Really Strange China (Part 13)

Here we continue with our various videos of life in China, and how strange it must appear to a foreigner.

Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.

Inside a bullet train

Bullet trains are all over China. There is an enormous network of them. They are very comfortable to ride in, and their cost is reasonable.

I looked at various sites on the internet, and it’s a hoot how everyone tries to justify the superiority of Amtrak compared to China’s bullet trains. They imply that China’s bullet trains are nothing to be proud of.

It’s funny, but sad too. You know, the first step in recognizing you have a problem is to face up to it, and announce that you have a problem. (12 step program for those of you who don’t know the reference.)

They do one on one comparisons and come to the conclusion that they are similar. What a laugh. The trains are similar. How can you possibly come to that conclusion?

The one article (linked above) starts off straight forward enough…

Comparision of China's bullet train to amtrack.

But then it starts to show a bunch of photos how they are really just pretty similar, aside from the price, and speed. As if the train stations are identical. (Have you been to an Amtrak train station lately? Talk about a run-down 1960’s era ghetto.)

Really?

Here’s a screen capture from the article listed above.

amtrack comparison 1
In the comparison they say that the two systems are pretty much the same. After all, it is the politically correct thing to say. Right?

What’s what the article says. Then, it shows this following picture.

Is that the only difference?
Is that the only difference? Really? Are you so dumb founded blind in political correctness not to notice the differences right in front of your face?

In China, the stewardesses are all female. They are all attractive, and rated in beauty, physical appearance, and weight. They are all under 35 years of age.They are trained to be demure and act very respectfully.

In America on Amtrak, there are no age, appearance, weight or gender requirements. The attendants can be polite or not, fat or not, ugly or not, burly or not. In the progressive reality that is America today that is the reality. But don’t deny what is right in front of your eyes just for the sake of political correctness.

This is what the interior of one looks like…

And here’s the view outside…

Oh, and while I am at it, here is what the over all appearance and image that the Chinese bullet trains have in China and around the world.

In contrast Amtrak is viewed as sluggish, antiquated, and brutish. Check out the video and then go ride on Amtrak to see what I am talking about.

Train Stations

Here’s a quick comparison in train stations.

First, we check out Amtrak’s stations. The photo below is a historical station known as Sandpoint. Now, don’t get the wrong idea.

I do happen to love history and American rail has had so many absolutely awesome train stations. What about the one on Allegheny avenue in Pittsburgh, or the massive complex in Detroit? Ah, but they are all gone now.

American rail.
American train station – Sandpoint station. This is typical of what remains in the United States for railroad stations for passengers.

All that remains are little quonset hut kind of affairs. You know the kind used to give the impression of progressive advancement by tearing down the old. Sad.

Now, let’s look at the train stations that you would encounter were you to board a train in China. This is from the 3nd tier city Tianjin. It’s third tier, ya all! It’s just a little Po-dunk city.

Chinese train station.
Chinese train station in Tianjin, China. It is new. Well taken cared for, and well maintained. There are no beggars and the floors are so clean that you could eat off them.
China high speed rail.
Chinese high-speed rail. Look at all those bullet trains. How many billions and billions of dollars was spent for the California high-speed rail, and what? Only 15 miles were completed, and not one single train was fabricated? What a waste. America is much better than that.

Ask yourself how, and why can China do this, but much bigger, and better USA cannot? Maybe fighting eight simultaneous wars and spending 65% of welfare benefits on illegal aliens has something to do with it. Eh?

Maybe. But I also like to think that part of it is because China is a meritocracy.

America has so much to be proud of, yet we have let our achievements grow fallow, and our leadership become corrupt. We, our parents, and our grandparents are all responsible for the sad, sad state of affairs in America today.

Pittsburgh train station.
Pennsylvania Railroad Station Pittsburgh

How bridges are made in China

Once you visit China, you will notice that everything seems to be above the ground. All the highways seem to go over the houses and through the mountains. This differs from the United states, where the roads must curve around and get permissions to build and put roads in. Not so in China.

They just build over everything. It’s sort of like this…

Classes and testing in China

Classes in such a populous nation as China can get to be pretty enormous. The same is true for tests and testing. Here is sort of what it can look like…

Uses for a Harley-Davidson Motorcycle

The Chinese people do tend to be a bit innovative. This is especially true in the rural countryside. Here we see how an old Harley is being utilized on the farm, as it were.

