An exhibition on China's high-speed railway opens on Sunday in Beijing, featuring a wide range of exhibits that showcase the evolution of the country's high-speed railway network.
The exhibition displays over 1,000 exhibits, including archival photos and documents, intricate models, and immersive interactive displays, allowing visitors to trace the impressive journey of China's high-speed rail.
Today, China operates a leading high-speed railway network, with the world's longest high-speed railway operation mileage, the largest scale of construction, and the highest commercial operating speeds.
"China's (high-speed) rail network has stretched to 48,000 kilometers, accounting for over 70 percent of the world's total, setting an international benchmark for high-speed rail technology and management. The exhibition is the first of its kind to comprehensively introduce China's high-speed railway development to the public, reinforcing the brand of high-speed rail as a national 'business card,' " said Wei Xian, director of China Railway Museum.
China's high-speed railway has already reached 97 percent of cities with populations of over 500,000, establishing a comprehensive and mature technological system. The Fuxing series high-speed trains have achieved commercial operation at a speed of 350 km/h. To date, the network has handled more than 22.9 billion passenger trips. Up to 10,000 high-speed trains operate across the country daily, with a total of 16 million passengers traveling each day.
In addition to the domestic achievements, China is also making a global impact. It has spearheaded the development of all 13 system-level international standards for high-speed rail as set by the International Union of Railways (UIC), contributing to the global development of high-speed rail.
Exhibition in Beijing highlights development of China's high-speed railway network
China's Shenzhou-21 astronauts have steadily carried out a series of tasks aboard the Tiangong space station over the past week, including in-orbit experiments, equipment maintenance and health monitoring, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said on Sunday.
The crew, comprised of mission commander Zhang Lu and astronauts Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang, have spent more than four months in orbit and remain in good health, according to the CMSA.
Inside the station's core module, cherry tomatoes cultivated using a water aeroponic device are thriving. The astronauts documented the plants with photos, harvested ripe fruit and sealed both plants and produce separately for preservation.
Building on the success of the cherry tomato cultivation, the team will conduct aeroponic experiments with wheat, carrots, and both medicinal and edible plants as planned. These trials aim to validate key technologies and expand the range of crops and technical capabilities for space cultivation.
In the field of space materials science, the crew completed several tasks, including cleaning the experimental chamber in the unpressurized compartment, replacing experimental samples, maintaining the electrodes of the central mechanism, and cleaning the window cover of the central mechanism.
They also completed related microgravity combustion science experiments, which included replacing the burner and sampling cover inside the experiment cabinet, as well as vacuumization and exhaust gas discharge.
Additional work included maintenance of the regenerative life support system equipment, microorganism monitoring and assessment and medical training, which helps familiarize the astronauts with the rescue operation methods and force application characteristics in a microgravity environment.
The Shenzhou-21 crewed spacecraft blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Oct 31, 2025, sending the three astronauts to the orbiting space station on a six-month mission.
Shenzhou-21 crew advances space experiments, equipment maintenance on Tiangong
Shenzhou-21 crew advances space experiments, equipment maintenance on Tiangong
