China’s High-speed Rail Phenomenon

Abstract

To elaborate the change, the impact of innovation, and the “creation myth”, Paul Alofs writes the following in his book Passion Capital:

If you were to have fallen asleep in 1491 and woken up in 1496, very little would have changed. And this despite a momentous event: Columbus discovered America. But unless you were among the elite, you probably wouldn’t have heard about it. There wasn’t any mass media, and at any rate you would likely be illiterate. Even if you heard about it, it wouldn’t have had much impact on your life, unless you were a mapmaker. Your life would have been the same as your grandfather’s, and your grandson’s life would be similar to yours. But as change comes increasingly faster, it is difficult to see how new discoveries will affect us in the new future (2012, p. 123).

This is absolutely true! On 26 December 2012, The People’s Daily described how you could see the four seasons in one day when on China’s high-speed train from Beijing to Guangzhou. One could see the heavy snow when the train started in Beijing; in the afternoon, one could see the beautiful moor, flowers, and people in Guangzhou. The high-speed train between Beijing and Guangzhou travels through six major cities/provincial capitals—Beijing, Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Changsha and Guangzhou—covering 2298 km.

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

Sun Tzu