all decided to travel on the same weekend. Now imagine yourself in the middle of it. You have just imagined our recent weekend. It was billed as quiet little get away to Daching, a small city about two hours away from Harbin. Most Chinese do not get paid vacations and have no choice when they may take their vacation except those holidays mandated by the central government in Beijing. Recently January 1st was added to the list of approved holidays. In addition, a week off is provided during the Chinese New Year in January and the Autumn Festival in October. Spread through the rest of the year are a few long weekends. They include the Tomb Sweeping and the Dragon Boat Festivals. Air travel is still in its infancy here but is growing quickly. The primary mode of travel is train. The train system in China is huge and growing at a rate that is not equalled by the rest of the world. They are poised to take over ownership of the high speed train industry from Japan in the next few years. When a holiday comes along, even a long weekend, the Chinese hit the road in massive numbers. We traveled outbound on a Sunday. Even on Sunday the train was full. To assure as many people as possible can travel, they sell standing room tickets once the trains are full.
Talking with my students, it is not uncommon for travelers to spend their entire trip standing. To add more challenges, if their trip requires them to transfer to another train in another city, they may not be allowed to purchase a ticket for that leg of the journey till they arrive in the city. Some students have told me that they can spend 30 hours getting home for the holidays, leaving them only a few days to visit before they have to turn around and make the return trip. Our horrible Christmas travel stories pale in comparison. Our trip at just under two hours was a breeze compared to that. More on our trip next blog. The wall is starting to rear its head and I keep dropping out every few minutes.
