My report on China hasn't been particularly interesting so far. I did this, I did that, a photo or two...
Things should get more interesting from now as I enter China proper. Hong Kong, while being a good city for getting a taste of China, isn't REAL China. I prefer to think of it as "China Lite". HK is fairly clean, lots of people speak English, people are generally friendly and it is a fairly easy place to visit. In other words, it is all the things that China isn't. Hopefully you'll get the idea as I talk about my trip through Shanghai, Beijing and then back to HK.

Oh, and another note before I start. I will hopefully talk about a lot of stuff, and mixed in with the good things there will be quite a few bad things. At certain points I will complain about this or that and probably criticize China or Chinese people. But this doesn't mean I didn't enjoy my trip. In fact, I had a great time. The reason I chose China was because I wanted to see what China was really like. I wanted to see the beauty while also seeing the filth. I didn't want to have a glossed over holiday with tour guides taking me here and there and doing everything for me. If I'd wanted an easy and relaxing trip I would have gone to a beach resort somewhere. I wanted to experience life in China, and while I may be critical of certain aspects, I'm certainly not suggesting that China should change. China is China, Chinese people are Chinese, and they have every right to do whatever they want with their own country. So, if I say something is 'dirty' or 'stupid', I just mean it is dirty or stupid in relation to what I'm accustomed to. I'm not suggesting it is better or worse, just different. I felt I needed to say this because there is nothing I hate more while traveling than seeing people who are pissed off because something is different from the way it is in their own country. Yes, as you may have guessed, this comment is directed particularly at American travelers. No matter how loud you speak and how much arm waving you do, it's not going to help the Chinese guy understand what you are saying. Anyway, on with the story...

So, on the third day of my trip I woke up, checked out, caught a taxi to the station, checked in my bags, went for a wander back in town, had lunch, came back to the station, bought some food and drinks and a magazine for the train and sat down and had a rest for about half an hour or so until it was time to board the train. By now I'd been on the go for quite a while. It had been at least 10 days since I'd had a proper rest day, so I was pretty tired. I picked a quiet spot in the waiting area and sat down to relax.



While I was waiting in the station a lady came up to me. After being hassled by touts for the last few days I wasn't in a particularly friendly mood. Everyone who had approached me so far had been selling something or had wanted something from me. I was about to brush this lady off when she told me that she was from the HK travel bureau and wanted to do a quick survey. I had nothing better to do, so I agreed. The survey took about 5 minutes, and what surprised me most was that the state of my life at the moment makes it quite hard to answer some simple survey questions. Even simple questions like "Where are you from?" are difficult to answer. I answered "Australia", but then when I was asked when I arrived from Australia I had to explain that I didn't come from Australia, I came from Japan, where I'm working. I had to explain that I was going to China, but I'd be coming back to HK in a few days. I had to explain that my purpose for visiting HK was mainly sightseeing, but that I hadn't really visited any particular sights (like museums or theaters). I had to explain that I arrived by plane but was departing by train, only to return by train then depart by plane. None of these questions were easy to enter on the computerised survey program the lady was using. By the end of the survey I had given up and had started making up answers, but I don't think the lady really cared.

At about 3:00pm I went through the immigration and customs procedures and boarded the train. Now that I was on the train I had technically left HK, but until we arrived in Shanghai I hadn't technically entered China. This meant that once everyone was aboard the train was securely locked and nobody was allowed out. Too bad if you're claustrophobic.

I found my bunk area and discovered I was sharing it with 3 other people, a Chinese mother and her 5 y.o. son who had been shopping in HK, and a Korean guy who spoke pretty good Chinese and some English. There was supposed to be another old guy, but he had been assigned the top bunk and wasn't able to climb up there, so he moved to another carriage. The sleeping area looked like this:
I was glad that I chose the top bunk, as I was able to climb up there for some peace and quiet anytime I wanted to. Also, what I had read about sticking your feet out the end was true. I was able to stretch out as much as I wanted and not worry about being bumped, unlike the people using the fold out seats in the narrow corridor. In front of each bunk area was a small table with two fold out seats. The seats were great for watching the passing scenery, but they were also my first introduction into the intricacies of Chinese 'personal space'. In Australia, and even more so in Japan, everyone has their own personal space. Invading someone's personal space by touching, bumping or pushing them is generally considered rude, unless you are close friends or relatives. However, in China everyone's personal space is only their personal space as long as no-one else is around. Once someone comes in close proximity to you, your personal space is no longer your personal space. It's everyone's space. What this means is that in crowded places, such as the train corridor, it is everyone's own responsibility to look after themselves. If you're in the way when someone else is coming, you're going to get bumped (or sometimes pushed) out of the way so that they can continue their journey unimpeded. On the train it's not too bad, you just have to get used to people bumping you as they pass, but in places like shopping malls and train stations it's terrible (but more on that later).

The train ride was actually not too bad, and I was able to sit and look out the window for a few hours before sunset. The first hour of the train ride was through the New Territories of Hong Kong. The scenery was quite hilly and green, with lots of high rise apartment buildings dotting the landscape. After an hour we entered China and the change in landscape was dramatic. Suddenly everything became dirtier and the colors became dull. After crossing the border the first place the you see is the city of Guangzhou, a typical Chinese city. The center of the city is full of tall buildings, shopping centres and housing compounds, and as you leave the city there are factories, warehouses and more compounds. Just about every building has a wall and a gate and is painted in a dull white, grey or black. The few buildings that have colors are painted with pastel colors, such as powder blue or lime green, which are generally dull and faded too. The only color which is bright is the color red, which is also the most prominent color in most places in China.

