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TRAINS ACROSS (5 stories) All Galleries

Train - Across China

49 images Created 31 Jan 2021

Travel 3,000 Miles Through China’s Wondrous Wild West

" The cars are well appointed, with purple and blue seats, floral tablecloths, and lace curtains depicting the promise of camels and mountains in the west. Each car has a hot-water dispenser, and the salty aroma of instant noodle soup fills the air.
The staff are impeccably dressed (blue for controllers, who check tickets and maintain the cleanliness of the cars, and purple for food vendors), and the whole operation is “army-like organized,” Paley says. Each stop is only 10 to 15 minutes, and while technically passengers can get off to stretch their legs, “you are looked on very seriously by the staff,” Paley says. “They don’t want you to stray...” "

From Hong Kong to Urumqi (Xinjiang province), it is one of the longest train journeys in the world—2,910 miles (4,683 Km) across China, in over 50 hours. The enormous resources from Xinjiang (cotton, minerals, oil) usually go East, while the people (mostly Han Chinese) from the mainland come the other way, towards Xinjiang (a province traditionally inhabited by Muslim Uighurs), aka China’s Wild West.


Full story here : https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/07/travel-3-000-miles-through-chinas-wondrous-wild-west/
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  • A sign advertize the raising of horses used by the Army, in the wide snowy expanse past Xining, in Qinghai province in central China, by the Tibetan Plateau. Life in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160521_2563.jpg
  • A controler staff for the train stands guard at the door of the wagon before departure. Train from Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160520_0130.jpg
  • A staff comes to offer drinks (green tea, peach tea, beers etc) and food (instant noodles, packaged sausage etc), fuits etc. Life in the seating wagons in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160520_0544.jpg
  • A uighur family on the long trip from Xian to Urumchi (over 40 hours) is in the hard sleeper section. The mother sleeps on the floor with the youngster while his brother sleeps on the seats. Life in the seating wagons in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160521_2145.jpg
  • Mother and son with his 3 kids share a snack. They are returning home to Lanzhou after spending holiday with relatives in Xian. Life in the sleeping compartments in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160521_1634.jpg
  • Early sleepers in between Guangzhou and Shaoguan. Life in the sleeping compartments in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160520_0321.jpg
  • Rice fields between Chenzhou and Hengyang. Life in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160520_0647.jpg
  • Gangu train station. Life in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160521_1780.jpg
  • Friends going to a wedding to Lanzhou. Life in the train Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160521_1758.jpg
  • A train hostess looks for a food delivery in Lanzhou. Life in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160521_2257.jpg
  • Between Shaoguan and Chenzhou. Life in the train from Guangzhou/Shenzhen to Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160520_0453.jpg
  • Buildings under construction in the suburbs of Xian. Life in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi (Xinjiang).
    MMi53122_160521_1429.jpg
  • Staff meeting in the restaurant. The meetings are videotaped. Between Zhuzhou and Shangsha. Life in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi (Xinjiang).
    MMi53122_160520_0704.jpg
  • Two controlers look at the strain schedule on their phone. Life in the train from Guangzhou/Shenzhen to Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160520_1194.jpg
  • Controler Staff for the train jokes with local station staff from Changsha. Life in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi (Xinjiang).
    MMi53122_160520_0753.jpg
  • Staff give eachother a massage during a break. Between Zhuzhou and Shangsha. Life in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160520_0765.jpg
  • Leaving Xian's station. Life in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi (Xinjiang).
    MMi53122_160521_1424.jpg
  • Child plays in a restaurant of a train.
    MMi53122_160520_1234.jpg
  • Early sleepers in between Guangzhou and Shaoguan. Life in the sleeping compartments in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160520_0354.jpg
  • A pregnant woman from Gangu, talks to her mum while husband checks on his work. Between Tianshui and Longxi. Life in the sleeping compartments in the train from Guangzhou/Shenzhen to Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160521_1701.jpg
  • A man checks his mobile phone in the train crossing the Tibetan plateau. Life in the sleeping compartments in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160521_2625.jpg
  • A tower in the wide expanse past Xining, in Qinghai province in central China, by the Tibetan Plateau. Life in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160521_2466.jpg
  • A family travelling together. Life in the seating wagons in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160521_2019.jpg
  • A controler staff is cleaning the floor of one of the wagon. Passengers often dispose of their garbages on the floor - so it needs to be clean every so often. Life in the seating wagons in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160521_2033.jpg
  • Young kids play hide and seek. Between Shaoguan and Chenzhou. Life in the train from Hong Kong to Urumqi, Xinjiang.
    MMi53122_160520_0439.jpg
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