way to the bottom amid people, huge bags, rolling suitcases, etc. There is no limit on the size of
Rural China
Many small villages and large farm lands along the way cargo other than I think you have to be able to physically carry it yourself, or you must ship it in a freight car. 10 pairs of shoes in boxes, or 200 shirts, fine if you can carry them. Thankfully, the Chinese are typically a smaller build and the distance to train is significant. However, there were a few people carrying bags that I found shocking.
Lisa picked a train with available seats, so we were seated in 2 seats on a bench with room for 3 people. Our bench faced a similar bench. We and our 4 seatmates sat around a small table fixed to the wall of the train. Luckily the table had no legs as there was barely room for our knees between us. In fact, I was definitely intruding on the knee room of those across from me, despite sitting with the best posture I could manage. We had a window with views of the passing country side. I have a uploaded one so you have an idea. Unfortunately our window was rusted shut and would not budge despite repeated attempts by all 6 at our table.
With temperatures in the low 60's and
Sophia Church
Outside at Night evidently good hygiene among our group it was tolerable. I can only imagine this trip with no air conditioning and temperatures in excess of 80 degrees. I should also explain that there was not smoking allowed in our train car, however smoking in the breezeway, in between cars was permitted, and there was no functioning door to separate the areas. We were seated near the end of the car, so when anyone decided to light up we got a puff of smoke and lacked the window to let it out of the train. A big annoying, now consider the cost of this train ticket 28 RMB. Converted that is $4.11. That seems like a steal to me for a 150 mile train ride.
Once we arrived in Harbin we found our hotel easily, and it was very clean. Similar to Western rooms except the TV was all in Chinese, and the air conditioning was not operational at this time of the year. We opened the window for fresh air. On a negative note there was significant noise from next door where they were using heavy equipment to tear up concrete. It was peaceful during the day, the real work
Inside Sophia
Inside the Church during the day didn't start until about 10 PM. Luckily, I have never been a light sleeper so I was fine.
In Harbin, we visited:
Sophia Cathedral
A famous city landmark. The inside showcases many historic photographs of the city, most covering the last 100-150 years. There is little attention paid to maintaining any historical aspects of the church itself. During my visit here I started to wonder what it would have been like to attend a service inside, while huge from the outside, the inside seemed very small. That could have been a result of the crowd of holiday visitors. Overall it was a decent stop, but nothing I would return to see again.
China Center Street
A famous shopping street. Supposedly one of the longest in China. There were basically 4 kinds stores: Russian touristy junk, Chinese Fashion, Western Fashion, Restaurants, and other tourist junk. There were many street vendors selling a variety of good things. I had some excellent meat on a stick, it tasted like beef and I survived so I would have it again. The bread was excellent, anyone who visits Harbin should have some.
The River Area
At the end of China Center Street, there is
China Center Street
A long walking area for shopping a river. This is the area where the town started. As I understand it there was trade going to and from Russia. There is a large plaza with a statue and fountain. I am sure it was constructed to commemorate a famous event in new China, but I just enjoyed the view. At the river there were many steps were people sat and watched the boats go to and from Sun Island. You can see winter views of Sun Island in my earlier blog, unfortunately I overslept and we did not make it to the Island park on this visit. We took a river cruise at night, along with a few hundred other people. I took a couple photos, but it was like the rest of the trip, a little crowded. But you do get the volume discount, our ticket for the river cruise was less than 1 US dollar.
I spent most of Sunday going to and from the University where I will be taking a graduate school test this July. It is on the opposite side of town
The trip back home on Monday was very similar to our trip to Harbin, except the train was
China Center Street 2
more pictures of the crowds on time and more crowded. In China, having a seat ticket on the economy train means you have a seat, but that seat does not come with the personal space you might expect on a long distance train in a different location. In fact there is no personal space. Basically if someone is touching you it is acceptable unless it is enough pressure to cause pain.
I tried to make this informative, but did no proofreading. Feel free to send questions and I will post answers. I might try to add a few more pictures, but they are very slow to load.
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Doris
non-member comment
wow
Thanks so much; I really enjoyed it!