First ride on China's historic Shanghai-Beijing high-speed train

Thursday, June 30, 2011. This day is big. The Shanghai-Beijing high-speed rail line is about to begin official operations.

The event is so historic for China that, according to reports in the local media, most tickets for the first train out of Beijing South Railway Station were sold out within 10 minutes of going on sale.

Man, do I feel good about snatching two tickets -- one for the fiancé and one for me -- to became the first exapt ticket buyer in this high-speed rail line's history.

I had to get the tickets. I have been waiting for this journey for four years.

The interior of Beijing South Railway Station, a train station with the feel of an airport.

For me, a Beijing-born Swiss back in China for a decade with some modest Mandarin mastery, the ticket-purchasing process has been less troublesome than I had thought: just bring a passport (for expats) or ID (for Chinese) to the ticket counters and state which train you want.

The price: RMB 590 per ticket for business class.

I am not taking the train all the way to its Shanghai Hongqiao terminus. Because I have some business to take care of in Beijing tomorrow, I'm heading to Ji'nan West instead -- a little short of halfway down the line.

Who says nobody rides high-speed trains in China? Nearly 1,000 people wait to board G1.

I arrive at the station in early afternoon and wait to board G1, the very first Shanghai-Beijing HSR heading to Shanghai.

Lots of other riders are already in a special queue.

After three rounds of security checks and ticket registrations, I am in front of my dream train: a sleek, white bullet train.

On Chinese high-speed rail (HSR), business class is one notch above first class. I've heard the seats in business class can actually recline and become a bed -- a vital feature for me as I stand 1.91 meters tall (6-4).

In my experience, even first class seats on airplanes don't help someone my size sit comfortably.

Passengers board the first high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai.

Once I get on the train, I head straight for the button that will change my traveling life once for all: the button that turns the seat into a bed.

The seat takes a while to recline, but it makes it. It is fully converted into a two-meter-long bed.

I am able to lie flat on the bed, with my toes just about touching the back of the seat in front of me.

I pull out a hidden TV in the left armrest and a fold-out table in the right armrest. I switch on a reading light. This feels like home.

My prone position attracts the media -- they're curious to see someone lying flat on a train outside of sleeper coaches.