Surviving Sleeper Trains in China

Travel Story by Susie Chong

China

My leather Mary Jane shoes are easy to slip on and off. The thick rubber soles perfect for hiking and traveling on hard sleeper trains around China.

My first days in Beijing are spent visiting The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and scaling The Great Wall at Simatai with my fellow travelers. The icy wind blows through my jeans. An hour and a half later I am sweating, after reaching the top tower for a panoramic view. The terrain is steep, filled with copious valleys with undulating hills. Any intruder can be seen. In the afternoon, we visit the Summer Palace, admiring many ornate decorated buildings and courtyards, dragon sculptures and garden statues.

We board a train bound for Shanghai at night. It's hard to walk down the passage with a backpack, daypack and food, while waiting for the locals to duck into their compartments. Somehow we hoist our packs up onto the narrow racks above the window. The opened compartment is made up of six sleeper beds with clean sheets, doona and a pillow. Luckily I'm not tall. From the top bed you can't sit up straight with the air vents and fluorescent lights close by. We sit three abreast on the bottom bed. There is a small side-table at the end between the lowest bunks.

Along the corridor are small pushdown seats where locals are talking and smoking, or lounging from their beds. The men love to spit every few minutes. A shelf under the window holds an aluminum tray - a spittoon.

I venture to the toilets at the end of the carriage, cringing at the ammonia smell. It progressively gets worse as the journey continues. I enter, rolling up my jeans. In the centre of the wet vinyl floor is a stainless steel squat toilet, which opens onto the tracks when you stand on a pedal. If your sense of balance is not good, you may miss your target. Toilet paper is absent. I leave quickly and enter a separate tiny bathroom washing my hands. There's no soap or paper towels. Someone from the group offers me antiseptic gel.

To pass time, we play card games and eat snacks. We hold on as long as possible before relieving ourselves. The lights automatically go out at ten o'clock. I climb up the ladder and fall into bed. A local man begins to snore from the compartment next to us. The only thing that blocks him out is another passing train. Eventually, I fall asleep.

At six o'clock, the lights wake us up. I make my way to the toilet, there is a queue. I go to the bathroom, but some sly local has pushed past, just as someone else leaves.

We have arrived in Shanghai; the 'Paris of the East'. Our group is bundled off into taxis and taken to a three star modern hotel. What bliss. After showering and changing everyone is looking forward to western food. I have caffeine withdrawal. I love Asian food but after four days, I crave fries.

The city is impressive and thoroughly modern, unlike Beijing, which is historical and traditional. There are stylish high rise buildings everywhere. My companions and I catch a taxi into the main shopping strip and dine at Pizza Hut, which I never do back home.

We take a trip to the Jade Buddha Temple for some historical culture and the Shanghai Museum is equally impressive. At night we walk along the waterfront, The Bund, with its Art Deco buildings. In contrast across the Huangpu River, the buildings are space age. Later we venture to a few bars, where coffee costs the same as a cocktail. Bar girls in skimpy clothes encourage local businessmen to drink. The highlight is when the barman pulls out a book and sets up laboratory type equipment to brew my coffee.

The next stop is Nanjing, only a 3-hour train ride, where Doctor Sun Yat-Sen's Mausoleum is located, then another overnight train trip - only two more to go.

Buying food at a supermarket is cheaper than on the train. To kill time, bring a novel, a set of playing cards and paper. We play charades and 'Celebrity Head', making signs out of pizza box lids and tying them to our heads with string. The locals are intrigued.

The next destination is a two-day stunning Yangtze River Cruise with our own private cabins, followed by a tour of the massive Three Gorges Hydro-Electric project.

Xian is exciting viewing the Terracotta Warriors. Six thousand clay statues were built to protect Emperor Qin Shihuang, China's first emperor. In addition, the Muslim Quarter is great for shopping. The next day we head back by overnight train to Beijing, and I become the champion 500 card player.

Illustration by Bob Veon
(Bob Veon's Website)

Read more about the author of this story:
Susie Chong

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