Fifteen years ago intercity travel was often a choice between slow, crowded trains or a perilous journey by car or bus on narrow rural roads (flying was for the privileged;

• 15年以前，要在中国做城际旅行，你要么搭乘又慢又挤的火车，要么搭乘大巴或小巴胆战心惊地走狭窄的村级公路（坐飞机是地位的象征，在1993年以前，飞机票要单位介绍信才买得到）。