Travel by air getting easier, but faster pace taking a toll

BEIJING — Ding Jian Cheng used to make business trips overnight by train, sleeping on a hard bunk bed in a crowded compartment with five other passengers.

Now he's a typical frequent flyer.

The 36-year-old sales manager for electronics maker Areva shuttles weekly between his office near Shanghai and his customers in Beijing.

What were once 20-hour train rides are now one-hour flights. Ding can hop on a plane in the morning and be back home the same day; he has a choice of about 30 different flights.

A decade ago, he almost never traveled by plane. He needed government permission to fly, and only the most urgent business got approval.

The convenience of air travel has radically changed life for Ding and many other Chinese.

"People's standard of living in China is improving," he says. "Now they can spend money for travel, not just for food, housing and clothes."

He typically flies aboard a 200-seat Shanghai Airlines jet, and it's almost always full.

"Now as soon as I want to go, I can," Ding says. "It's just like a bus."

But all that traveling has exhausted him. His eyes are weary and his black suit jacket sags on his tall, lean frame.

Train trips took longer, but at least they offered a chance to relax, he says.

Ding has grown to dislike the new breakneck pace of modern life in Chinese cities.

"Anytime, anyplace people can reach you," he says. "The stress has increased a lot."

Now, on those rare occasions when he takes a vacation, he heads to the countryside. By car.

— Kristi Heim