On June 16, 1997, I traveled to China from Hong Kong with my family of my father, my mother, my kid sister, and my brother Tom. We rode a train from Kowloon all the way to Beijing, costing $700HK ($90US). The train trip lasted for about 36 hours and we departed in the afternoon. Near Guangzhou, we were checked by customs. However, security does not seem very tight because they didn't check any of our luggage at all, neither by opening them or putting them through machines. All we did was sign a few forms and then go.
About every two to three hours, the train made stops at stations along the way. During those stops, passengers would leave the train and quickly purchase some snacks from vendors outside. They sold fruits, rice meals, crackers, nuts, and even packaged dog meat! When the train attendants blew the whistle, everyone returned to the train. The train itself had a restaurant but it was terrible and expensive. The food from the cart that they pushed around was also bad. Food outside seemed the best.
The train had about 12 cars. Each car had about 8 rooms. Each room had six beds, 3 on each side, like bunks. However, the bed was pretty comforable and it was spacious enough. The time I spent in the train was not boring, unlike in an airplane. It was very easy to move around, from car to car. I could look outside the window. Often the view was farmland. I could see farmers working on their land, animals grazing, and crops blowing against the wind.


We arrived in Beijing during the night.

BEIJING & SHANGHAI
GUANGZHOU
FERTILIZER FACTORY
TOI SAN VILLAGE