Here are some other notes that I have to just throw in… We need to talk about how to get to the park.
When you arrive to the various national parks you will more than likely need to take a train. Busses and cars tend to be slow. You can fly there with a plane, but the bullet trains are everywhere in China, they are reasonably priced, and quick. So most Chinese end up taking a bullet train to the destination and then go to the park from there.
It’s sort of like this…
Riding in a bullet train is a smooth, easy experience.
You have plenty of leg room. The coach is wide and you can easily move forward and backward in the car. There are plenty of bathrooms, with an average of two per car, which means that you typically don’t need to stand outside and wait for the bathroom to be available.
The ride is very, very smooth. It is calm. It is pleasant. It is relaxing.
Chinese High-Speed Rail
China has an extensive network of bullet trains.
China announced that it would implement bullet trains, and a network throughout China at the same time that California announced that it would implement a bullet train that would connect San Francisco to Los Angeles.
China’s announcement was met with laughter.
- “China could never pull it off.”
- “China only makes junk. It would never work and break down all the time.”
Well, today in 2019, we know that the (American) California bullet train never got off the ground.
It is still billions of dollars in the red. The American engineers couldn’t design it properly, so they had to turn to Japanese assistance. The train route was fraught with problems, and as of today, only 15 miles of track has been laid. No stations are completed. No vehicles are manufactured. And the program has been scrubbed as “unobtainable” by the Governor of California.
Meanwhile, China’s bullet train rail line network look like this…
The Chinese are proud of their high-speed rail (bullet trains) and they have good reason to be.
I, as a rail enthusiast, admire their efforts and completely enjoy the luxury of rail travel. Yes, I do love to fly, but flying in the United States is more like being herded into cattle cars than anything resembling comfortable travel.
Over the years, the American airlines (of all types) have been dealing with increasing federal regulation, and completely diminishing value of the dollar (thank you Federal Reserve), and so they have been forced to cram more and more people on tinier, and tinier aircraft. Often charging an assortment of extra fees from everything to luggage to snacks and meals on the planes.
Not so in China.
About the Trains
The train stains are all new and China certainly has mastered crowd control. While the slower “old fashioned” trains still exist, and are being used, the bullet trains (high-speed rail) offers a comfortable alternative to those who are willing to pay the extra $5 to ride in roomy comfort.
These trains are fast. There is no denying that. They do slow down when they near a train station, but even then, they are fast. As this video clearly shows…
Once you arrive at the station, you will need to take a car or a bus to the park. That is, of course, unless you don’t have a loved one, a family member or a friend to pick you up.
And, what ever happens, your train experience would typically look a little like this…
Car or Driver Rental
The most common way to achieve this is to use DD or take a taxis.
DD is the Chinese version of Uber. It pretty much works the same as Uber does, except that (it has been my personal experience) that the Chinese driving the cars for DD have to have their cars pre-screened for acceptability, where Uber does not have this requirement (that I am aware of). Thus the DD cars tend to be nice, clean and often new.
However, you will need to navigate through the massive mazes of highways and roads, such as this…
As well as go through all sorts of tunnels. After all, most parks in China are in mountainous regions and the Chinese do love their tunnels.
Tunnels
I’ve got to tell youse guys one thing. Tunnels in China are quite a different experience than tunnels in the United States. It really is. In fact, I could probably write a couple of posts on this subject.
- The Chinese are traditional conservative pragmatists.
- Government and management obtained their positions through merit.
- Public works are to be designed for public use. There must be an element of beauty mixed with functionality.
They are indeed, quite a different experience. Have you ever seen light shows in American tunnels? How about planted shrubbery, trees, or flowers inside the tunnel? How about daily cleanings, sweepings, and washings by the cleaning crews? (China does not have welfare. They have work-fare. You want to eat, you must work.)
Look at how clean these tunnels are…
Now, let’s go to the next part of this post. (If I throw in too
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Links about China
China and America Comparisons
The Chinese Business KTV Experience
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Learning About China
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.
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