Neighbors brought together
For residents of Wenzhou, a city in East China's Zhejiang province with the highest number of overseas Chinese, discussions about the hottest holiday trip at the moment is not about a romantic sojourn through Europe or a relaxing stay at a tropical island, but a weekend trip to cities in neighboring Fujian province, like Fuzhou.
Despite their well-known desire to explore the world outside their hometown, few Wenzhou residents have visited Fuzhou, although they may have traveled to Europe, Africa or Australia.
Separated by walls of high mountains, residents of the two cities have long lived like they belong to two different continents, despite their geographical proximity. Travel by air was too costly, by bus too tedious and by train, too long.
As a Fujian native, I remember that it took me nearly 14 hours in 1997 to go from my hometown to Zheijiang by the fastest train. But a newly opened express railway line has shortened the travel time between Fuzhou and Wenzhou to just 90 minutes.
I chanced on this information by sheer luck. I was visiting Wenzhou two weeks ago for an interview. When I mentioned my hometown, people responded excitedly saying, "then you might as well go visit your hometown. It is now just 90 minutes away by train!"
While overjoyed to hear this, I could not shake off a lingering doubt.
My last memory of train travel in China was a tedious, long, crowded and sleepless 27-hour journey in a stuffy compartment from Shanghai to Xiamen, on the fastest train available between the two cities in 1997.
While I had heard much about the continuous upgrading of the country's nationwide railway system, I didn't have the desire or interest to check it out until that day in Wenzhou. Ultimately, the temptation of being able to see my parents was too much to resist.
The journey has completely altered my perception of train travel. My ears throbbed with the changes in air pressure as the train raced through one tunnel after another. But in general, the train was clean and comfortable and the service, good. I set out at about 7 pm and by 8:30 pm, I was with my childhood classmate, waiting at the station at Fuzhou.
Her mother was more eager to hear about my trip. With three children settled in three different cities, namely Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Xiamen, her delight at the possibility of visiting any of them after an hour-long train trip, was palpable.
When I mentioned my past memories of train travel, she brushed me off impatiently. "Don't even mention it, that experience belongs to the last century."
