China’s Most Epic High-speed Rail Journeys中國最美高鐵之旅

苔絲·漢弗萊斯

It was once Japan that was famous for its high-speed train network， introducing the world to its Shinkansen， or bullet trains， way back in 1964. But while Japan is still a leader in rail technology， it is now China that holds the crown of high-speed train capital of the world.

In the decade or so since China put into operation its first high-speed passenger trains， the country has constructed more than 22，000 kilometres of high-speed rail track to create the longest network on Earth. In 2017， the country launched the world’s fastest high-speed train， known as ‘Fuxing’1， which travels at up to 350 kilometres per hour， reducing travel time between Beijing and Shanghai to four and a half hours.

Now， China’s high-speed trains—officially defined as passenger trains that travel at speeds of 250–350 kilometres per hour—take travellers to almost all of the country’s provinces. With Inner Mongolia’s first high-speed line opening in July 2017， only Tibet and Ningxia currently lack high-speed trains. But with plans for the continued expansion of the network it won’t be long until they too are serviced by high-speed lines.

All this makes for a super-fast， and relatively inexpensive way， to cover this country’s vast distances. If you’re in the mood for a speedy look at the Middle Kingdom， here are some of our picks for the most epic high-speed rail journeys in China.

The Shangri-La Train

Currently the longest high-speed rail route in the world and taking less than 11 hours to travel more than 2700km on the quickest service， the Beijing to Kunming train is a truly epic high-speed train journey.

Travelling from China’s capital， Beijing， the train wends its way south through heavily industrial Hebei province into harsh， dusty Henan， sliced in two by the mighty Yellow River， before pushing on west through Hunan， into the karst2 landscapes of Guizhou and on to Kunming， capital of China’s most south-westerly province， Yunnan. The train is named in honour of one of Yunnan’s most famous cities， mythical Shangri-La， nestled high up in the province’s mountainous north and due to get its own connecting high-speed line soon.

To break up the journey， be sure to stop off at Zhengzhou， which is within easy reach of Luoyang city and the nearby Longmen Grottoes， one of China’s three major ancient Buddhist rock art galleries. Also near Zhengzhou is the Shaolin Temple， where Chinese kung fu is said to have originated.

The Panda Train

Taking between 12 and 13 hours to travel 1690km， this train zips3 along from an ancient Chinese capital to the panda capital of the world.

Beginning at Nanjing， a city of both proud and tragic history， it hurtles4 through the Yangzi basin， into the megacity region of Chongqing， gateway between eastern and southwestern China. From here， it pushes on into the mountainous heartland of Sichuan to arrive at Chengdu， home to the world-famous Giant Panda Breeding and Research Base.

En route， the train passes through Yichang. It’s here you can stop off for a glimpse of the massive Three Gorges Dam， or hop on a cruise boat up the Yangzi River to Chongqing.

The Silk Road Train

The first high-speed train to extend out into China’s vast western regions connects the 1776 kilometres between ürümqi， capital of Xinjiang， and Lanzhou， capital of Gansu， in a little under 12 hours. The train follows the ancient Silk Road via the oasis town of Turpan， geographically the lowest place in China at 154m below sea level. From here， it travels through some of the harshest terrain in all of the country to Jiayuguan， home of the western end of the Great Wall.

It then races southwest through the Hexi Corridor at Zhangye， worth a stop to view the otherworldly rainbow rocks at Danxia National Geopark5， and across the Qilian Mountains， where the track soars to 3607 metres above sea level， making it the highest high-speed rail track in the world.

After slurping6 down some of Lanzhou’s famous hand-pulled lamian noodles， hop back on the train and travel on the newly opened Lanzhou to Xi’an line to complete your Silk Road journey by visiting the famed Army of the Terracotta Warriors.

The Coastal Train

Covering the journey through China’s southern seaboard7 through Zhejiang， Fujian and Guangdong provinces， the 1623km-long Shanghai to Hong Kong line takes around 12 hours to connect two of Asia’s most electric megacities.

Heading south from colossal8 Shanghai， via Hangzhou and its beautiful West Lake， the train passes through the lush， semitropical9 coastal stretches of southern Zhejiang into Fujian province. Here， it stops at provincial capital Fuzhou before travelling onwards to the old port town of Xiamen， home to some of China’s nicest city beaches and within reach of the Fujian Tulou10 （Hakka earthen roundhouses）.

