Green yields to white, giving me the ride of my life

I recently took the new bullet train to Beijing from my hometown Taiyuan, in Northwest China's Shanxi province. The comfortable seating, wonderful service and stunning views of the outside through large windows were a far cry from what I experienced on my first train ride, two decades ago.

I remember how in 1990 my uncle took me on the slow train, painted green and powered by an old-fashioned diesel engine, from Taiyuan to neighboring Shaanxi province. As an 8-year-old, only transformer toys and creamy cake on my birthday could quite match the thrill of taking a train. I was, however, quite perplexed that my uncle shared none of my excitement. For the grown-ups, sitting on a hard bench, sweat pouring down their faces, with a foul, humid smell hanging in the air, it was just 15 hours of suffering.

I didn't fall asleep even at night, fascinated by a little mouse eating the food remains on my table. Throughout the day, a female attendant swept the rubbish and offered boiling hot water to passengers. But since the smelly toilet was often locked to prevent more litter from being chucked out, many passengers preferred to ignore their thirst.