"Building more high-speed railways" has been a hot topic at the annual sessions of China's provincial legislatures and political advisory bodies intensively held in January.



China has the world's largest high-speed rail network, with the total operating length reaching 19,000 km by the end of 2015, about 60 percent of the world's total.




The expanding high-speed rail network is offering unprecedented convenience and comfort to travelers, and boosting local development as well.



Chinese companies have developed world-leading capabilities in building high-speed railways in extreme natural conditions.



High-speed railway routes across China have been designed to suit its varying climate and geographical conditions.



The Harbin-Dalian high-speed railway travels through areas where the temperature drops to as low as -40 C in winter, the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway passes through the savage Gobi Desert and the Hainan Island railway can withstand a battering from typhoons.



The China Railway Corp. plans to spend another 800 billion yuan (around $120 billion) in 2016, especially in less-developed central and western regions.



Credit: China Daily

