Eric's Beijing Diary

Yesterday was a bit frustrating. Late in the evening I went to the train station, which is just across from my hotel, to see if I could get a ticket to Qingdao. Qingdao is located on the coast southeast of Beijing. I have always wanted to visit the place, and had considered taking a short trip there after I get back to Beijing. A couple weeks ago, Inga happened to mention that there was a direct route from Lanzhou to Qingdao. After she said that, I started thinking about it, and decided that going directly to Qingdao from here might save me some trouble, and give me an opportunity to see the place.

There were no tickets (except, of course, the hard seats). Strange, because when I talked to them Friday, they said I could not buy a ticket for Monday until Sunday. Now they were telling me they had nothing. No soft sleeper or hard sleeper. Frustrating, but I have been through this before. Someone has obviously set aside all the soft sleeper tickets (either legally or illegally) to be sold through back door connections. I finally asked if I could get a ticket to Xi'an. If I can get to Xi'an, I can go to the youth hostel and have them buy me a ticket for the rest of the way. Nuisance, but it's one way to get the job done. The lady told me that there was, in fact, a ticket to Xi'an, but I decided to hold off on buying it, because the train gets there at 3 am. Not only that, but I would end up wasting a couple days getting across the country. This morning, when Inga and her uncle picked me up (I had invited her to church), I told her my story. She said, "No problem, we will get a ticket. Don't worry about it." I was curious, but she spoke with such confidence.

After church, I went with Inga's family to a large tea house in Lanzhou. This place was built as a garden (mostly artificial) with a translucent roofing, so that the sun could shine through. It was like being outside without being outside. After tea and chatting for several hours, we went to a large dinner table for a delicious meal. By now it was dark, and the mercury vapor lamps had come on. The whole afternoon, Inga's mother and her aunt were making phone calls trying to get me a ticket. Toward the end of the afternoon, Inga that they would get me on the train without a ticket.

"Without a ticket?" Now I was really curious.

"Yes. It's called, 'bu piao.' (no ticket). Inga assured me that they had friends at the train station who would get me on the train, and I could then bid for any available bed. She said, "Don't worry about it." Well, what could I say about that? "No ticket" is better than no ticket, or something like that. I was ready to try anything. But by the end of the evening, they told me that their contacts at the station had managed to get me a ticket. Amazing. When it comes to train tickets, it really does matter who you know. I still don't know what to think about this whole system, and I can't claim to completely understand it. Yesterday was a perfect example of what China is like when you don't know anyone. Today was a perfect example of what China is like when you are tied in with a well-connected family. Anyway, I have a ticket. So, tomorrow I will set out for yet one more train trip across China.