And that is about it for now. Let’s continue with our exploration further, shall we…

OK. At numerous videos for this part, let’s go and move on to the next post which covers even more strangeness inside of China this month…

Continued-graphic-arrow

If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.

Links about China

Popular Music of China
Chinese weapons systems
Chinese motor sports
End of the Day Potato
Dog Shit
Dancing Grandmothers
Dance Craze
When the SJW movement took control of China
Family Meal
Freedom & Liberty in China
Ben Ming Nian
Beware the Expat
Fake Wine
Fat China
Business KTV
How I got married in China.
Chinese apartment houses
Chinese Culture Snapshots
Rural China
Chinese New Year

China and America Comparisons

SJW
Playground Comparisons
The Last Straw
Leaving the USA
Diversity Initatives
Democracy
Travel outside
10 Misconceptions about China
Top Ten Misconceptions

The Chinese Business KTV Experience

This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.

KTV1
KTV2
KTV3
KTV4
KTV5
KTV6
KTV7
KTV8
KTV9
KTV10
KTV11
KTV12
KTV13
KTV14
KTV15
KTV16
KTV17
KTV18
KTV19
KTV20

Learning About China

Pretty Girls 1
Pretty Girls 2
Pretty Girls 3
Pretty Girls 4
Pretty Girls 5

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.

Part 1 - Popular Music of China
Part 3 -Popular music of China.
Part 3 - The contemporaneous music of China.
part 3B - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 4 - The contemporaneous popular music of China.
Part 5 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5B - The popular music of China.
Part 5C - The music of contemporary China.
Part D - The popular music of China.
Part 5E - A happy Joe.
Part 5F - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5F - The popular music of China.
Post 6 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 7 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 8 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 9 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 10 - Music of China.
Post 11 - The contemporaneous music of China.

Parks in China

Parks in China - 1
Pars in China - 2
Parks in China - 3
Visiting a park in China - 4
High Speed Rail in China
Visiting a park in China - 5
Beautiful China part 6
Parks in China - 7
Visiting a park in China - 8

Articles & Links

You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.

  • You can start reading the articles sequentially by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
  • If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.

What Visiting a Park in China is like (part 4B) Bullet trains

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…

China high speed rail map.
The Chinese network of high speed rail. This is what it looks like as of 2020. The rail lines are not only more extensive than the California plans, but are actually faster than the trains (that were) planned for California.

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 many micro-videos nothing appears and the post takes forever to load.) So to continue, please go follow this arrow…

Continued-graphic-arrow

If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.

Links about China

Popular Music of China
Chinese weapons systems
Chinese motor sports
End of the Day Potato
Dog Shit
Dancing Grandmothers
Dance Craze
When the SJW movement took control of China
Family Meal
Freedom & Liberty in China
Ben Ming Nian
Beware the Expat
Fake Wine
Fat China
Business KTV
Chinese apartment houses
Chinese Culture Snapshots
Rural China
Chinese New Year

China and America Comparisons

SJW
Playground Comparisons
The Last Straw
Leaving the USA
Diversity Initatives
Democracy
Travel outside
10 Misconceptions about China
Top Ten Misconceptions

The Chinese Business KTV Experience

This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.

KTV1
KTV2
KTV3
KTV4
KTV5
KTV6
KTV7
KTV8
KTV9
KTV10
KTV11
KTV12
KTV13
KTV14
KTV15
KTV16
KTV17
KTV18
KTV19
KTV20

Learning About China

Pretty Girls 1
Pretty Girls 2
Pretty Girls 3
Pretty Girls 4
Pretty Girls 5

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.

Part 1 - Popular Music of China
Part 3 -Popular music of China.
Part 3 - The contemporaneous music of China.
part 3B - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 4 - The contemporaneous popular music of China.
Part 5 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5B - The popular music of China.
Part 5C - The music of contemporary China.
Part D - The popular music of China.
Part 5E - A happy Joe.
Part 5F - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 5F - The popular music of China.
Post 6 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 7 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Post 8 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 9 - The contemporaneous music of China.
Part 10 - Music of China.
Post 11 - The contemporaneous music of China.

Articles & Links

  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
  • You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
  • You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
  • You can find out more about the author HERE.
  • If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
  • If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.