Cāi Cāi

Behind the Scenes: Swan Lake

After finishing the first set of tours for Waiting for the Midnight Sun and the second round of tours for First Love is Now, Xiang Cai could finally have a long, leisurely vacation.

Musical actors were like this. When they were working, they would run to the rehearsal hall every day. When they were not working, they had blank schedules for weeks or even months.

He decided to take this rare and precious vacation to travel.

And that vacation's destination was a country to the north - Russia.

When he was fifteen years old, he was sent by his school to the Vaganova Academy of Ballet in St. Petersburg to study as an exchange student. At that time, he had come and gone in a hurry, and spent his limited time immersed in the rehearsal hall. Only in his free time would he walk out of the school and wander around. Looking back now, he had stayed in Russia for several months, but he hadn't even been to Moscow! Not to mention Murmansk and Lake Baikal, which were further away.

No, he must make it up this time!

He was going to Russia, a decision which Tan Yiming obviously agreed with. The two enthusiastically planned their itinerary and finalized detailed strategies for visiting the four cities.

However, when it came to the mode of transportation, the two had a disagreement.

Tan Yiming had a limited vacation and his itinerary was tight. Of course, an efficient and quick flight was preferred.

On the one hand, Xiang Cai had plenty of time and wanted to completely empty his brain and liberate his mind. He wanted to take the famous K19/20 train all the way from the capital of China to the capital of Russia. However, this journey, which spanned the Eurasian continent, covered a total distance of 9,000 kilometers, and took a full seven days and six nights.

Xiang Cai said: "How about I take the train while you take the plane. If I leave a week earlier, can't we meet in Moscow?"

"No!" Tan Yiming firmly disagreed, "I have been on that seven-day train, and 99% of the passengers on the train are Russian. Even the conductor can't speak Chinese. How can I be rest assured if you are there alone!"

Tan Yiming also bought a copy of Murder on the Orient Express and placed it on the bedside table, hoping to dispel Xiang Cai's intentions.

But though he was stubborn, Xiang Cai was even more stubborn.

In the end, the two had a fight in bed, another fight in the living room, and another fight in the bathroom... They both suffered losses and decided to each take a step back; they'd take the train to Lake Baikal and then from there switch to an airplane to continue their journey.

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The latitudes of Lake Baikal and Huacheng Fortress were pretty similar, so it only would only take a direct three-hour flight for them to reach their destination. However, since they were taking a train, they had to go round and round, and it took four days to arrive.

It was an exceptionally long train journey. Everyone on the train, lived in fast-paced cities and had long been accustomed to efficient and convenient transportation. Suddenly, they were beaten back to their rough origins. They rode on the train for four days without being able to surf the Internet, or even take a shower. It was really difficult.

The first two days were quite interesting. When the train departed from Manzhouli, a special crane would lift the entire carriage: the width of the railways were different in China versus Russia, so the train needed to be changed. At the same time, the Chinese national emblem and Chinese logo on its body must be removed and replaced with a symbol of the Russian railways.