When Liu Wei stood at the podium in Beijing this Monday, he summed up a transformation that’s redefining how people and goods move across the Chinese mainland. By the end of 2024, operational railway mileage reached 162,000 kilometers — propelled by an extra 10,000 kilometers of high-speed rail. This surge has crowned the mainland’s network as the largest of its kind in high-speed rail, highways and postal routes.
Today, an average of 180 million travelers crisscross regions daily, while 160 million tonnes of freight roll across networks each day. Postal centers handle roughly 478 million express parcels every 24 hours, showcasing a logistics engine that powers both commerce and everyday life.
These achievements fall under the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025), a strategic blueprint for modernizing infrastructure, boosting the economy and connecting remote provinces with thriving metropolises. Liu Wei, the Chinese mainland’s minister of transport, highlighted that this marks a period of historic growth in connectivity, efficiency and sustainability.
For globally minded readers—whether entrepreneurs, tech fans or sustainability advocates—this infrastructure leap offers a case study in rapid scaling. State-driven planning, digital rail scheduling and green freight corridors all paint a picture of how transportation can evolve in emerging markets.
From bullet trains slicing through mountain ranges to high-tech logistics hubs processing millions of parcels, the Chinese mainland’s transport revolution is driven by ambition, innovation and sheer scale. As the 14th Five-Year Plan presses on, the world will watch how these new arteries reshape travel, trade and everyday life for billions.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
