Officials have hailed the latest £2.3billion section of railway has opened.

08:35, Fri, Jan 2, 2026 Updated: 08:35, Fri, Jan 2, 2026

Train on new section of China's high speed railway

A new section of China's high-speed railway has opened (Image: Getty)

China has famously outstanding infrastructure that, by many measures, is on a completely different scale to that seen in the UK. State control, a unique financing model and a huge skilled labour force have meant the country has managed to develop massive networks, including its high-speed railway. Over Christmas, this reached a huge milestone, passing 50,000km in length. To put its vast scale into perspective, Earth's circumference is 40,075km.

The Pan-American highway is around 30,000km, and the Great Wall of China around 21,000km. The rail system as a whole is estimated to have cost around $900 billion (£668billion) to build over the years. A new 299km section started operating on Boxing Day, between Xi’an, where China’s famous Terracotta Warriors are located, and Yan’an to the north.

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Houses were demolished during the latest leg's construction, with residents receiving 5,000 yuan (US$700) to relocate.

The build began in 2020.

State media CCTV reported the new Xi’an-Yan’an line's shortest trip takes just 68 minutes, and its C9309 train run at 217mph, faster than Japan’s Shinkansen stock.

China's ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, said on X: "A new milestone: China's high-speed rail mileage has topped 50,000 km (about 31,069 miles), exceeding the total of all other countries combined. Better connections, better life."

Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, posted: “China’s total operational mileage of high-speed rail has surpassed 50,000 km, more than the combined total of all other countries.

Panzhou-Xingyi High-speed train at platform

China's high-speed network is longer than Earth's equator (Image: Getty)

"Driving more than speed and scale—it connects people, regions, and a future on the move.”

"China’s unmatched high-speed railway expansion has been the result of an unmatched combination of political will, access to capital from state banks, effective development on foreign knowhow, and home-grown engineering," Jonathan Holslag, a political scientist and China scholar, told Newsweek.

"This is state capitalism at its strongest: when the political will is there the rest follows."