Chapter I A Sketch

(I) A Sketch of China's HSR Network

i. Stories behind the 14 billion passenger-trips

How fast ordinary people travel has always been a measure of the progress of human civilization on this planet.

In August 2008, China's first high-speed rail (HSR) line with a speed of 350 km/h entered service between Beijing and Tianjin, ushering in a steady expansion of the HSR in network across the country....

– As of the end of 2021, China had 40,000 km of HSR commercial service, accounting for more than 70% of the global total.

– In 2010, China set a world record for the fastest trial train service with a top speed of 486.1 km/h, and in September 2017, a “Fuxing”(Rejuvenation) trainset reached a top speed of 350 km/h in commercial service on the Beijing-Shanghai HSR line, giving China the world's fastest commercial HSR service.

– As of the end of 2021, China had more than 3,500 standard high-speed trainsets, compared with a global total of about 5,100.

– With more than 7,400 high-speed trains in service every day and an average of over 8 million passenger-trips a day, the cumulative ridership of China's high-speed rail network has reached 14.12 billion by the end of June 2021.

These four groups of data have cemented China's global leadership position in HSR.

With the world's longest rail system, fastest operating speeds, biggest number of trains, and largest ridership, China's HSR network is world-class in every sense. Its trains remain silent both when at rest and when leaving the station; acceleration is quiet and smooth as they slide out of the station, and deceleration is gentle and precise as they reach their destination. Indeed, HSR has quietly transformed China's transportation landscape, the country's economy, and the lives of its people.

ii. A “white bullet” zips by at 100 meters per second

A trip from Tianjin to Beijing takes just half an hour, the same amount of time it takes to get from Shanghai to Suzhou. During peak commuting hours in Beijing, buses in the city center only cover about 10 km in half an hour. As such, some people have opted to work in a first-tier city while taking up residence in a second-tier city. For example, a commuter may work in Beijing but live in Tianjin. People like this are increasing, referred to as “high-speed train commuters.”

What makes all this possible for the average Chinese is the everexpanding HSR network. China is home to nearly 70% of the world's HSR lines, far more than the rest of the world combined, and the nation's HSR network keeps expanding.

China's high-speed trains are painted gleaming white with a blue, red or golden stripe running its length. The streamlined minimalist design is not for the sake of fashion, but to reduce aerodynamic drag. At the station, the trains look like wingless jet planes with an extremely long body, but given their power, they could fly if wings were added.

Seen from afar, a train racing through the wilderness at full speed looks like an over 200-meter-long “white bullet” with windows.

This “bullet” flies past at a speed of 100 meters per second; within 10 seconds, it is already out of sight.

Photographer Wang Fuchun's iconic photos from decades past of Chinese people in train carriages tug at our heartstrings. Back then, with the country's massive population spread across such a vast territory, travelling by train was often an uncomfortable experience that you had to endure in overcrowded carriages.

Ever since 2011, there has been a significant reduction in the difficulty and inconvenience that used to accompany the hundreds of millions of rail trips made during the annual Lunar New Year travel season, when Chinese people return to their hometowns for family reunions. When you see one of these high-speed trains gliding into the station, disembarking thousands of passengers and then, after a mere thirty minutes, speeding off again at full capacity with homebound passengers, you cannot help but marvel at how high-speed trains have transformed our lives.

For the past ten or so years, Chinese people have enjoyed a new, greatly improved travel experience thanks to HSR carriages. They are steady and quiet, with seats that are larger than those of airplanes and able to swivel and recline, and offer ample legroom; you can also stretch your legs in the communal space at both ends of the carriage. All carriages are equipped with a restroom, sunshades, and a lighting system that rival those of five-star hotels, and wireless Internet access and an online catering system allow passengers to enjoy the latest blockbuster movies, snacks, and much more, all from the comfort of their seats.

By 2025, the total length of China's railway network is expected to reach 170,000 km, with 50,000 km of HSR.