This is the first time I’d returned to Shanghai as a worker. Although I took the same train as before, there’s something different this time.
I had to book a Business Class seat, which was 2 times more expensive than a First-Class, at 1310 yuan. Each year, many workers go from their underdeveloped hometowns to big cities like Shanghai after the Spring Festival. For the first time, I’m one of them. Tickets are extremely short in supply during such period, which they call a “Spring Festival Travel Rush(春运)”. As you may expect, First/Second Class seats were sold out very quickly, so I had to pay extra money.
However, sudden snow hit south-east China on Feb. 7, the very day of my train’s departure. Almost all places along the trip were snowing that day, including some warm cities like Wuxi and Changzhou.
In higher latitudes, there will be dedicated railway workers hired to clean snow on the rails, but that’s not the case for center-southern China. As a result, our train had to go very slowly at 75 km/h (25% of usual value).
For the passengers in second-class seats, this meant they would have a very painful journey. The train was scheduled to reach the terminal station (Shanghai Hongqiao) at 13:25, so many parents did not prepare a lunch for their kids. I heard loud cries all over the rest of the train after 13:00. Those poor children sounded like starving.
Some people were also arranged to transfer. Since Chinese high-speed trains are mostly punctual, they usually just leave a 30-60 minutes time window for transferring. On this very day though, this would spell disaster. At least they can cancel their tickets and get their money partially back.
As for me, I had to thank God that I bought Business-Class, although unwillingly. This could be the closest experience to the cozy Europe sleeper trains I’ve always been fascinated about, and it’s amazing. We’ve got seat warmers, free soft drinks, snacks and lunch.
The train arrived 4 hours later, at 17:30. Shanghai did not snow that day, it almost never snows here. But hey, this was really a unforgettable journey.
