Day #106: Chinese train travel

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I expected overnight trains in China to be similar to the trains in Russia and Mongolia, but the whole experience is different, from the stations onwards. In China, railway stations are modelled on airports, including adopting airport terminology, especially at the newer stations. To even enter the station you have to go through full security, involving bag and body scans and passport and ticket checks. Then you have to wait in a specific area until your train is ready for boarding, when you go through another ticket check ("check in", they style it) and then you are allowed on the platform. Shanghai's brand new (of course) train station in particular really does look like an airport, vast, airy and white with airport-style seats everywhere, and queues to board the train from about 15 minutes before departure, and then a huge crush when the gates finally open as everyone fights to get on the train in time.

The overnight trains were also different. Although the carriages are supposed to be divided into compartments, in practice only half-length curtains separate the beds from the walkways. We therefore expected a noisy night, but on Chinese trains there is a lights-out time, either 9:30pm or 10pm, when all the carriage lights are turned off (on some trains there are not even any bedside lights) and everyone is expected to be quiet. This is in contrast to the Russian and Mongolian trains where the people in each compartment just decide between themselves when to turn the lights off (a system that didn't cause any problems for me). The lights go on again early in the morning and from that point Chinese trains are extremely noisy. People watch television, play music, shout and sing and eat strong-smelling food, and the travel is very communal and friendly.

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