A Friend in Need...

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There's sort of an unspoken understanding amongst expats in China (and elsewhere): a friend of yours is a friend of mine. If your friend needs help and you know another friend who can help them, you make sure the two people connect. Maybe it's because of the langauge barrier, maybe it's because we sometimes feel isolated and awash in China; I can't quite say. But it is a wonderful feeling to be a part of a community that you didn't even know existed until you meet them. I have certainly used this community from time to time: I've stayed with friends of friends in other cities and I've used the grapevine to to learn valuable information that has made my life significantly easier.

Knowing this, it should come as no surprise that when a Shenzhen friend of mine (who has since moved back to the US) emailed me and said her sister was coming to China for a few weeks, I was more than happy to help out. You don't even need to ask for help in this unspoken community, it's just offered.

My friend's sister was planning to fly into Hong Kong on Friday and then cross the border to Guangzhou (a 2 hour train ride), and then needed to catch an overnight train to Kunming, Yunnan province. Considering that train tickets can't be purchased online (they tried a system during Spring Festival and it had a lot of problems) and it's nearly impossible to buy tickets the same day as your train departure unless you're only going to the next city over via high speed rail.

I suggested initially that she take two days to make the journey (one to fly into HK and then cross to GZ, the next to take the train west), but because of a time limit that's not an option. Luckily, we discovered there are multiple trains to Kunming, one leaving at 9pm. I offered to buy her ticket, meet her, and have her pay me back.

Train tickets go on sale ten days before departure. During the busy seasons (summer, and especially Spring Festival) trains can sell out quickly, sometimes within hours. It's more ideal for an overnight trip to have a sleeper seat (a bed) because not only will you actually be able to lie down, this way you are guaranteed a certain allotment of space. If you buy a seat ticket, instead, you'll most likely end up sharing part of your seat with the person next to you. (It's quite common for Chinese families to buy fewer seats and bunks than people and then share them, sometimes squeezing five people into three seats. They're not really buying seats, they're buying space as they can afford for themselves and their belongings.)

Buying train tickets is a fairly easy thing to do; I've been doing it since my first year in China when I could barely remember the word for ticket. But now they've added a kink to the system: ID is required for all sales. A year ago they started asking for ID when I took the train from Shenzhen to Guangzhou, but I figured it was because they're SEZ zones, big cities, and getting ready to host international events. When I bought my ticket last summer to Hunan (which I later returned), they didnt' ask for my ID.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I clearly couldn't show up with her passport. I could just give them my passport number, since they've never checked anything in the past, and just hope for the best. But all of these ideas just seemed like a bad idea with consequences waiting to happen. Since my friend's sister doesn't speak Chinese, I didn't want to burden her with a potential problem.

I got my friend's sister's passport number, passport country, birthdate, and double checked the spelling of her name. I had no idea what they would ask for, if anything.

I waited patiently in line at the north train station. When I got to the window, I could tell from the clerk's reaction that she didn't speak much English and was nervous about helping me. Luckily for her, I had written down the date, time, and train number I wanted the ticket for. She looked so relieved! She asked me for my passport, and while I was handing it to her, I explained that it wasn't my ticket, but it was my friend's ticket. She seemed a bit confused. I Then gave her my friend's sister's passport number on another piece of paper. She compared it to my passport, decided this was good enough, and a minute later I walked away with a ticket to Kunming.



Today I went to meet my friend's sister. Techincally, I guess she's my friend now, too. We met up with few problems. Luckily, she's an experienced traveler and wasn't afraid to borrow a cell phone from a stranger to call me when she got a bit lost.

First we went to the train station to store her big backpack. It turns out she's going to be in the Philippines for the next 8 months doing research for grad school. Sufficed to say, she had a lot of stuff, but not nearly as much as I would expect for someone in such circumstances.

We got a late lunch at my favorite Japanese chain and both felt better after we were done eating. It was a rainy, dreary day, and warm food felt good.

Next was a stop at the grocery store. While Chinese trains do have food, the options are limited, overpriced, and I think they don't look appetizing. We stocked her up on instant noodles, cookies, chips, fruit, and water. Hopefully that will be enough to last her for the 24 hour train ride. Luckily, she plans to sleep for much of it.

We went to Starbucks to relax and re-energize with coffee. I'm now hooked on their black tea latte, which is odd since I usually hate having milk added to my drinks. But we chatted and got to know each other better. We enjoyed swapping travel stories and I tried to teach her a few Chinese phrases to make her trip a bit easier.

Then it was time to go. I helped her get her bag and then we made the journey across town to the other train station (GZ has four, two of them are in the main part of the city). I got her as close as I could, considering I wasn't allowed in without a ticket.

Then I started my journey home, hoping she would have a safe and uneventful trip.

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Comments

[ElyseandPete]

Expat Community
You are soooo right. I tend to go above and beyond for people in China and like to think I would do the same in the US. We have had to show our passports or Foreign Expert Certificate everytime we go to Shanghai but no one ever checks the ticket on board the train anymore.

[sunketing]

Foreign Expert Cert
You have yours? Ours are kept under lock and key by the university. I think it's pretty common. I can check it out if I want to, but I need to return it within a week.