The train then passes through the hilly southwestern border with Guangdong to China’s technology capital， Shenzhen， from where it’s an easy ride across to vibrant Hong Kong on the MTR11. Now high-speed rail lines have been extended directly into the city itself. Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link （XRL）， a high-speed railway line that connects Beijing and Hong Kong （Kowloon） via Guangzhou and Shenzhen， was fully operated on September 23th， 2018.

The Ice Festival Train

China’s high-speed rail network continues to stretch up into the country’s economically and politically important northeast， or Dongbei as it’s known in China， connecting this rugged mountainous region with the rest of the country.

This train takes around 12 hours to travel the 2400km between Shanghai and Harbin， making it one of the longest rail journeys in China. It travels up through the eastern seaboard provinces of Jiangsu—home to gentile Suzhou and its imperial gardens and canals—and Shandong， birthplace of Confucius. On route， it stops at Tai’an， the jumping-off point12 for Tai Shan， the holiest of China’s five sacred Taoist mountains13.

It then snakes its way along the Bohai Gulf coast， stopping at Beidaihe， a popular resort with one of China’s few beaches， before running through Liaoning and Jilin provinces， terminating in Harbin. The city’s psychedelic14 ice sculpture festival， Harbin Ice & Snow World， is held each year in the sub-zero temperatures of a Dongbei January.

The Island Train

When it opened in 2015， this was the world’s first circular high-speed railway line， whirling around south China’s tropical Hainan island， floating between Guangdong province and northern Vietnam. Some of the line runs parallel with the island’s coastline， giving passengers wonderful views of the South China Sea.

From the island’s steamy capital Haikou， the train runs 650km around the island in about five hours， connecting all the airports on the island. The train also passes through towns such as Wanning， on the island’s east coast， that offer access to some of China’s few surfable beaches. For the best beaches， however， hop off at the resort city of Sanya， at the island’s southern-most tip.

日本曾因發(fā)達的高鐵網(wǎng)絡(luò)而聞名，早在1964年，“新干線”（或 叫“子彈頭列車”）就為世界熟知。盡管日本在鐵路技術(shù)方面仍處于領(lǐng)先地位，但在高鐵運營方面，中國才是當之無愧的世界第一。

大約10年前，中國第一批客運高鐵投入運營;在過去的十多年間，中國已經(jīng)鋪設(shè)超過2.2萬公里的高鐵軌道，總里程居世界第一位。2017年，中國的“復(fù)興號”投入使用，它是世界上運行速度最快的高速列車，時速高達350公里，使北京到上海的時間縮短到4.5小時。

在中國，高鐵是指時速在250公里至350公里之間的客運列車。除了個別省份，中國幾乎所有的省份都開通了高鐵。2017年7月，隨著內(nèi)蒙古第一條高速鐵路通車，全國就只剩西藏和寧夏還未開通高鐵。但按照計劃，高鐵網(wǎng)絡(luò)還會繼續(xù)擴張，相信這兩地很快也會開通高鐵。

在遼闊的中國土地上，高鐵網(wǎng)絡(luò)的發(fā)展為人們提供了高速且相對經(jīng)濟的出行方式。如果想速覽中國風光，我們推薦以下幾條最美的高鐵線路。

香格里拉之旅

京昆高鐵的沿途風景頗為壯觀。它全長超過2700公里，是目前世界上里程最長的高鐵線路，最快車次運行時間不到11小時。

列車從首都北京出發(fā)向南行進，穿過工業(yè)重省河北，進入氣候干燥、黃土漫漫的河南，雄渾的黃河穿省而過。列車轉(zhuǎn)而向西奔馳，穿過湖南，進入擁有喀斯特地貌的貴州，然后一路奔向中國最西南的省會城市——昆明。列車的名字是為了紀念云南最著名的一座城市——神秘的香格里拉，它坐落于云南省北部山區(qū)，很快也會開通第一條高鐵線。

如果想拆分行程，建議在鄭州站下車，那兒離洛陽和龍門石窟很近。龍門石窟是中國古代三大佛教石刻藝術(shù)寶庫之一。中國功夫發(fā)源地少林寺也在鄭州附近。

熊貓之旅

從古都南京到熊貓之都成都，這列火車在中國的土地上飛馳1690公里，運行時間12—13小時。

南京是一座既經(jīng)歷過輝煌時代也遭遇過悲慘打擊的城市，列車從南京出發(fā)，沿著長江流域疾馳，進入超大城市重慶。重慶是連通中國東部與西南地區(qū)的門戶，從這里，列車繼續(xù)朝著多山的四川腹地前進，最終抵達成都，這里有世界聞名的大熊貓繁育研究基地。

