Rapid growth of high-speed rail in China

CHINA only opened its high-speed rail service to passengers four years ago, but it now boasts the world's biggest network, with more than 8,300km of track - a figure that is growing rapidly.

Trains are by far the most popular form of long-distance transport in the country of more than 1.3 billion people where, despite three decades of blistering economic growth, air travel remains far too expensive for most people.

China recorded more than 1.68 billion passenger trips on its network in 2010, dwarfing the 248 million airline passenger journeys in the same period.

The vast country's 91,000km rail network carries hundreds of millions of people every year and stretches from the eastern metropolis of Shanghai to the remote Tibetan plateau.

In recent years, the government has invested heavily in high-speed train links as it strives to meet the growing demands on the transport system.

Last year, government spending on the high-speed railway surpassed 700 billion yuan (S$132 billion), and China is now home to around half the world's high-speed tracks.