Seeking the World Back -- A Train Journey Tracing Exotic Civilizations

Author: (British) Cliff Anderson et al.; Chen Shan et al.
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-09-01
Features: Preface: Many people cherish the moment when they first step onto a train, when they press their faces against the train window, watching the retreating scenery in the distance, and when they travel through desolate wildernesses in the dark, passing by dimly lit rural towns. Trains are forgotten by us. At the moment their tail gradually disappears into the distance, what they leave us with are only the weathered tracks and yellowed memories. That is the melancholy of trains, something no other thing can replace. For my generation and those before me, train travel was still a major event in memory, and the train station was a mysterious place. It promised to take you to a distant, unfamiliar, and mysterious destination—just follow the signs, and you would arrive. It also promised to bring your distant friends and family to your side. Standing on the platform, they would step off the train. Every day, life and death partings unfold on the platform. When we board a train, important events in our lives may be about to happen. I myself still remember the night 37 years ago when I boarded a long-distance train with my father. As we traveled, distant lights twinkled in the darkness. We were heading toward a destination and also toward another journey in life. From then on, we never returned to our original home. A train journey completely changed the scenery of our lives. It was an era when train travel was still important, and it is also the origin of our nostalgic longing for the past. The World We Once Lost seeks to recapture this feeling. The travel writer Mark Tull, in his introduction, states bluntly: "What excites me about Pakistan is that train travel is still important. Cars and airplanes have not yet replaced it as a means of long-distance travel." The World We Once Lost, like the other books in the Great Journeys series, is a byproduct of a BBC television production. This time, it invited six celebrities to embark on six challenging yet distinctive train journeys and document them in writing. The routes chosen, as Mark Tull said, are places where train travel is still significant—such as in Pakistan, South America, or from Hong Kong, China to Mongolia. These routes often carry history, such as the history of the Pakistan Railways from the British colonial era, or the history of coffee cultivation in Santos, Brazil, which began in the 19th century. Traveling from Hong Kong to Ulan Bator, you will experience different landscapes, cultures, and local customs. These journeys are long and enjoyable, almost spanning a century—from wilderness to modernity, or from the present back to the depths of memory. I have said that good contemporary travel literature often includes an interesting travel route and a thoughtful reflection (on the relationship between oneself and others). The World We Once Lost is exactly like that. The care taken in selecting the routes has greatly increased the opportunities for travel reflection. Moreover, the authors who represent these journeys are culturally sensitive and outstanding, making this book highly readable. Before reading The World We Once Lost and letting the long moan of the train's steam whistle carry us away, why not review the history of train travel as a companion to our journey? The World We Once Lost, like the other books in the Great Journeys series, is a byproduct of a BBC television production. This time, it invited six celebrities to embark on six challenging yet distinctive train journeys and document them in writing. The routes chosen, as Mark Tull said, are places where train travel is still significant—such as in Pakistan, South America, or from Hong Kong, China to Mongolia. These routes often carry history, such as the history of the Pakistan Railways from the British colonial era, or the history of coffee cultivation in Santos, Brazil, which began in the 19th century.