When traveling around China, I think it’s especially important to make sure you truly get to experience all forms of transportation that are available. This will give you a more well-rounded perspective on China because of the simple fact that all manners of transport are not created equally. Each brings its own benefits and annoyances and a different view of China. Seeing the countryside from the window of a speeding train is different while you are perched comfortably on a pull down seat; than it is from the speeding jerky swerves of a taxi weaving to avoid the farm animals and carts with oranges that are in the road.

Traveling by bus for distances under six hours is one of my personal favorites for several reasons but mainly comfort and convenience. Busses run more frequently than trains, for the most part, which makes them especially handy when you are going from one big city to another, Hangzhou to Shanghai for example. You are always assured a seat on a bus, as opposed to a train, where you may be beat up by an old lady carrying a burlap bag of cabbage while you try to snag that last window seat. In addition, on a train it’s much easier to end up standing in a pile of garbage, orange peels, sunflower seeds, and instant noodle cups for hours next to the toilet. Busses are more expensive many times, but you have your own space and they take about the same amount of time. While there may be something a bit romantic about taking the train, busses can be much more practical because many times you can buy your ticket and leave within the hour.

The Bus Station:

In many bus stations, there are quiet a few windows with tickets available, some inside and some outside. The queues can be long, and you need to make sure you hold your place in line. Much to the absolute horror and pure irritation of many westerners, Chinese people do not respect the queue. It may sound funny, but it’s important that you do not leave space between yourself and the person in front of you or someone will come and squeeze in between. What is an acceptable distance between people in western countries, say 30 or 40 cm, could fit two Chinese ladies. Many times, you may be waiting in line for 20 minutes and someone will waltz up to the front of the line and push you out of the way so he or she can buy a ticket. If you are not assertive, you will not get your ticket. You must keep your spot and also hold it when you get to the ticket counter. At times, you can get so flustered that it seems easier just to want to walk away from the ticket window because you realize that you are taking so long that people are getting irritated with you. The quickest thing to do is have the people at your hostel write down the name of the city you want to go to in characters on a piece of paper. You can always point to your watch and they will write down the time, you pay and you have your tickets. In many ways, this is so much easier than train tickets because there are not different kinds of tickets. You can proceed happily with your ticket to the easy-to-find waiting room, stocking up on various snacks for the ride.

 

 

Bus stations themselves are extremely interesting places in China. They are filled with rows and rows of endless seats of Chinese people who will stare at you as you walk by with your backpack. There are many different kinds of people of all ages and backgrounds which makes for a fascinating place to people watch so just stare back. There are inevitably vendors selling all kinds of snacks but the only hot things usually are pink slightly syrup-flavored Chinese sausages, which can be life saving, or weird and disturbing, depending on your level of hunger; delicious chewy oniony pancakes sliced like pizza; and rice triangles stuffed with spicy pork wrapped in a leaf and steamed. These 3 items, although they look strange, are excellent snacks to bring along and are arguably better than instant noodles, which you will instantly get sick of after your 3rd train or bus station meal. I highly recommend traveling with a journal and an MP3 player or you will find the bus delays, which happen, at times extremely irritating. A little music can transform most annoying situations into the soundtracks of your bus station experience.

But that’s not all, to hear what the busses are like, stay tuned and check back for the continuation of Bus Rides in China…

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China Explorer> Adventures of Train Travel in China

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