On the way out and back to Kashgar last weekend I had to make connections in the airport at Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Province. Flying domestically in China has its own set of unique features, but one that is particularly annoying is the lack of “interline” (or intra-line, for that matter) connecting, where you can check your bags all the way through to your final destination. It took me four flights to get to Kashgar and back for which I had four separate tickets and had to check myself and my suitcase in four separate times. I landed in Urumqi, grabbed my bag from baggage claim, ran upstairs to check in, then headed to the gate. Never mind that the plane I was getting off and the plane I was getting on were sitting right next to each other on the tarmac, and that the two airlines (Hainan and China Southern) are actually both wholly owned subsidiaries of the same parent company, the Chinese government!
Oh well, if I hadn’t had to claim my bags in Urumqi I would have missed this wonderful sign in the baggage claim area!
I’m sorry, but I thought one fattened UP, not DOWN.
