After spending several years in Beijing, I finely took the bullet train! I had a friend over from the USA for a couple weeks. He is an avid Hard Rock café connoisseur and the closest one to Beijing is Tianjin, which is the first stop on the bullet train south out of Beijing. So off we went for an afternoon in Tianjin.
The train station in Beijing is rather large, having a “mall like” atmosphere. We arrived, bought tickets and started looking for our train. The trip from Beijing to Tianjin is about 25 minutes. We bought business class tickets which were about 20 USD. You will need to use perfect hand signs or know some Chinese language or have a Chinese speaker with you, I had the latter.
Arriving on the platform there were several bullet trains parked. I think there was one leaving for Shanghai about every 30 minutes. We went to the business class car which was at the front of the train. Took a few photos of the outside of the train, then enter our cabin.
The business class car is about half the length of a normal car having 9 seats. We were the only ones in business class and has our own attendant. She brought us tea, water and a snack pack.
As the train left the station I was amazed at how smooth it was. The smooth ride continued to speeds well beyond 350km/h! There seemed to be a continuous amount of 40 story apartment in different phases of construction all the way to Tianjin. After snacks and a bit of gazing out the window, I thought I would recline and enjoy the trip. After a few moments I felt the train slowing. When I mentioned this to my friend, he said we were approaching Tianjin! OMG that was like 15 minutes. I felt cheated, as I wanted to enjoy the luxury a bit longer.
I look forward to my next bullet train trip. Also I will be sure to take a longer journey next time, maybe Shanghai.
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