Chengdu, reaching Sichuan's capital by railway
Today’s computerized information boards did not exit but there was a special waiting room that foreigners could use. From there I was directed to the train for Chengdu. Long before today’s high-speed “Fuxing” rolling stock, most services were composed of loco-hauled 18 green-painted conventional coaches. From carts on the platform drinks, fruit, instant noodle bowls could be purchased. I stocked up, not realizing that catering trolleys would be regularly pushed along the train’s corridors and there was a dining car.
Departing Beijing at 6.00 pm, I decided to give the dining car a try. Quite different from today’s smart onboard cafes, which are more for collecting drinks and airline-style packaged meals, the older trains had proper restaurant facilities. In a bustling kitchen space fresh food would be stir-fried over coal-fired burners before being passed out through a hatch and delivered to passengers such as myself. The menu, handwritten on a blackboard, I settled down at a table to work my way through egg/tomato soup with pork/green peppers washed down by warm beer - yes, in 1994 beer was often served at room temperature. Over the next two days the dining car became an enjoyable routine and an opportunity to meet fellow travelers like myself heading down to the southwest.
