"There is no price in youth, and the local train 2nd class goes to Lhasa"


It is a popular phrase among the Chinese youth generation recently. We arrived on the journey to Lhasa on the Tibetan Plateau in the cheapest but most inconvenient seats on local trains. "There is no price for youth," which means that youth is a time that is priceless and priceless. "Local train 2nd class goes to Lhasa" for convenience, but the Yingzhou (硬座直达拉萨) is the cheapest seat on regular local trains, not Chinese high-speed trains. Lit., 'hard seats', a cry that 'we are young, so even if we are uncomfortable, we can travel as far away as Lhasa on the Tibetan Plateau on the cheapest train.' Many young people have left videos of themselves traveling on trains and shouting these words with ambition, and it has become a buzzword that symbolizes low-cost travel for the younger generation.


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4 hours by plane, 40 hours by train... It still goes


A flight from the capital Beijing in northeast China to Lhasa in the western Xizang Autonomous Region highlands takes just four hours. Instead, the round-trip ticket value is more than 4.120 million won. However, if you take the cheapest ticket in the second class of a regular local train, called a green train, or Yingzhuo, the price drops to about one-tenth of the plane. However, it takes 2 hours or two days. That's because it's a long distance, more than 40,3 kilometers. There is also a sleeping compartment, but it is more expensive than Yingzuo. Recently, not only these long-distance low-cost trips have become popular among young people in China, but also the so-called commando trips, which are divided into weekends during the school year and save money.


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College students who save money, time, and sleep "commando trip" trend


A commando trip is characterized by saving money, time, and sleep, and covering many sightseeing points in a short time, from dawn to late at night, just like commando training. Hang up the cheapest tickets and sleep on the night train, hotel lobbies, and restaurants. After walking or taking public transportation to at least eight places a day, they take the early morning train back to their dormitories or home. The itinerary they posted after the trip went viral on social media. It was also posted that he walked 8,4 steps a day while visiting tourist attractions by the minute. Immediately after school on Friday, I catch the night train, sleep on the train, and arrive at my destination at dawn. After relentlessly searching for restaurants that are known for being cheap and delicious, and must-see spots, you can return to the train on Sunday night and go straight to school in the morning. Of course, it's not new for college students to save money and travel before entering the workforce. However, this year, in particular, the trend of commando travel is related to the corona epidemic of the past three years.


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19 years gone by COVID-3... Graduating soon


Since the start of the pandemic in 2019, China has implemented a stronger lockdown policy than any other country. Entry into China from other countries, including South Korea, was virtually impossible due to quarantine policies of up to six weeks. Over time, even as many other countries relaxed or abolished quarantine policies for international arrivals, China alone maintained quarantine policies for a long time. In addition, movement between regions within China was severely restricted. I had to present proof of a negative PCR test within 6 hours wherever I went. If there was even one confirmed case in the area where I lived, I would be subject to quarantine, which greatly inconvenienced me in traveling between regions. There have been many cases of people leaving Beijing and traveling to other parts of the country, only to be unable to return to Beijing for a considerable period of time if a case emerged in the area they traveled to. Even if you are not a close contact, even if you are only a confirmed case in the area you have passed, movement restrictions equivalent to close contacts have been applied.

The university town was no exception. Chinese university students, most of whom live in dormitories, have been kept out of dormitory areas for a long time. For this reason, most of the university students have not even traveled domestically in China, let alone traveled abroad, in the past three years. After spending such a precious time of youth, it is now easy to travel domestically due to the relaxation of quarantine policies. But third graders have only one year left to prepare for the job, and fourth graders are graduating in a few months. Youth is a precious and precious moment that cannot be priced, but the time is running out, and your mind is busy.

Inevitably, there has been an explosion of young people trying to use the two weekends to make up for the trips they haven't been able to make. There are many places you want to visit, and you don't have time, which is why the method of traveling has become popular, eating and sleeping like a commando, seeing dozens of sightseeing points in an instant, and leaving behind a verification shot. Even if it is uncomfortable and difficult, it is a privilege of youth to build friendships and broaden one's horizons through travel, but there are also reactions that it is a pity for the young generation who are trying to make up for the time that has passed helplessly with Corona in the past three years.


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(Photo=Weibo)