I got to Guilin without having to share the train compartment with anybody. It was great. It was a soft-sleeper compartment and I had the whole thing to myself for the full 27 hours. This time it was slightly warmer and more comfortable than the previous soft-sleeper service, but not by much. I still had to keep the cabin door shut and keep going for walks in the main corridor, just to make my compartment seem warmer, but they did eventually turn the heating on. The difference this time was the sun. It was out and making the surrounding countryside look beautiful. A train ride really is the best way to see a country that you could hope for.

Once I’d arrived in Guilin, as per a freind’s instructions, I travelled straight through it and went on to Yangshuo. Here I walked around, trying to find a hostel that looked good, but eventually just checked-in to the first one I saw. I was only there one night before setting of for Xingping, leaving my main bag in the hostel.

After hiring a bike and cycling the full 3.5 hours to Xingping, I had to dismount in the end and push the bike the rest of the way, as I was physically exhausted. The bike could have done with a bit of oil and was a few sizes too small, but it got me there. The roads were being re-surfaced, so I was covered in dust, but the countryside between Yangshuo and Xingping was exactly what I had been hoping for.

In Xingping, I found that there were no dorm rooms left, but fortunately, in the process of trying to establish with the receptionist that there was no space left, she remembered that someone else had recently had the same problem. I agreed to share a twin room with Kristjian, a Croatian tour-guide leader and we met Stephan, a German cycling from Bavaria, who agreed to accompany us on a walk through the mountains the next day. It was a good walk, but it was slightly tarnished by the pushy locals, trying to sell bamboo rides and anything else they could lay their hands on.

When I got back to Yangshuo, I met Aron, a Chinese student who was travelling the country in order to visit all of the provinces before University started again. We had an interesting conversation about China (which I took notes on) and we agreed to go for dinner together. I learnt a lot from Aron and he was one of the first real Chinese people that I had spoken to that had gone into any real depth.

The next day, I went on a Chinese cookery course. This was fun and we went to the market beforehand in order to buy some extra bits. Here I got the see the cold-eyed butchers preparing dogs and cats, something which I had never seen before. They were being kept there, skinned and blow-torched, in order to tighten their skin up, all in the same place. This was all part of the animal department and it was a relief to see some fish, which was slightly more what I was used to.

After the cookery course, once I was back in the hostel, I got my things together, checked-out and planned the trip to Guangzhou.

My journey to Chengdu initially began in Xi’an, once I’d had something to eat, bought a Pot Noodle and made my way to the train station. What awaited me upstairs was the most crowded waiting room I’d seen so far. It was more of a hall with rows of seats running the length of it and what seemed like endless numbers of Chinese people occupying them. After finding my way to the correct section, what seemed to be the departure time was approaching and nobody was moving. I could gather that the train was late, but to be on the safe side, I asked one of the station staff. They pointed me in the direction of the soft-seating waiting room, which was far more civillised. You almost got your own dedicated concierge service, as I wasn’t there for long before being told that I could board my train and pointed in the direction of the platform. This was actually the first step in the process, as just around the corner, was another gate, where an official-looking station official was waiting to stop people from getting on to the platform. The flood-gates opened from the main waiting room and people started running to where I was waiting and not long after, I was at the front of a very long queue. The station official let one grandmother through and someone who claimed to be looking after her and then everyone pushed forward to board the train. Even though it was late, we only had about 5 minutes to board it before it left.

When I entered my compartment, I found that I was going to be joined by two Chinese men. One was younger than the other, but they seemed to be getting on and I installed myself on the top bed. Not long after, the younger one gave us both a kind of sweet he was eating, which was actually a chewey, mintey, snack-y thing which tasted awful. I could only guess that it was some kind of way of cleaning your teeth, as it had the texture of plant matter. I tried to find out what it was, but ended up disposing of it in the subtlest way possible.

When I woke up the next morning, the younger man had left and a younger girl was in the compartment then instead. We spent a few hours in awkward silence, before I got my China Lonely Planet guide out and pointed to all the places that I was either thinking of visiting or had already been too. This passed the time nicely until we ended up in Chengdu, where we all departed. Once I’d got to the station exit, I found a security guard to ask where the Metro station was. He didn’t know English, so grabbed the nearest two young-looking people to help me out. They kindly walked me to the Metro station and got the same line as I was getting, getting off a few stop before mine. Once I’d reached my stop, I got off and managed to navigate my way to the hostel that I’d chosen to stay at.

This was a guide-book special, as I’d realised on the train that I’d forgotten to book anywhere. This wasn’t a problem, as the hostel was easy to find and practically empty. Something happens on the train between Xi’an and Chengdu. The climate changes from a cold temperate one to a warm tropical one. The change was noticable immediately and walking to the hostel confirmed that. It was lovely!

The first few days were spent going to see the Grand Budda in Leshan, watching the Sichuan opera and climbing Qingcheng Shan. I met Wahida (from Singapore) and Johnathan (from Switzerland) in the hostel and most of these things we did together. It was most enjoyable!

The last half-day in Chengdu was spent eating and getting supplies for the trip to Yangshuo.

