Beidaihe, the place of legend. You know, it's got everything. Crabs, sun, maybe a bit of polluted, overpopulated coastlines, but otherwise it's got everything.
But you won't be going there anytime soon. Beginning October 8, 2010 until further notice, Beidaihe station will be closed to passenger rail traffic. That means 11 trains from Beijing will pretty much skip Beidaihe. These are:
• Train 1171 (Beijing - Harbin)
• Trains 1301 and 1302 (Beijing - Manzhouli)
• Trains 2601 and 2602 (Beijing - Qinhuangdao)
• Trains 4495 and 4496 (Beijing - Qinhuangdao)
• Train D11 (Beijing - Shenyang North)
• Trains D4531 and D4532 (Beijing - Qinhuangdao)
• Trains D4537 and D4538 (Beijing South - Qinhuangdao)
• Trains K27 and K28 (Beijing - Dandong - Pyeongyang, North Korea)
• Train T271 (Beijing - Jilin West)
• Trains T5683 and T5684 (Beijing West - Qinhuangdao)
• Trains Y509 and Y510 (Beijing - Qinhuangdao)
Beginning October 15, 2010, the rarely-heard-of Longjiaying Railway Station (龙家营站), located between Qinhuangdao and Shanhaiguan, will be in use as a temporary stop.
There will soon be an express train link from Tianjin to Qinhuangdao.
That flashy new HSR (High Speed Rail) is reality in 2011 — if they're quick and snappy, it'll be before the late 2011 Beijing-Shanghai HSR; if they're not, it's going to be late 2011, from what the newest reports tell.
Once that's reality, it'll be a quick hour from Tianjin to Qinhuangdao.
Editor: Susan
Date: Oct 13, 2010