The best way to see China

Travelers from the West share their experiences of making rail journeys around the country

For many visitors arriving at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, riding the Maglev train provides a fun and interesting journey into the city. At speeds of more than 400 kilometers per hour, passengers can watch as the Maglev outraces the cars on the motorway below. In just over seven minutes, the train completes the 30 km trip to Longyang Road Station in the city's Pudong New Area. This was one of the earliest experiences of my first visit to China in January 2010.

Growing up in the United States, I rarely had the opportunity to use rail transport. It would have been a nice and relaxing way to travel between cities, but it was rarely an option. Besides flying, most Americans drive. Those are not necessarily superior forms of travel; that's just the way it is there.

Aside from the subway or light rail, I recall experiencing only two trips by railroad in the US. The first was many years ago on a classic Wild West-themed train that traveled through the mountains of North Carolina. I was too young to remember much of that ride, only that there was a show involving cowboys chasing Indians through the train cars.

The only other railway trip I made was with a few friends in Southern California almost 10 years ago. It was comfortable and very scenic because the train traveled along the Pacific coast.

Since my first visit to China, I have returned a few times before eventually moving here in the summer of 2012. I have found that railroad travel is quite convenient in China, so I tend to use it whenever possible. I have ridden the overnight train, the bullet train and even the slow train. I have traveled first class and economy. I prefer economy class because its friendly atmosphere makes it easy to chat with my fellow passengers. I have made plenty of friends just chatting with complete strangers on trains.

For those who want to see China's famous (or infamous) pushy crowds on high octane, railway travel during Chinese New Year makes for quite an experience. Bear in mind that this is the world's largest annual human migration - more Chinese travel for the New Year holiday than the entire rest of the world at Christmas.

I traveled this last Chinese New Year, and managed to survive. Despite pushy crowds that felt like an out-of-control mosh pit, I found that most passengers were in very high spirits as they looked forward to some relaxation, fireworks and time with loved ones.

Once during a not-so-busy time of year, I rode a train car that had just one other passenger. I never thought this could be possible in a place like China.

On another occasion, I sprinted with my then fiancee and eight family members from our hotel to a Beijing railway platform to board an overnight train to return home for our wedding. We made it onto that train, but only just. It departed within five minutes of our boarding.

Compared with car travel, riding on a train means you have to sacrifice the autonomy of traveling precisely when and where you want. Also, car travel offers the luxury of hauling large loads if you need to do so. Still, I have found that there are many advantages to rail travel.

Driving requires focused attention on the road and safely reacting to potential hazards. Trains free you from all that.

You can just take a seat and relax, plug in your headphones and tune out the rest of the world. Or you can chat to someone near you. There are usually very friendly passengers around who will speak English, and maybe will even teach you some Chinese.

With China's wide-ranging landscape, there is much to be enjoyed by just looking out the window. All of the travel options available to passengers on China's railway system offer a lot of convenience, and sometimes come with uniquely memorable adventures.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 10/04/2013 page15)