My journey to Xi’an had been the easiest yet. I had discussed the action plan with the woman on reception in Luoyang and had found out (after buying the ticket) that I was actually leaving from the high-speed rail station, further to the south of the city. This was not a problem, it just meant getting up earlier. I left the hostel at just about the right time and got on bus number 1 as planned. Even though I’d waited 2 stops (as per the instructions), the name of the 2nd stop wasn’t the same as the name I’d been given by the hostel worker. I wasn’t sure whether the name was wrong or the stop number was wrong, so I waited for another stop, where I didn’t recognise anything and got off. Here I had a think and decided to get a taxi, as it was about an hour until the train left and I didn’t have time to get anything else wrong.

At the station I boarded and everything went to plan. Two hours later, I was in Xi’an and got on the metro to the station I needed. Here I got off and, using the map I’d been given by the hostel woman, I was in the next hostel in only a few minutes. In the hostel, I was greeted by some very excited Chinese girls, who happily checked me in.

On arrival in my room, I found a towel on the bed and the bed-side light already on. I remember thinking to myself that this was good service, as towels aren’t usually provided and they must have some kind of clever system which means that the bed-side light is turned on before you get to your room. I took the towel and went and had a shower. Later on, when I was back in my room, a Brazillian guy I don’t remember the name of said that there had been a mix-up in the bed numbers and he had been in my bed, but was now in a different one. I had just used his personal towel (which was clean) for a shower and he had turned the bed-side light on earlier. I went to reception, got him a new towel and tried to forget about the matter!

In the afternoon, after getting some advice from the hostel receptionists, I went for a walk around the Muslim quarter. Having spoken to other people since, I don’t think I went through the main part of the Muslim quarter, but I ended up getting lost in a maze of side streets and back alleys, seeing how Chinese people in Xi’an live and work the the first time. It was amazing. I saw things that I’d never seen before and really got caught up in the living, breathing mass of humanity. In the evening, once it was dark, I found a restaurant and had the best noodles I’d had up until that point. I met someone from Luton in there, but according to the guy who served me, I was the first foreigner in there for 4 years.

The rest of the time in Xi’an was spent visiting the Teracotta Worriors (which was much better than I was expecting) and visiting the Tomb of Emporer Jingdi (which wasn’t as good as I was expecting). Both involved bus journeys on public transport to sites outside of the city. Later the same day, after visiting the Tomb of Emporer Jingdi, I departed for Chengdu.

Yesterday was mental. I don’t usually provide an update until I have moved on, but this is a special case. The plan was to get to Nanjiecun, a ‘communist community’, which is really a showcase for Communism but is more the only example of a Maoist collective in China. I’d seen it on Paul Merton in China, so I thought I’d go. It turned out to be even more of an adventure than the ‘Perm-36’ episode in Russia!

The day started with me attempting to get up early, so that I could have breakfast and leave for the bus. I’d travelled to Zhengzhou the day before, after having got an overnight sleeper train from Pingyao, so the extra coach journey to Zhengzhou made it a tiring day. I managed to leave the hotel only an hour later than I’d imagined and made my way the to bus station that the coach the previous day had dropped me at. After attempting to buy a ticket for Linying, the closest village to Nanjiecun, I was told this was not possible and the woman behind the glass scribbled something on a piece of paper. I showed this to the woman behind the information desk, who gave me a card I couldn’t read and pointed me outside. I took this, along with the instructions I’d shown the original woman, to what looked like some kind of security office/control room. After getting my picture taken, one of the women walked me to a bus stop and told me which stop to get off at. The bus took me to the southern coach station, a fairly civillised station surounded by what I would describe as mayhem. I bought the ticket and then had a fairly long exchange with another woman behind an information desk, who, helpfully, could speak more English and was more interested in helping than the previous person. After me using my phrasebook several times to ask multiple questions, someone offered to tell me when to get off, as he was getting off at the same stop. After spending the 2 hours listening (and watching) a very loud mix of Chinese theatre and government propaganda, we got to Linying. I managed to find out when the last bus left from the helpful man, before he disappeared.

A woman was standing outside with a crash helmet on, walking away from what looked like a took-took (or some mode of transport). I managed to signal that I wanted to go to the Tourist Information Centre in Nanjiecun and she complied. One bumpy taxi ride later, I was stood outside what looked like some kind of tourist centre. A coach-load of Chinese people had just turned up and once I had bought my ticket, I was pointed in the direction of a red buggy which was going to take us on a tour of the site. Everything was in Chinese, but I managed to gather that there was a beer facory, a noodle factory and an artificial flavourings factory in Nanjiecun. We got taken around the botanical garden, some old buildings and someone’s flat, still with them in it. After the Chinese people departed, I set off for the bus station. I managed to flag down a similar-looking vehicle to before, which took me back to my starting point for the same price. There, I bought a ticket for Zhengzhou, which, some Chinese stand-up and communist propaganda later, dropped me off in a bus station. This was not the same bus station that I had left from, however. After walking around for a few minutes, I could establish that I had no idea where I was, but I was, at least, in Zhengzhou. I found a taxi, who didn’t know where my hotel was, but thankfully, half-way through the conversation, someone called Ryan turned up. He was a university student studying Chinese for Foreigners in Luoyang and helpfully found my hotel on his phone. He told me which bus to get on and about 9 stops later, I recognised the street that my hotel was on and managed to get off at the right stop. The bus station that I needed was closed, so I just walked back to my hotel and checked back in again. What an amazing day!