This ain't no midnight train to Georgia.
If you're in China and you're in a hurry, then a ride on one of the country's high-speed trains might be just the thing for you.
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High-speed rail has developed rapidly in China since the mid-2000s and now the country's high-speed rail network is the world's longest and most extensively used – with a total length of 26,000 miles by the end of 2022.
China's high-speed rail accounts for two-thirds of the world's total high-speed railway networks and the system includes the Beijing–Guangzhou high-speed railway which at 1,428 miles, is the world's longest HSR line in operation.
Traveling over bridges and across bays
The latest addition to the country’s network is a 277-kilometer, or 172-mile, high-speed train line along the southeastern coast, connecting the cities of Zhangzhou, Xiamen and Fuzhou, all three of which are in Fujian province, CNN reported.
It is China's first cross-sea, rapid line with bullet trains that will travel over bridges across three coastal bays and hit top speeds of 218 mph, according to Reuters.
China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group Co Ltd designed the railway project.
The first train on this line debuted on September 28, departing from Fuzhou, the province’s capital, at 9:15 a.m.
Travel time between Fuzhou and Xiamen, an economic hub and popular tourist destination, will be under an hour.
China Railway said that it used intelligent robots and environmentally friendly corrosion-resistant steel to build out the overwater rail sections.
The new line is just one of many infrastructure projects touted by the Chinese government in 2016, when the “Eight Horizontal and Eight Vertical” rail initiative was announced.
Xinhua, the state-run media outlet, noted that ground transportation in Fujian province has been challenging due to its mountainous terrain.
Fujian province is also significant for being the closest part of mainland China to the self-governing island of Taiwan. Xiamen is two and a half miles across the Taiwan Strait from Kinmen, the westernmost region of Taiwan.
Enhancing investment oppportunities
China recently announced details of its plan to turn Fujian into a zone for integrated development with Taiwan.
China is hoping the link will enhance investment opportunities and make travel easier.
A Chinese government official said an integrated multidimensional transportation network has been built in Fujian that "will make it technically possible to construct a high-speed transport passage linking the province with Taiwan," according to state media.
Taiwan has dismissed previous Chinese plans to link the island to the rail network, which would require construction of the world's longest undersea tunnel beneath the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan's China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council said such infrastructure projects could not be "unilaterally decided," adding that even China's overseas Belt and Road investments needed to be discussed with host countries.
China cut off a formal talks mechanism with Taiwan's government in 2016.
Earlier this year a group of eight local government councilors in Kinmen suggested building a literal and metaphorical bridge across the strait.
The plan would turn Kinmen into a “peace island,” or a sort of DMZ between Taiwan and China.
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