Since planes are expensive and not always practical, one TikToker shared a great alternative: sleeper trains.
The Monkey Kang (@themonkeykang) said, “For people who don't like flying, China's night trains are the perfect way to travel.” “You can spend a whole day in a city you're visiting for sightseeing, save money on a hotel that night, and be back in your hometown at dawn.”
@themonkeykang I took the high-speed train from Beijing to Shenzhen. It's a four-hour flight, but I'd rather spend 11 hours on a night train and get a night's sleep than go through airport security and board the plane.You can finish your work, stretch, watch a movie, and get some rest #train #railway #high-speed rail #bullet train #travel #plane #first class ♬ Diary – Mr. Kaqi & Kojibe
The journey was from Beijing to Shenzhen, approximately 2,200 kilometers (1,367 miles) and more than three hours by plane.
“I'd rather spend 11 hours on a night train and get a night's sleep than go through airport security and board a plane,” the author writes. “You can work, stretch out, watch a movie, or rest.”
The best part? Tickets cost just $120.
China is the standard-bearer for bullet trains, adding 45,000 kilometers (about 28,000 miles) of high-speed rail lines since the 2000s. That's more than the rest of the world combined.
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Many lines operate vehicles that reach speeds of over 300 kilometers per hour (over 186 miles per hour), but slower vehicles can still be profitable. A clip near the end of the 90-second video shows the overnight vehicle reaching speeds of at least 246 km/h (about 153 mph).
In addition to all the other perks mentioned by the author, traveling by train is much more environmentally friendly than flying or driving a car, with half the carbon footprint per passenger of flying. Carpooling can reduce pollution, but electric cars are even more environmentally friendly and emit no greenhouse gases while on the road.
That means cleaner air, healthier people and quieter roads.
The Biden administration is working to enact bipartisan infrastructure legislation and put America's high-speed rail on the map, but it has a long way to go. Even though some major projects have finally taken off, the gap with China seems only to widen.
“This is a cheap train compared to the Shinkansen,” one commenter wrote. “These are slower and less flashy, but still faster than North American trains. I rode them once and had no complaints.”
One said: “I would choose a train over a plane any day. Have a safe journey!”
A third TikToker pointed out, “$120 is a pretty good deal for traveling 1,350 miles in 11 hours using a bed,” while another said, “Yeah, that's what I thought too.” It will take 70 hours to make that journey.” In the United States. “
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