17th November: Hong Kong SAR, China to Hangzhou, China

Once we’d crossed back into China, we both relaxed. That’s not something I expected to say prior to this trip. On my previous visit 15 years ago, Hong Kong felt futuristic and organised in comparison with bewildering Shenzhen. Now, the reverse is true. Things are more advanced in the cities of the mainland China and just ‘work’ without the faff you encounter in HK. HK feels like it is quickly becoming dated in comparison. I guess this is mainly due to HK losing out due to the inefficiencies of capitalism, and very much like that system itself, seems to have been fading since the 70s or 80s.

West Kowloon station has a gorgeous tall and light central concourse area, but no shops on the mainland side of the border checks. We changed trains at the vast Shenzhen North station, this time with a huge number of shops but not a single decent breakfast option either! I’m missing millet porridge after 4 days without! We settled on some croissants and cookies and a coffee (which made me ill because the usually reliable brand used cow’s milk instead of oat). Not the ideal start to a 10-hour journey! All was not lost though as Kaja had the foresight to pick us up some falafel wraps and samosas last night. Off we set, into broken sunshine as the final remnants of the typhoon drifted away.

Our slower and cheaper route first took us up the Guangzhou coast, past inlets and mountainous islands. It felt tropical with red soils where the knotted foliage had been cleared. Many ponds and shallow rivers in the flat valleys were being used for some sort of aquaculture. Perhaps shrimp?

The train staff on Chinese services are up and down selling drinks, snacks, and meals constantly. On this train though, they were also selling model trains! When we reached Zhangzhou, we had to turn our seats around as the train would reverse and traverse the interior of Fujian and Zhejiang. No backwards facing here! Before darkness fell, rows of tea plants became common on the hills and the rest of the fauna gradually grew less tropical.

Finally, we got into Hangzhou at 20:45 and changed to the metro. By the time we arrived at the hotel, it was a more than 14-hour travel day! At least Chinese high-speed trains are pretty spacious and comfortable.