A new day dawns in Beijing. After a long (and exhausting) day at the Motor ShowToday we have a long train journey ahead of us. Today we leave Beijing to head to Wuhuthe city where the headquarters of the Chery group is located, and yes, we do it by train. I admit that I am excited: it is the first time that I have gotten on both a bullet and a Chinese train.
When I ask local Chery employees about Wuhu, what it is like, they all tell me the same thing: “for you it is a huge city, but for us it is a small city.”
Wuhu has four million inhabitants.
Madrid, to put us in context, has 3.4 million.
I imagine that living in a country of 1.4 billion inhabitants causes the dimensions of things to become distorted. I suppose that for someone from Beijing traveling to Madrid is like when we go to town.
Buildings in Wuhu | Image: Xataka
Wuhu is located around 1,000 kilometers south of Beijing. Specifically, between Wuhan and Shanghai. Google Maps, which is not the most reliable reference in China, shows me almost 11 hours by car.
By train, the trip lasts around four and a half hours, which is more than enough time to talk a little about this other small-big city and, in the process, get to know the city more closely. chinese railway network and the experience of traveling on one of its trains.
China has made leaps and bounds in its electrification, we have seen that in the two previous installments of this daily blog. Well, in the same way that the electric and hybrid car has evolved, so has its railway network. Let’s go in parts.
To get into flour let’s look at some numbers. Let’s talk about Spain. Our country has 15,652 kilometers of road, of which 4,000 kilometers are high-speed (+200 km/h). It is the second most extensive high-speed network in the world. The first, indeed, is the Chinese one. And it is with an absolutely insane difference.
Roads in China | Image: Xataka
According to the Chinese government and according to the local Xinhua agencyChina closed last year with 165,000 kilometers of track, of which “more than 50,000 kilometers” are high-speed.
In 2025 alone, Chinese railways transported a whopping 4.59 billion passengers, 6.4% more than last year. In Spain, the figure was of 177.6 million. We cannot make the direct comparison because the size of China is like 17 times that of Spain, but it helps us put into perspective how enormous this infrastructure is.
And it is getting worse, because this year they intend to put 2,000 more kilometers into operation. Only in the first quarter of 2026 will Chinese railways they completed an investment in fixed assets of 20.9 billion dollars. By 2050, the country’s goal is to achieve 274,000 kilometers.
Image | Xataka
The body in charge of managing most railway operations is in the hands of China State Railway Group Company, a state-owned company created in 2013 after the dissolution of the Ministry of Railways. Since 2019 it has been under the umbrella of the Ministry of Finance. There are other “private” lines that connect mines with refineries, for example.
The network is divided into several horizontal and vertical corridors, mostly concentrated in the east of the country where, evidently, most of the population is concentrated and where coal is produced. Only one line extends to the northwest (crossing the Gobi Desert and bordering the Taklamakan Desert) and southwest of the country (near the Tibet Plateau).
A train on the way to Wuhu | Image: Xataka
But let’s leave geography and talk about experience, because it is not only that the Chinese network is larger than the Spanish one (for whatever reason), but it is also significantly faster.
And no, it is not noticeable | Image: Xataka
The Spanish high speed can be up to 300 km/h, but on a line like the one from Andalusia to Madrid it is normal for trains to not exceed 250 km/h. Sections of 200 km/h are also frequent. Also, recently, there have been more aggressive speed limitations on some lines.
I write this on a train that moves exactly at 347 km/h and I must admit that because I have seen the figure on a screen, otherwise I would not have known.
I don’t know if it will be the same on all trains, but the experience on this one has been exquisite. The train, despite going 50% fast, vibrates much less than the trains I am used to taking in Spain. I think the video speaks for itself.
This speed, which has remained relatively constant throughout the trip, allows us to get from Beijing to Wuhu in about four and a half hours. The train has made some stops of just a few minutes at certain stations, but little more.
In a country of these dimensions it makes all the sense in the world to bet on the railway. Not only to transport people, that too, but for the transport of goods.
If we have discovered something these days it is that China has a competitive advantage by having all the links of the supply chain very close at hand. That, however, is of little use if the transport of goods does not accompany. It is not the case, although half.
In Wuhu, where Chery was founded, the brand’s presence is much, much more evident | Image: Xataka
Again, according to official Chinese government data, in 2025 alone railways moved a whopping 5.27 billion tons of freight, 2% more than the previous year. However, road and air transport remains very important when moving goods in the domestic market. At an international level, air and sea are the two great cornerstones.
Tomorrow more, this time in Wuhu.
More deliveries:
- Journey to the center of the Chinese motor (part 1): a walk through Beijing, Ebro, Chery and the silent streets
- Journey to the center of the Chinese motor (part 2): I have seen the future of cars in Beijing and yes, it is electric (and very cool)
Images | Xataka
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