Consider this and weep

  • Thorngraff_Ironbeard [he/him]
    ·
    3 years ago

    I’m planning a trip to China next year and I was looking at the train times between major cities. The fact that I can go from Beijing to Shanghai (like a thousand miles) in 4 hours for right around $100 is insane. In the US going that far would cost double or triple that and take one or two days.

    • CheGueBeara [he/him]
      ·
      3 years ago

      What level of Western leftist am I if the trains alone are like 30% of the reason I'd want to live in China?

      • Thorngraff_Ironbeard [he/him]
        ·
        3 years ago

        I’ve been thinking for years that my dream is to live somewhere I can walk/use public transportation to get to work, home, shops and so on. And couple that with the very real improvement China is doing (I’ve never know a US government that did anything other than war and highways) it seems like the place for me to live.

    • Not_irony [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      3 years ago

      Considering all the time on either side of a flight (driving to the airport, parking, security, waiting for the flight, boarding, take off, etc), planes are really only faster if the train ride is more than four hours. And that isn't even considering how much more enjoyable it is to ride trains.

      • Thorngraff_Ironbeard [he/him]
        ·
        3 years ago

        That’s really cool. Also yeah that’s something I’m looking forward to if the trip turns out to be possible is the train ride.

      • CheGueBeara [he/him]
        ·
        3 years ago

        Plus you can actually do stuff on trains because they're so chill and comfy.

      • Usabilly [none/use name]
        ·
        3 years ago

        Yeah, listening to the bells and blips as someone three rows up plays majiang without headphones is so awesome. And China train meals are the worst. At least in other countries you can get off and buy food from vendors on the platform.

        • throw42069at [he/him]
          ·
          3 years ago

          That simply does not match my experience with Chinese high speed rail at all. Why do you hate China so much and tell these lies?

          • Usabilly [none/use name]
            ·
            3 years ago

            Seriously? You've never been trapped on a train with some kid playing a tablet game without earphones? Or had the awful box meals? If you're going to say the box meals are good...Chinese people don't even think that.

    • lascaux [he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      3 years ago

      do you expect them to be accepting travellers by then or are you going for work or something (if you don't mind my asking)? i thought i heard somewhere that they weren't expecting to open up again fully until like 2025 but i haven't really looked into it much, but i'd love to visit as soon as i could.

      • Thorngraff_Ironbeard [he/him]
        ·
        3 years ago

        I’m just in the money saving phase but this is all predicated on whatever the situation around summer of next year is. I have some distant family there but afaik that isn’t enough rn.

        • ssjmarx [he/him]
          ·
          3 years ago

          Before Deng Xiaoping hijacked the people’s revolution onto the capitalist road.

          Considering what happened to all of the other socialist countries around 1989, any analysis that doesn't conclude that Dengism saved Chinese Communism is wrong on its face.

      • anoncpc [comrade/them]
        ·
        3 years ago

        Bruh, most of the train from Beijing South Station to Shanghai Hongqiao Station is around 4 and a half hours