I took one of the overnight D trains last night (reason: I originally bought a ticket on the fast train for tomorrow, decided I wanted to travel earlier, changing the train ticket was easier than refunding it). I shared a 4 person birth with only one other guy, which was nice enough. But, what I wasn't prepared for was that these D trains make ~5 station shops between 9p and midnight now (as opposed to one previously)... still takes 10 hours, so they must be going a little faster. This was rather annoying because every 15 minutes or so, there was a new group of people traipsing through the aisles with their luggage.

As far as chatting with people is concerned, last night's train was 30% foreigners, and I expect this number to increase sharply after tomorrow. Furthermore, all of the Chinese people that approached me were dying to practice their English. I can do without those conversations (been there, done that), but the first time rider might get a kick out of the drill.