Train attendant witnesses changes brought by high-speed railway service in SW China

Li Si checks her suitcase before boarding the high-speed train on Aug. 24, 2021. (Photo/Su Zhigang)

Li Si, a chief attendant for the high-speed train service operating between Chongqing Municipality and Chengdu, both located in southwest China, has deep feelings about the changes the high-speed train service has brought to people’s lives.

Li, a Chongqing local, had been a dancer for 10 years before becoming a train attendant in 2010. At first, she was not accustomed to the fact that she would sometimes be on duty during the Spring Festival travel rush, even on the eve of the Spring Festival, being unable to reunite with her family members. But when she witnessed all the passengers on the train eager to return home for their family reunion, she came to appreciate the fact that she was actually doing an important job by helping these homesick people return home safe and sound.

Speaking of the distance between Chengdu and Chongqing, Li recalled that it took one and a half hours to travel between the two cities by train in 2015 and only a little more than one hour since the end of 2020 when the Fuxing high-speed train service was launched.

“The high-speed train service has drawn the two cities closer to each other,” Li said, suggesting that it has enabled foodies to enjoy a plate of noodles in Chongqing in the morning and “maocai”, a kind of dish with mixed spicy vegetables and meat stew, in Chengdu in the afternoon on the same day.