Cattle Class

The train left Chengdu at 5:56 PM. It’s Spring Festival Eve and we’re headed for Guangzhou. I leave the comfort of my “soft sleeper,” shared with three others I don’t know, nor can talk to and walk the corridors. The buffet car is almost deserted, the Hard Sleeper section – the usual crowd of six persons per bunk partition (open faced room). The Hard Seat area, what a shock! People everywhere, shoulder to shoulder, sitting at any available space on seats, bags, and each other. I partly force my way through to the end an meet a locked door. Beyond this portal, face after face, standing room only – “cattle class.” I wait for the next stop. Have a smoke, out, and walk back along the platform.