The train stopped at Guangzhou East station for over an hour as some workers were doing something under the train. During this time the toilets were locked, so that nobody dumped their business on the workers heads, and the doors were locked, so that nobody would escape illegally into China. There was no announcement that the toilets would be locked, it was just expected that everyone would know. Unfortunately, quite a few people who were busting were pretty angry that they had to hold it in for over an hour. In typical Chinese fashion the conductors weren't very sympathetic, they just told everyone that they had to wait and that was that.

Finally, as the sun was beginning to set, the train departed Guangzhou. Over the next hour or so I watched the train pass farms and small towns. Everytime the train passed civilization there were more dirty housing compounds and dusty roads. Everything seemed to be built to the point where it functioned, but was neither pretty nor comfortable. If the building didn't NEED a door, there was no door. If it didn't NEED color, there was no color. There were also random piles of trash and rubble all over the place that might have been there for years (and might be there forever). One fairly large town we passed must have had factories that manufactured pool tables, because just about every house had a pool table in front of it. Some of the tables were being used for billiards (billiards seems to be a popular past time in China), others for eating or storage, but nearly every house had one and was using it. There hust have been hundreds of them, and that was only the houses I could see from the train.

We passed many more factories and compounds, some barren and desolate farms, but also some nice green farms and the occasional park, which really stood out among the bleak landscape. By the time the sun had set I'd seen plenty of China, and what was most surprising was that it was actually a lot like what I'd expected China to look like.

Inside the train was interesting too, particularly the conductors. The conductors were all good-looking young women, kind of like you'd expect airline stewardesses to be (but younger). They were smartly dressed and each had a number for identification (no name, only a number). As soon as the train departed they set about doing their job. They went up and down the carriage checking passports and checking tickets. They collect everyone's ticket and exchange it for a card (because the passengers are obviously to stupid to look after their own ticket during the journey). Just before arriving in Shanghai the card is re-exchanged for your ticket. I'm not really sure what the point of this is. Anyway, as soon as they've done their job it's party time. They grab their dinner and drinks and everyone goes to hang out in one of the conductor's cabins at the end of each carriage. Sometimes someone will pop their head out to check something or to go to the toilet, but for most of the trip the conductors will ignore all the passengers. If the passengers need something, it's up to them to sort it out themselves. Overall, the conductors seemed to have a great time on the trip, much more than most of the passengers.

In the evening someone made a nice mess in front of the hot water tanks that are located at the end of each carriage. During the trip people are constantly using the boiling water to make tea or cup noodles. A guy was filling up a bowl when the train lurched suddenly. He dropped his bowl, sending boiling water and rice all over the floor of the train. The mess on the floor stayed there all night. People stepped over it, while the conductors took a look, turned up their noses and ignored it. It wasn't until about 10 minutes before arrival that one of the conductors finally cleaned it up, and by the look on her face you could tell she wasn't happy. This is a pretty good example of the service industry in China. Most people in this industry will do as little as possible and will generally make a fuss when forced to do simple things that are clearly part of their job.

I wasn't sure what the food situation would be like on the train, so I'd bought some sandwiches and drinks before boarding. However, just before I was about to dig in an old guy came through the carriage wheeling a container filled with dinner boxes. My other bunk companions were going to get one so I got one too. For about HK$15 or 15 yuan (about A$2) I got a hot and filling dinner of rice, pickles, some other slimy stuff (I have no idea what it was), a piece of fried meat that might have been pork, and a boiled egg. The meal was pretty dodgey looking, but it tasted good and hit the spot. The boiled egg was amazing, but not in a good way. It was the saltiest egg I have ever eaten. It was literally like sucking on a block of salt. I can't imagine how much salt it must have been boiled in for the salt to have penetrated the shell and still be as strong as it was.

During dinner I got to chat with my companions a little. The young boy was very much like any other young boy. He spent the whole trip climbing up and down the bunks, playing with the toy cars he'd bought in HK, playing games on his mum's phone and basically annoying his mum. He was fun to watch, especially as everyone knew it was just a matter of time before he fell of the bunks and hurt himself (it did happen during the evening, but it was a bit of an anti-climax). What was funnier was when he was running through the corridor. The train suddenly lurched to the side and he ran head first into a wall. Everyone (including his mum) pissed themselves laughing.

Sometime during the evening I decided to turn in. I actually had a surprisingly good sleep, even though the train was continually lurching and there were some noisy passengers (and noisy conductors). I woke up the next morning hungry and with a full bladder. I climbed down from my bunk and stumbled off to the bathroom. In the bathroom I was greeted with a lovely pile of stinking turds. Great... this is not the way you want to start the morning. The toilets on the train were very simple. They were just a tiny hole in the floor surrounded by a little metal area to collect spillage. There was no plumbing. You do your business, press the foot button, the hole opens and the contents drop onto the track. If you have 'big business', you can wash it away using the tap and a cup. Unfortunately, the water supply that was connected to the tap was empty, so there was nothing to wash the big business away with. In the same way that people ignored the rice mess in front of the water tank, everyone simpled ignored the fact that the toilet wasn't working and did their business on top of everyone else's business. By the time I arrived there was a big stinky pile of at least half a dozen people's poo waiting to say "Good morning, welcome to Shanghai!". I wasn't happy, but I figured "when in Rome..." and added my number 1 contribution to the collection of number 2s.

Sometime around midday the train arrived in Shanghai. After re-exchanging tickets I left the train, went through immigration, exited the station and found myself in REAL China...