Traveling China by train is one the great pleasures the country has to offer. Sure it is slower than flying, but if you have the time it is absolutely worth it. In the last decade there have been an increasing number of high-speed express trains, which are very enjoyable, and I would particularly recommend the Beijing-Shanghai line. However for my money, the slow trains in the west are still the best experience.

Now I don’t want it to sound overly nostalgic (although I am). Clearly an excessively long trip can make even someone with Ghandi-like patience want to smack their neighbors who insist on smoking in the car despite your pleas and the giant sign forbidding it. And any time you are on your third meal of raman noodles the charm of the slow train starts to fade. However some of my best memories of China are on trains making their way slowly through the countryside.

Train travel is all but forgotten in the States. Aside from the NY-DC express, you almost never hear of people riding Amtrak anymore. That’s probably why they’re broker than broke. Things are a bit different in Europe where the rail systems are better, and the high-speed bullet lines in Japan are a joy. Yet something about the railway in China brings to life the beauty of the country in a way rarely seen elsewhere.

The hard sleeper is the epitome of communal living, for better or worse. My favorite trick to make friends with Chinese travelers is breaking out a Chinese chess set. Not to be confused with Chinese checkers, which is only played by children here, Chinese chess is similar to the more famous international variety, but is much more widely played. Virtually all grown men in China can play with at least moderate skill.

Once the set is out, as a foreigner, it is quite easy to get a game going. It can be a bit intimidating as people crowd around and tell you quite directly when they think you are making the wrong move. Sometimes they will even move your pieces, leaving you to fight for the right to make your own choices. You see this all of the time of the streets, but on the train it is an instant bonding experience.

When the lights go out there is usually someone snoring loudly in the triple-bunk beds. Obviously that is a draw back, but there are always funny things going on. One time I woke up in the middle of the night to see a guard fiddling with my bag. Just as I was about to stop him from stealing my valuables, he turned around looking extremely embarrassed and surprised to se my eyes staring at him from the darkness. In his hand was a piece of bread that had been sitting on top of my luggage. He wasn’t a malicious thief, just a hungry guy working long hours (okay, so technically he was a thief).

My all-time favorite memory was at the end of an excruciating trip in Gansu Province where I had not been able to secure a hard-sleeper, and instead got stuck with the dreaded hard-seat. During the night I had only slept 45 minutes or so, unable to nod off on the rock-hard slab of wood under my toches, surrounded by drunken soldiers heading home.

It was on this ride, the least palatable of all train trips I have taken in China, that something amazing happened. As everyone started getting up for the day in the still-dark car, a man began pointing outside and shouting excitedly at no one in particular. As I followed the direction of his finger, on the horizon of the dried earth the crest of the sun was just starting to creep into view. “太漂亮！太漂亮!” (It’s so beautiful! It’s so beautiful!) the man yelled over and over.

No one in the car gave him much mind, but his face was full of the kind of genuine happiness that you normally only see in children. He seemed not to care that people around ignored him. His entire focus was the sunrise. Looking out the train’s window I knew that he was correct: the sun rising over the barren landscape of China’s northwest was too beautiful.

Recently train service to Lhasa has opened up. Tickets for soft sleepers can be hard to come by but I look forward to heading out there on a hard sleeper soon. For more information including time schedules check out this site.