TIMELINE

1990s: China begins research and development into high-speed railways.

January 2004: The State Council, China's Cabinet, issues the Medium and Long-Term Railway Network Plan, proposing the construction of the "four north-south and four east-west corridors", featuring more than 12,000 kilometers of passenger lines.

Aug 1, 2008: The 120-km Beijing-Tianjin Intercity High-speed Railway is put into operation. It is the first high-speed railway line with a designed speed of 350 kph in China.

October 2008: The State Council issues a revised version of the Medium and Long-Term Railway Network Plan, proposing the construction of 16,000 km of passenger railway lines.

June 30, 2011: The 1,318-km Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway line is put into operation. On this line, a high-speed train sets a record of 486.1 kph on a test run, the highest speed in trial operations in the world.

Dec 26, 2012: The 2,281-km Beijing-Guangzhou High-speed Railway, the world's longest high-speed railway line, comes into operation. It traverses a temperate zone, a subtropical zone, regions with various topographical and geological features, and several bodies of water.

Dec 26, 2014: The 1,776-km Lanzhou-Urumqi High-speed Railway is put into operation. The line crosses the Gobi Desert area and wind-swept regions.

July 2016: The State Council rolls out the updated Medium and Long-Term Railway Network Plan, presenting the blueprint for a network underpinned by "eight north-south and eight east-west corridors".

July 15, 2016: Two Chinese-made bullet trains pass each other in opposite directions on parallel tracks at speeds of 420 kph in a test run on the Zhengzhou-Xuzhou High-speed Railway line. This test is the first of its kind in the world.

Sept 21, 2017: Chinese-made Fuxing bullet trains begin operations on the Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway line, running at a commercial speed of 350 kph.

Dec 6, 2017: The 658-km Xi'an-Chengdu High-speed Railway line comes into operation. It runs through the Qinling Mountains, the geographical and climatic boundary between the north and south of China.

Sept 23, 2018: The 141-km Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High-speed Railway, connecting Hong Kong with the mainland's Guangzhou and Shenzhen (both in Guangdong province), is put into operation, incorporating Hong Kong into the national high-speed railway network.

Dec 30, 2019: The 174-km Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-speed Railway line — China's first "intelligent" high-speed railway — with a designed speed of 350 kph comes into operation. The old Beijing-Zhangjiakou line was the first railway designed and built by Chinese workers, while the new Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-speed Railway line leads the world in railway technology. From 35 kph to 350 kph, the lines between Beijing and Zhangjiakou witness the development of China's railway network and a big jump in the country's comprehensive strength.

Dec 27, 2020: Another intelligent high-speed railway, the 91-km Beijing-Xiong'an Intercity Railway, connecting Beijing and Xiong'an New Area in Hebei province, comes into operation.

June 20, 2022: The 1,068-km Zhengzhou-Chongqing High-speed Railway opens to traffic. It is the first high-speed railway linking the Three Gorges Reservoir area in Chongqing and Hubei province.