Journey to Xi'an

As I alluded to in previous posts, after four weeks of class and studying for final exams, we were rewarded with a midterm break. Many of the students took advantage of the long break and arranged to travel to other cities in China. Along with eight students on my program, I booked a three-day trip through a Chinese travel agency to Xi'an. Our three-day trip, including transportation, hotels, meals, entrance to all attractions, and an English-speaking guide came out to around $250 U.S. Talk about cheap.

Our group left in the afternoon on Saturday, July 17th on a overnight sleeper train to Xi'an. We opted for the cost-effective route of taking the subway and then walking the rest of the way to the train station. It was sweltering, as per usual, so when we spotted a DQ right outside the train station there was no question as to whether we were stopping.

Once we had cooled down, we made our way to the train station, which from the inside greatly resembled an airport terminal: it was enormous. We arrived about 90 minutes early, so we waited at the crowded platform until our train began boarding. Looking around at the crowds and crowds of people, we were the only Americans in sight. It was really quite an authentic experience and definitely not something you get to do everyday.

Exhausted and uncomfortably hot, we lugged our bags onto the train and found our seats. Initially I was disappointed that we were not all seated together, but it really became a part of the experience. Caitlin and I were in the same compartment, both on the bottom bunks. The four other beds in our compartment were occupied by a Chinese family returning home to Xi'an. Mom and dad were traveling with two very energetic daughters (Cassie and Chrissy) and their grandma. Grandma, as she told us, was a teacher, and so she wanted the girls to practice their English with us. After I had exhausted all the Chinese phrases I have learned, grandma translated for us where gesturing failed.

The train itself was much homier than I expected. Our beds, the bottom bunks, served as the common sitting area. In between the beds, under the window, was a small table with a container for hot water. We brought ramen and snacks for the train, and, once we had cozied up in our beds, we hung out, read, and chatted until it was time for lights out.

The train ride was about the same length as my flight from Chicago to China, but, unlike the plane ride, I was able to sleep for a solid six hours. My mattress and bedding were more comfortable than my bed at Tsinghua and all the cabins were air-conditioned. Overall, I would say I much prefer this method of travel over flying.

Our train arrived in Xi'an around 5:00 AM. We were groggy and slightly delirious, but it was full steam ahead as we wandered around arrivals in search of our tour guide.

We found our guide, Yuan (like the currency), with relative ease. She herded us through the swarms of people to the van we were would be traveling in for the duration of our stay. Though we were exhausted, we had a busy three days ahead of us and had to muster up the energy for the three separate sights we would be visiting that same day.