We almost missed the Maglev train to Shanghai because we were waiting in the wrong station, but got to the platform just as it arrived. We had had to buy first-class tickets the day before because the 1st class option on the 10.42 train was the only one not fully booked. First class is a rip-off because you pay twice as much for a slightly softer seat, a footrest to put your feet on and slightly more leg room. On this train we got fed with a “snack box” containing some tiny snacks and some warm soft drinks.
The landscape was delightful. We firstly passed through a range of mountains with many tunnels between which there were narrow valleys containing a road and a river.. They contained tiny rice paddies with tiny pools full of brown water which fed the fields during the planting season. Each valley had buildings that looked like polytunnels but were opaque and I think their purpose was for drying the rice. There were also small fields of maize and pools of somewhat cleaner water with fountains in the middle which were evidently fish-breeding pools. Getting closer to the huge industrial town of Hangzhou, the landscape was much flatter and the paddy fields and pools much larger. They were connected by channels to fairly large rivers that ran through the region. There were also orchards of different kinds of trees including a strange tree which looked like large green ball on a stalk; some kind of citrus tree I think. The houses were lovely, mostly three storey because Chinese families tend to consist of three (or up to four) generations living together. Yet millions of people have moved to the high-rise blocks which have been built mile after mile only a short distance away in Hangzhou. These will be industrial workers who have flocked to the cities for much more money and easier work than the back-breaking labour of working in the paddy fields.
Between Hangzhou and Shanghai the cultivation of rice was on an industrial scale with much larger fields, and the houses seemed even more opulent. Shanghai Hongquio station was massive with an endless queue of taxis picking up passengers. We were rather spoiled at Changsha, and fondly dreamed that we could walk 50 metres into an excellent hotel in Shanghai. After visiting “The Hub” (which consisted of about 100 restaurants), we were accosted by a friendly man with an official looking badge round his neck who lead us to a minibus. Not knowing what was happening or where we were going, we got taken (free of charge) to a rather low-class hotel, the “Green Tree” for £26 a night which turned out to be comfortable with a cooler, shower with warm water, and wifi. We had a good night.
