I've always been a fan of trains. After reading FTer moondog's post on the Z train I decided to give it a try while in China. By the time I got around to buying the ticket on the only Z train between Beijing and Xian (Z19), they could not find two berths in a 4-berth compartment. So we spurlged and bought tickets for a 2-berth compartment (¥1450 for two). Aside from the sheer horror of getting in and out of the train stations at both ends, the journey was pleasant. We boarded the train around 8:30pm, went to the dining car and chatted with some other tourists for a while, then headed back to our compartment. It is not luxurious, but it has everything we needed for a good night sleep. By the time I woke up, we just passed Luo Yang and the Hua mountain. The train arrived in Xi'an 1 hour later than scheduled. The hardware of this train looks as good as some of the IC trains I've seen in Europe. But China railway still has a long way to go when it comes to providing reliable and pleasant services.

When we arrived in Xi'an, we had a hard time getting a taxi. Taxi drivers all over China are complaining about the high gas price and the fixed rate set by the government. In Xi'an and Hangzhou, I observed some of them take the long way, others just decided that it's not worth it to take passengers over short distance. After we finally arrived at the Sheraton, we were treated very nicely. The front desk staff led us to the club lounge and checked us in there. Our room was spacious and well equipped. This is definitely one of the better Sheratons. That evening we popped over to Kane's Kafe, Kane is from inner Mongolia and he runs a small restaurant/lounge next to a hostel frequented by westerners. There we had beer with some very interesting people from Canada, England and Finnland. The next day his brother drove us around the sights for ¥200, which is about the same as a taxi but infinitely more comfortable.