Night train to Pingyao - 7th to 8th July

This is the first of the 4 long overnight train rides we will be taking down through China, so a bit of a leap into the unknown.

Arriving at Beijing West station was a bit like walking into the middle of a riot. This oversized station was overrun with people inside and out but luckily our guide, Leon, steered us to the "Pay Lounge", a separate area with a 10 Yuan (£1) charge where you can get a hard plastic seat and escape most of the masses.

Surprisingly, it turned out that boarding the train was very orderly and you can get on board first, ahead of the rush, from the lounge.

Even though we had seen the sleeping carriages on YouTube we were still surprised by how little personal space you actually get. Prisoners would complain of an infringement of human rights if they had such little room. The bunks are arranged in bays of 6 (2 x 3) and our tickets allocated us 3 together so Eva took the top bunk, Dominic the middle and I got the bottom,which also serves as the seating area until bedtime.

There is a good supply of boiling water on board for making tea, coffee or the Chinese snack of choice... pot noodle, giant spicy ones.

The toilets can only be described as squatter hell holes and luckily none of us had to use them in anger... this time!!


What a laugh the ride was, like a camping trip with 60+ strangers in a mobile rattling tent. The Chinese are still fascinated by foreign visitors and so people walk past repeatedly to have a look and children shyly try out their English. Everyone was very friendly and we did manage to get some sleep. In fact this is a great way to cover long distances and as you get to lie down and sleep it is weirdly better than a long haul flight (unless you're flying in Business or First).

We were woken up in plenty of time to have a cup of tea and freshen up before arriving in Pingyao at 0730 on a bright, sunny, summers morning. One of the children even plucked up the courage to come and sit with us before we got off.