{"id":1564,"date":"2011-05-31T19:00:16","date_gmt":"2011-05-31T23:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=1564"},"modified":"2011-05-31T14:57:18","modified_gmt":"2011-05-31T18:57:18","slug":"riding-that-train-%e5%9d%90%e7%81%ab%e8%bd%a6%ef%bc%89","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/riding-that-train-%e5%9d%90%e7%81%ab%e8%bd%a6%ef%bc%89\/","title":{"rendered":"Riding That Train (\u5750\u706b\u8f66\uff09"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Trains or \u706b\u8f66 [hu\u01d2ch\u0113]\u00a0 (literally translating as “fire carts”) are a point of pride among the Chinese–and for good reason. They are a huge source of travel and transport for people and freight \u00a0in China as highway and road development is still lagging outside of most urban centers. When you think about it, it makes sense. China is still developing it’s infrastructure and energy sectors, so any mode of transport reliant upon coal is a natural fit in the Chinese domestic economy.<\/p>\n

Yet there is more to this love affair with trains than economic development. Historically, Chinese immigrants were the first to build the series of east-to-west-coast rails throughout the United States, tying them historically to notions of “western expansion” and “Manifest Destiny” during the late 19th century. While most Americans are unaware of or neglect this fact, the Chinese-built rail system was paramount to United States development and industrialization. I find it interesting that more than 150 years later, China is now the global leader in rail transit development, and the largest producer (including exports) of trains and train technology and the leader in future train projects throughout the globe.<\/p>\n

You name it, China leads the industry in it. High speed rail, freight transport, commuter transport–they even have a train that doesn’t ever stop moving in the works:<\/p>\n