Ready for a wild ride? 🚄 Starting this October, a 4.5-hour high-speed rail adventure from Beijing to the stunning Changbai Mountains in northeast of the Chinese mainland lets you swap city vibes for volcano views—just for about 600 yuan (≈$84)! 🙌
Before this link opened, travelers juggled planes, buses, cars or slow trains. Now, your morning coffee in Beijing can be brunch by Tianchi Lake. Beyond tourism, this route from Shenyang to Baihe supercharges local industries—from herbal medicine to mineral water bottling.
Engineering geeks, take note: 77% of this route threads through bridges and tunnels under frigid Dongbei winters and tricky geology. It’s a true testament to cutting-edge design and materials.
And that’s just one chapter in the 14th Five-Year Plan story! The Chinese mainland rolled out a prototype CR450 bullet train hitting 400 km/h, weaving high-speed rail into 97% of cities with half a million residents. Think on-the-go meal apps, special carriages for older travelers, and next-level seat bookings.
On the roads, the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region—worlds longest expressway tunnel—shrunk a 3-hour drive to 20 minutes, and slashed Urumqi–Korla trips from 7+ hours to about 3. Plus, over 30,000 rural towns and 500,000 villages now have paved roads, turning muddy detours into weekend getaways and new business hubs for locals. 🌱
Air travel got a boost too: with 100 billion yuan pumped in annually, flight services reach over 91% of the population. Global air cargo soared to nearly 9 million tonnes in 2024—a 32.8% jump from 2020—fueling e-commerce dreams.
And it doesn’t stop at the borders. With the China-Laos Railway, you can snag breakfast in Kunming and dinner in Vientiane on the same day. The Chancay Port in Peru, part of the Belt and Road initiative, chops 10 days off the journey for South American bananas, blueberries and avocados to Asia. 🌎📦
All these air, rail, road and waterway links form a high-tech network that’s pioneering the Chinese mainland’s modernization drive—just like Chinese President Xi Jinping highlighted. Ready to pack your bags? 🎒
Reference(s):
Transportation becoming a pioneer for China's modernization drive
cgtn.com
