High-speed rail network set to change Zhengzhou's economic landscape

Zhengzhou, the capital city of Central China's Henan province, was the hub of traditional trains, and now, especially in the past five years, is coming closer to becoming the center of the high-speed rail network.

With a bullet train rolling out of Zhengzhou East Railway Station, a new high-speed link between Zhengzhou and Xuzhou in eastern China Jiangsu province began on Saturday morning.

This route would consolidate Zhengzhou's position as a high-speed railway hub, the local government officials said.

The country's high-speed rail network now exceeds 20,000 km in length and connects the west with major north-south lines, which helps to cut travel time between west and east in the country, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Ju Kaifeng, deputy party secretary of Zhengzhou Railway Bureau, said it only took one hour and 18 minutes from Zhengzhou to Xuzhou, which saved as much as half the time than before.

By 2020, people could arrive in Taiyuan, Xi'an, Jinan and Wuhan from Zhengzhou within two hours, and Shanghai in four hours, he said.

"The high-speed railways shorten the distance between people," said Wu Yufeng, a Zhengzhou resident who works in Guangzhou. He added that it was convenient to visit his relatives by high-speed train.

Central China's Henan province focused on the high-speed rail network in its 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), to help the regional logistics hub compete with other established rivals in the nation's coastal areas.

In addition, the high-speed railways also help Zhengzhou city become more international.

Plan to create seven free trade zone test areas was approved by the government on September 1, including Liaoning, Zhejiang, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan and Shananxi province, as well as Chongqing Municipality. Henan government plans to focus on developing modern logistics transportation hub with the "One Belt One Road" policy.

Jiao Jinmiao, director of the Henan Provincial Commerce Department, told the local newspaper, Dahe Daily, that Zhengzhou, as the intersection of the railways, the government would focus on development of e-commerce, modern logistics, international trade, as well as high value-added manufacturing, aiming to meet the need of globalization.