3 November 2011
Hongqiao transport hub
Tomorrow I am going to Suzhou, by bullet train.
It is not very far, but this being China, you cant buy a ticket online, because triads buy them all and then charge much more for them on the black market.
So to get a train ticket, within 5 days of travel (no sooner), you must travel to the station and buy a ticket in person.
You either need your ID card if you are Chinese or your passport if you are Laowai.
This is fine with me, and my hotel is on the subway line that takes me to the main station on the edge of town which also happens to be a huge busy airport all within the same giant building.
I was excited.
There was quite a bit of hilarity to be seen at the ticket counter, with people really getting mad and banging on the perspex window etc. I really wish I knew what they were mad about, after a minute or so of being yelled at I think the ticket girl pushes a button and a police man standing nearby advises the yeller to move on.
Also, despite clear markings, the concept of a line doesnt exist, however strangely people seemed to observe the line rule when I stood in it waiting, I am setting an example for all of China.
The whole facility is huge, theres bullet trains leaving to somewhere every 5 minutes, the main bus terminal, and a huge airport thats mainly domestic flights but also some international. I walked its entire length.
There are lots of shopping malls within, mostly vacant as the building is brand new, but every 50 metres or so is a sparkling bathroom with an attendant in each one.
I felt sorry for them, they have no 'customers' so I went to the bathroom every 50 metres just to wash my hands, they seemed grateful.
A particularly amusing announcement in the train waiting area (where they make the announcements in Mandarin and English) was, 'next train on platform A2 will be 10 minutes late. Please be ready to leap on as it will barely stop at the plafform'.
One of the never ending hallways of Shanghai Hongqiao transport hub. My kind of place. I will go here at least 2 more times, tomorrow to go to Suzhou, and next Wednesday to go to Beijing.
Looking at part of the building from outside, I couldnt get to the actual airport departute gates to look at planes, so you are spared those pictures. Australian airports are rare in the world in that they let you into the departure areas even if you are not flying.
The giant train waiting area.
Heres where I had my lunch, some sort of dumpling place. Surprisingly they spoke no English despite all the staff appearing to be 10 years old, and they had no English menu available at all. I pointed at the sign and suspiciously got charged the highest price of anything on the menu...
I didnt get exactly what I asked for, but it was still excellent! More like won tons than dumplings or bao, I dont know what was inside them, but they were very delicious, as was the broth. A young guy took the seat across from me and glared at me, I never worked out if he was waiting for his food or just wanted to glare at me for a while. I was happy to oblige in either case.