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High-speed train, Beijing to Shanghai

I'm back in Beijing after a few days in and around Lanzhou. I was surprised by the variety of the scenery in Gansu. In that one province alone there were deserts and verdant valleys. Similar attractions competed with each other, as the famous Mogao Buddhist caves had a rival in the surprisingly pictaresque setting of the caves at Bingling Si, the latter situated on a bend of the Yellow River, with a stone forest of mountains set just behind.

Here in Beijing, I'm running errands for my friends who are getting married and for myself. This morning I dropped off my passport at the Uzbekistan embassy. A woman in beautifully accented Chinese told me to come back at nine the next morning. I then proceeded to book my plane tickets. Even as I type I'm waiting for them to be delivered.

I shot this photo last year as I boarded the train to Shanghai. I couldn't get a hard sleeper and ended up in a soft seat. A group boarded after me; they laughed and chatted to each other in Shanghainese as I sat back and drifted south away from Beijing.

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Posted 15 Sep 2009   |   Photography + design © Eugene Kuo // 226.