German media: China's revival is rapidly moving towards the future
On August 28th, Reference News Network reported that the website of the German newspaper "South Deutsche Zeitung" published a report titled "Driving towards the Future at 350 kilometers per hour" written by journalist Leia Sahai on August 26th. The report is compiled as follows:
In China, paper tickets have become a thing of the past. Brushing your ID card now is enough. At most stations, passengers can take the escalator from the waiting area to the platform. The scene before us is impressive: dozens of tracks leading to light, and white high-speed trains winding along.
China has built over 40000 kilometers of high-speed rail in the past decade, which can circle the Earth's equator once, accounting for more than two-thirds of the world's total high-speed rail mileage.
Feng Yan boarded the high-speed railway bound for Tianjin. This is China's first high-speed rail line, which travels 120 kilometers in about 30 minutes. Without the guidance of the flight attendant, Feng Yan sat in his seat. This 41 year old man is familiar with the situation, and taking the train is part of his job: he provides consulting services for the railway department.
For many years, this Swiss born in Beijing has been committed to translating the rapidly increasing number of high-speed rail and station signs into easily understandable English. This is a career that Feng Yan pursued almost obsessively: he spent almost all his free time on the railway tracks, and since he recorded his journey, he has traveled about 530000 kilometers by train.
When going out, he will encounter some translation errors. For example, when passengers are asked to "wait outside a meter line," this sentence is often translated as "Please wait outside a noise.". Because in Chinese, the combination of "rice" and "line" is called "rice noodle", which can be translated as "noodle".
In this situation, Feng Yan will contact the relevant local departments and provide suggestions. Officials often contact him, or as recently, he has been invited to provide some English tutoring for the service personnel of the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games.
In recent years, various parts of the country have needed Feng Yan's professional knowledge. As pointed out by experts, China has established its own large-scale high-speed rail network in just over a decade.
When it comes to traveling by train, Feng Yan said, "China's high-speed rail has changed this country."
The several north-south and east-west railway corridors crisscrossing the country have brought this vast country closer together. The high-speed rail has a speed of about 350 kilometers per hour. This means that the journey from Beijing to Shanghai only takes about 4 and a half hours. The high-speed rail from Beijing to Hong Kong can travel over 2000 kilometers in just about 9 hours.
For Chinese people, this is very important: in the past, they needed to spend two or three days on the road to visit family, vacation, or attend business meetings, but now it usually only takes a few hours. If you ask Chinese people what their dreams are, some people will say: build a high-speed railway station in their hometown. The railway department has just announced the passenger transportation volume for this summer: in just a few weeks, 700 million people took trains, equivalent to half of China's population.
While the speed has increased, the facilities on the train have also become more advanced. The thick cigarette smoke, nut shells on the floor, and sweat have all disappeared.
The cheapest second-class high-speed rail seats are similar to the standards of German railways, although the space is narrower. Every once in a while, staff wipe the ground. Each carriage provides hot water. The business seat is even more luxurious, with seats that look like oversized massage chairs and can also be expanded into a bed.
For Chinese people, the "Fuxing" with a speed of up to 400 kilometers per hour has become a symbol. Feng Yan chose the word "review" when helping to translate English, which means "renewal" or "revival". This means that China will once again become a world power. Chinese train manufacturers have long become strong competitors for Siemens and other companies.
At the same time, Feng Yan's train has arrived at Tianjin Wuqing Station. This place is thriving due to high-speed rail. He pointed to a sign and said, "I translated it."
