By Train to Shanghai: A Journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway

by William J. Gingles

This is a compelling narrative of a long train journey and an illuminating insight from the shadows of the past, descending from the mountains, the unbroken silence of the forest, intertwined with the people who shaped historical events along the route. From the former Tsarist Russian capital of St. Petersburg, this 10,000 kilometre railway odyssey terminates in the great metropolis of Shanghai. Allowing for stop-overs in Moscow and Irkutsk, this journey will take me along the world's longest railway line, itself an extraordinary achievement by the thousands of men who carved this track through a hostile environment, using only the technology of the 19th century. Things may come and things may go, but the Trans-Siberian rolls on forever. After the endless Siberian taiga, the journey continues along the majestic southernmost shore of Lake Baikal, the blue eye of Siberia to Ulaan Baatar, capital of Mongolia. Then through the wilderness of the Gobi Desert and up to the Great Wall of China at Beijing. From the current Chinese capital, it is then on to Xi'an, the ancient capital to see Emperor Qin's mighty terracotta army, before finally reaching Shanghai.

268 pages, Paperback

First published September 26, 2006

Reviews

[Vicky Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A curious mix of memoir and travelogue, Mr. Gingles' first book takes the reader along with him on the Great Siberian Railway across Asia to China. The book is not a human commentary or psychological insight, as many travelogues are, but is limited to the basic format of visiting the key 'touristy' places the average traveler would visit when traveling to cities for the first time. The author did this well, and wisely limited his travels to key stops in a limited number of cities. I think this was a wise choice, since this appears to be his first/ only book. Doing so allows the reader to get the benefit of the author's travels, without expecting some larger connection, such as the full extent of the Trans-Siberian lines.

I did not see much that I have not seen in other travel books about each city. The only unique thing here is the author's unique perspective on history, which is where he went beyond the limits of the apparant scope of the book. In giving some of the history of each city, he relates history he has read or heard. This is not always accurate, or at least can not be verified, since he never gives the source. He has a few errors in his historical ideas, such as having Kim Jong-il ruling over South Korea. He brought up the devastation of the Aral Sea, but gave meandering, inconclusive information about what was happening. And, much of his history was like that; weakly explained, though interesting.

His grammar was the weak link with errors throughout. An example of his sentence structure is as follows:

"Dominating the square, is possibly the best recognized building in Russia, with its crazy confusion of colours and shapes, is the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Mother of God at the Moat - or as its better known - St. Basil's."

I am unsure of whether he had extensive editing work done by a friend to clean the correct portions of the grammar, or if he just copied everything directly from his travel journals without editing. But, everything was clear enough to understand, except for portions of the history, which I've already mentioned. I felt like I received good value from reading about his experiences as an ordinary traveler. It was like traveling with an ordinary tourist. That is often the best way to read about a trip across countries, because it lends a unique perspective.

Oddly, he commented negatively toward seeing the American Express logo in the Forbidden City. He questioned them about it, and they explained that the company had given generous donations for renovations (published in 2006.) The author was offput by this appearance of the word American in the Forbidden City. But, then proceeded to boast of British clocks featured in a nearby exhibit. He spoke highly of Russian people and Russia in general. But, he did not seem as impressed by those of Chinese or Japanese origin. There was a noticable change in tone when speaking of the different countries, as if Mongolia signaled a changing book. But, his information about population and health issues in Russia and China were interesting, if not backed up with sources.

My favorite parts were Beijing and Xi'an. After reading about the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army, Shanghai seemed empty. Maybe he was tired from his trip by that point; having been delayed by a couple hours on a late train. And, that was his final destination. But, overall I felt the book was written well for a travelogue. This is probably my last book for my train collection this year. I read this in paperback format for my stop in China on my Journey Around the World in 80 Books for 2018. My next stop will be South Korea, where I will be reading The Dog Who Dared to Dream, by Sun-mi Hwang, by recomendation of a friend.

[Arwen Downs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although Gingles is a rather poor writer with a rudimentary grasp on punctuation, his determination to incorporate history into his memoir make it a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the Trans-Siberian Railway.