China, Connected
After major setbacks, high-speed rail is becoming the unifying force Chinese planners had long hoped it would be.
Sold out train cars. Popular demands in cities for high-speed rail access. And, now,
a stunning map depicting a China unified by crisscrossing lines of steel that has gone viral across social media. After early setbacks, China’s HSR is finally hitting its stride,
connecting over 100 cities with a dedicated network of around 10,000 miles of track — more than the rest of the world combined.
In late July, an
unofficial map of China’s HSR network created by Tao Anjun, a professor at Southeast University in Nanjing and self-professed rail fan and map geek, went viral on the Chinese web (complete with Korean, Japanese, and English versions, the latter pictured above). The detailed color-coded graphic mimics the simplicity and user-friendliness of a subway map, though Chinese transportation officials have
emphasized in response that the map should not be used a substitute for official train schedules. Even so, the image and its enthusiastic reception have heralded HSR’s arrival as a mainstream, and increasingly beloved, part of everyday life.
The opening of a new line generates genuine excitement in cities slated to join the grid. In March, officials
announced that the line running from Yanji — at 400,000 people, this northeastern city in Jilin province is small by Chinese standards — to the provincial capital of Changchun would open in October, cutting travel time from about five hours by bus to two by rail. As one Changchun resident from Yanji gushed, “Ever since we heard the news, my whole family has been looking forward to it.”
Even in places already graced by HSR, the possibility of a new line gets people buzzing.
In July, questions from local residents about a proposed direct route between Hangzhou and Wenzhou dominated a call-in town hall meeting held by Wenzhou’s head of development and reform. And cities passed over for HSR have complained loudly. In May, thousands of citizens from Linshui, a county in Sichuan,
amassed in a reverse NIMBY (“Not In My Back Yard”) protest, seeking both the convenience and the economic bump that a rail station would have brought.
When I rode the arterial Beijing-Guangzhou line in July, I walked along the 16-car train and counted no empty seats. When I remarked how packed the train was, my seat neighbor noted it just made too much sense to take HSR these days for medium or long distances, given how much of a time drain domestic flights can be, especially with their extensive security checks. For many Chinese people — whose relatives and friends are often spread all over the expansive country as they pursue different opportunities — more time to spend together is a valuable commodity.