<A> Xi'an by Train

During a two-week visit in Beijing, I had a free time on my first weekend, that my friend suggested I use it in seeing the one place I should not miss when in China, Xi'an..., once known as Chang-an (Everlasting Peace) and the intermittently appointed capital by 11 Dynasties for more than a thousand years.

I went to the representative office of the Panda Tours/Grayline at 98 Beilishilu Xichengqu, some forty meters away from the corner of Fuchengmen Nei Dajie (Avenue) in Beijing. I was quite satisfied with this travel agency as I have already taken several group tours with them in the past and they have a good team of English-speaking guides. The lady attending to me who goes by the name Shirley was very conscious and apologetic about her spoken English, but I assured her that her English was just fine, which made her happy. I asked if she could arrange a trip for me to Xi'an on a short notice. She said she can but not via plane. They need a week's notice to do that as flights to Xi'an most often than not, are fully booked. Besides, if booked on short notice, they could not get me the opportunity of discounted tickets for local flights. She said that she could arrange for me a one-day private tour conducted by one of their best English-speaking tour guides there but I have to go by train. I like traveling even with a little discomfort here and there and am willing to take whatever available transport there is. And since I love riding the train, it was no sacrifice at all.

Yep! I was going to travel on an overnight train and get there early in the morning! I asked what could I cover on a one-day tour. She told me that if I start going around Xi'an early in the morning, I could pretty well cover the most interesting sites within a day, and then go home in the evening satisfied. The answer was honest and straightforward. Being alone in a private tour, the package price paid was naturally a bit higher than if I were in a group. I told myself that being on one-on-one with my guide, I could get the best of information and maybe even decide on the amount of time I would spend on each site visited, spending more time on the ones I like, less on those that I don't and see more in one day than what I could in two days with a group. That made the price worth it. The only downside was my spending two evenings in going and coming back.

I took a direct train - Z19 to Xi'an, making me confident of not missing my stop. The train leaves Beijing at 8:28pm and stops at the Xi'an Railway Station at 7:58am, after an 11&frac12; hour run. Not counting the Underground Dragon (Beijing Subway), I was quite excited about my first train ride in China!

The train taking me was to depart from the Beijing West Railway Station. Depending on the location of one's hotel and the baggage one has to lug, one may either take a taxi directly to the Beijing West Railway Station or by taking the Underground Dragon (subway) at any point in Line 1 (Red Line) taking a transfer to Line 2 (Blue Line) at either Fuxingmen or Jianguomen or taking any station at Line 2 going towards the Military Museum Train Station, and from there, one can take a taxi ride to the station which is just a few blocks away. I took a taxi from the Holiday Inn - Downtown Beijing in going to the Beijing West Railway Station.

I carried with me a small backpack containing toiletries and clothes for one day and a denim jacket which I didn't know worried my friend a bit after I left, thinking it wouldn't be enough to protect me from the cold, as it was still winter, albeit already in the latter part. My small bag had to go thru the same screening process at the gate as is usually done in the international airports. And they impose the same strictures, no bladed weapons nor firearms. There are several restaurants at the second level where one can take some snacks or dinner. Chinese food plates are offered at very reasonable prices of 12-50 Yuan. I proceeded to the Soft Sleepers Waiting Room, which is in the same floor and waited for the call of our train's departure. Z19 Trains have air-conditioned cabins with 4 beds, each probably of about 24 inches in width, somewhat narrower than the European sleeper beds. But I had no problem fitting in, as I am Asian after all, almost the same body built as the Chinese. Like in most sleeper trains, there are 2 beds in the upper berth and another two in the lower berth. Since it was late winter, white comforters instead of ordinary sheets were provided each bed. Each berth has a television screen at the foot of the bed near the cabin door, and one can choose a movie to watch like in an airplane. One advance feature I have not seen yet in European sleeper trains, at least not in my last trip in 2002. Control panel is on the wall, where the provided earphones can also be plugged in. Cabin slippers are also provided to the passengers just like in hotels, all new and still in their plastic cases, which can be found under the lower beds. Occupants of beds in the upper berth like me have an overhead space (for 2 small valises) with opening just above the door from inside the cabin, extending outwards to the ceilings of the corridor. Occupants of beds below can stow their bags underneath. No spacious racks near the coach doors like in European trains for big and heavy baggage, at least I saw none in the soft sleeper coach where I was.

There is a small pantry right beside the washroom, where hot water for instant noodles or coffee can be obtained from the train attendant. I do not know though if one has to pay some amount or not as I had not used the facility. I should have asked one of the students in my cabin that had a cup of tantalizingly delicious smelling noodles just before sleeping.

I had a fairly restful and comfortable sleep, but did not really have to worry about missing my station even if I had taken a train with a different final destination. I woke up rather early, maybe by an hour and a half or two, and had the pleasure of viewing the green fields we passed along the way. But I really woke up purposely to make sure I was among the first to use the washroom. There were early risers in other cabins, but I nevertheless had a relaxed use of one of the two toilets found at both ends of each coach and of the adjacent washroom that has three wash basins where I brushed my teeth and dared face my newly awakened look. I gave my unruly hair some hasty fix. By the time the train arrived at Xi'an, I was already my presentable self.

Nina, my lady guide met me at the railway station. I saw her even before she did me. What with my full name written in a piece of white board and me already reading it from the windows on the way down to meet her! She was surprised when I greeted her by her name. I was of course, informed of her name and mobile number by Shirley. She came with a driver and we enjoyed the comfort of an air-conditioned black Toyota car throughout the day, that took us from the train station to all the sites visited and back for my ride home in the evening.

After a whole day of a very informative tour with her, I was ready to go home. The agency arranged for the Xi'an office to take care of my return tickets as booking could not be done from Beijing. I just paid for it when handed to me at the station. Nina gave me more time and place than was covered in my tour arrangement, the tour of the small goose pagoda and the bell and drum tower were added bonus. I think that is one advantage of having private individual tour, if you cover places fast enough, the remaining hours can be used fruitfully for visiting extra sites. And what's more, Nina stayed with me until I boarded my train! What a very nice lady for a guide! On the return ride from Xi'an to Beijing, I took Z20, another non-stop air-conditioned train, which has a regular departure schedule of 7:23pm that arrives in Beijing the following morning at 6:53a.m. By the way, on the return trip, I had a lower berth soft sleeper for my bed. Sounds too important for me to mention? Well, it did away with the climbing up just to get to my bed. Hahaha.

Before sleeping, I enjoyed a short watch of a Kung Fu movie on TV sans earphones, therefore like a silent movie. The passenger on the other bed who happened to be a Chinese, became curious at the movie I was watching because I could not help laughing. He was watching Star Wars movie then but switched channels and in no time he was chuckling like I was, also without the earphones.

So, if you ask, if it were possible to visit Xi'an for just a day via train and still get to see important sites and really enjoy it, my answer is yes! I covered the Terra Cotta Warriors in half a day and spent the whole afternoon to go around the battlements of the City Wall in a leisurely pace, saw the Small Wild Goose Pagoda and the surrounding shops, walked unhurriedly along Dong (East) Street from the Hotel Royal Xi'an to the Bell tower, and on to the Drum tower. Saw as well landmarks of famous dumpling restaurants in the area. The whole trip went quite well, and my train experience was a pleasant one. I recommend it!