Ion ȘTEFANOVICI: “Traveling at 300 km/h between Ningbo and Shanghai: The Lesson of a Civilization in Motion”
100 economic opportunities for the development of the Moldova Region on the A7 Highway route
As part of the official visit of the CAPDR – Center for Analysis and Planning of Regional Development delegation to the People’s Republic of China, held in May 2025, one of the priorities was direct documentation of high-speed rail infrastructure models.
Between the cities of Ningbo and Shanghai, we had the opportunity to experience not just a journey at 290 km/h, but also a concrete demonstration of how a country can turn vision into reality through massive investments, technology, and strategic planning. This experience forms the basis of the reflections below.
“In an hour and forty minutes, a train does what history has done in decades: it connects cities, ideas, economies.”
We are on board a high-speed train, running at over 300 km/h between Ningbo, a world-class industrial port, and Shanghai, the metropolis that always seems one step ahead. The journey is a lesson in what vision, discipline, and technological capability mean in a country that chose to invest in infrastructure as if it were its own backbone.
China – The Giant of High-Speed Railways
China now owns the most extensive high-speed rail network in the world: over 45,000 km, aiming to reach 50,000 km by 2030. Nearly two-thirds of the global total of high-speed rail is operated here.
The train we are on, a Fuxing CR400AF model, is a national symbol: fully designed, produced, and perfected in China. Its standard speed is 350 km/h, but in lab tests, its magnetic levitation sibling – the Maglev – has reached 603 km/h, setting a world record.
Ningbo – Shanghai: an Economic Artery of Astonishing Precision
The distance of approximately 300 km is covered in an average of 1h 40min, without disruptions or delays.
Dozens of trains run daily on this route, with only a few minutes between them during peak hours.
The entire route is peppered with impressive viaducts, some stretching for tens of kilometers over rural areas, logistics hubs, and navigable canals. The stations are true multifunctional hubs – Shanghai Hongqiao is an example: connected to the airport, metro, and shopping centers, it more closely resembles a vertical city.
Technology – Subtle but Omnipresent
We feel no vibrations. We don’t hear the usual clatter of wheels. Doors close automatically, information systems are synchronized in real time, and tickets are integrated with the traveler’s digital identity. A simple QR code validates everything: seat, identity, speed, direction.
In just a few decades, China has accomplished what many European states are still planning: digitizing transport infrastructure, automating it, and making it an active part of the economy.
Reflection on the Move: What Do We Learn?
“Looking out the window, we see dozens of bridges, factories, silhouettes of cities that flash by at a speed that surpasses time. But the lesson is not just about speed – it’s about continuity, political will, and national mobilization.”
For Romania – and especially for the Moldova Region – the experience of this journey offers a painful contrast, but also a motivational benchmark. If we want to move – economically, demographically, administratively – we must connect. And connections are not made only through ideas, but through infrastructure that works.
Conclusion: The Train of the Future Is Passing Us By. Will We Catch It?
China no longer talks about “plans.” It’s already running on the rails of the future. Our journey today, between Ningbo and Shanghai, is a glimpse in the direction Romania could move, if we understood that infrastructure is not a cost, but an investment in the national future.
