China has been investing billions in a high-speed rail network across the country, between major cities and into rural regions. Here’s what it’s like to ride one of these trains leaving Shanghai for Beijing. It will get up to 350 km per hour (that’s 217 miles per hour). High-speed rail is expensive, but it makes sense on popular routes where it can draw people away from carbon-intensive air travel. And it’s convenient. I’m no longer surprised when a Chinese colleague says, “Why didn’t you take the train?”