train tickets

We have an extra long break coming up for the observance of Spring Festival, a major holiday time. (think Christmas season) So a few of us decided to go to the ancient city of Xi'an for a while and take in the sights. Normally you can go and book your train tickets and then go. They don't have online booking or expedia for trains, so you have to physically go and book them. It's not usually bad....but apparently right before Spring Festival, it is.

My coworker Pip and I got to the train station ticket counter at 7, believing it to open at 8. At 7 the line was already about twenty yards and the temperature was a balmy 24 degrees. So we waited...and stood. And waited.

And stood.

And froze.

And waited some more

Around 9, I went back to the campus to grab some warmer clothes and clear some things up with the Chinese AA who told us to go there and I grabbed a thermos of hot water for Pip and headed back.

And then waited.

And stood.

And waited.

At 1120, we finally reached the front and merging both of our Chinese and gestures asked for hard sleeper tickets to Xian on the 30th of January.

The conducter told us that there were no more sleeper berths available but he could offer us Zhan tickets.

Pip: "zhan? zhan? what is zhan?"

Me: I don't know either....let me look it up. ah here we go zhan, third tone,...."to stand."

Wait....he's trying to sell us tickets to STAND the whole way there?

Apparently so....

I hate taking the subway across Beijing when its crowded for 20 minutes, and this guy wants us to stand for 12 hours across China?

So we left empty handed. We'll try again after Spring Fesitival, hopefully the lines will be shorter and the (good) tickets more plentiful.