這條線路途經(jīng)宜昌，你可以在那兒下車，一覽雄偉的三峽大壩，或是登上游船，沿著長江直達重慶。

絲路之旅

新疆烏魯木齊至甘肅蘭州的高鐵線路是延伸至廣袤西部的第一條高鐵線，全長1776公里，運行時間近12小時。列車沿著古老的絲綢之路馳騁，經(jīng)過中國地勢最低的“沙漠綠洲”吐魯番（低于海平面154米），之后穿過中國地勢最險的地帶，抵達嘉峪關(guān)，嘉峪關(guān)是長城最西端的關(guān)口。

列車朝西南方向奔馳，穿越張掖河西走廊，這里丹霞地質(zhì)公園超凡脫俗的七彩丘陵值得你稍作停留，一睹美景。之后，列車將穿越整個祁連山脈，鐵路線海拔高達3607米，使這條鐵路成為世界上海拔最高的高速鐵路。

抵達蘭州之后，你可以呼哧呼哧地吃上一碗著名的蘭州拉面，再回去坐火車，跳上剛開通不久的蘭州—西安線列車前往西安，參觀中外聞名的秦始皇兵馬俑，結(jié)束絲綢之路之旅。

滬港沿海之旅

滬港高鐵連接亞洲最有活力的兩個大都市上海和香港，全長1623米，運行時間約12小時，跨越浙江、福建和廣東三省，基本覆蓋中國南部海岸線。

列車從大都市上海出發(fā)，經(jīng)過杭州，那里有景色迷人的西湖，然后沿著海岸線從浙江南部一直行至福建省，沿途布滿郁郁蔥蔥的亞熱帶植被。列車在省會城市福州稍作停留，然后駛向老港口城市廈門。廈門有中國最漂亮的沙灘，并且離福建土樓景區(qū)不遠。

之后，列車穿過福建西南部與廣東接壤的丘陵地區(qū)，到達中國科技之都——深圳。從這兒坐上港鐵便能很快抵達活力滿滿的香港?，F(xiàn)在還有了直達香港的高速鐵路。廣深港高速鐵路是京廣高速鐵路的延伸線，連接廣州市、深圳市和香港（九龍），已于2018年9月23日全面開通。

冰雪節(jié)之旅

高鐵網(wǎng)絡(luò)繼續(xù)延伸至占據(jù)重要政治經(jīng)濟地位的中國東北地區(qū)，將這個崎嶇多山的地區(qū)與中國其他地區(qū)連接起來。

本列車往返于上海和哈爾濱，單程2400公里，運行時間約12小時，是中國目前最長的鐵路線路之一。列車從上海出發(fā)，穿過東部沿海的江蘇，那里有柔美的蘇州及其宏偉的園林和運河。之后，它繼續(xù)往北行至孔子的家鄉(xiāng)——山東，在泰安?？?。你可以下車去爬爬泰山，它是中國道教名山五岳之首。

之后，列車沿著渤海灣蜿蜒前進，在擁有美麗沙灘的度假勝地北戴河停留，再出發(fā)經(jīng)過遼寧省和吉林省，抵達終點站哈爾濱。每年，這座東北城市都會在氣溫零度以下的一月份舉辦如夢似幻的冰雕藝術(shù)節(jié)，名曰“哈爾濱冰雪大世界”。

海南環(huán)島之旅

海南島是中國南部的一個熱帶島嶼，位于廣東省和越南北部之間。海南環(huán)島鐵路于2015年正式投入運營，是當時世界上首條環(huán)形高速鐵路。本線路的一部分與海南島海岸線平行，乘客在車上便能一覽南海的美景。

環(huán)島鐵路全長650公里，將島上所有的機場都連接起來。列車從濕熱的省會?？诔霭l(fā)，環(huán)繞海島一周，總運行時間約5小時。列車也會經(jīng)過海島東岸的萬寧市，那里有中國為數(shù)不多的可沖浪的海灘。不過，最好的沙灘還是在海南島最南端的度假城市——三亞。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎選手）