China has the world’s largest high-speed rail network.
China’s high-speed railway system began operating in 2008 with the Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway. It expanded rapidly through major cities and regional routes, becoming a central part of the country’s transport infrastructure. Chinese high-speed trains commonly operate at up to 350 km/h on selected lines.
The network includes dedicated passenger lines and upgraded conventional routes. Major corridors connect Beijing with Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Xi’an and other large urban centres. China’s high-speed rail is sometimes confused with the entire national railway system, but the high-speed network is specifically the portion designed or upgraded for fast passenger services.
Japan pioneered high-speed passenger rail with the Shinkansen, but China’s network is much larger by route length. China also developed domestically produced train families such as the Fuxing series, which entered service in 2017.