莱拉

Close your eyes and imagine China， home to 1.4 billion of the worlds population. What do you see？

Rice paddies， pointed little hats strapped on under the chin， long， wispy mustaches floating above the wide grin of a country farm worker？... Well， while agriculture is still one of Chinas biggest industries， a lot has changed. Today， the state of modern China and its innovations are changing the game for what people think about this oriental giant. So， here are a few things to bring you up to speed on modern China.

1. China has the fastest trains in the world

In a country as large as China， people need to get around， and quick！ The Shanghai Maglev is the worlds fastest commercial train， clocking in at 431 kph （303 mph）. So， when you are in Chinas capital of Beijing， you can travel to the shiny city of Shanghai on one of these bullet trains in around 4? hours.

In addition， you can hop on a train in China and arrive at the doorsteps of major attractions such as the Terracotta Warriors in Xian， often with less hassle and a similar speed to flying， as the second-longest railway network in the world connects every major city in China （except Macao）.

2. China will boldly go where no man has gone before

Not to be confused with the Pink Floyd album， China is setting course to be the first nation to reach the dark side of the moon1. In 2018， China sent their Change 4 probe out to see if they can establish a suitable communication link. China is using their leaps in technological innovations to fill a void in the experts understanding of the universe.

If you want to learn more about Chinas explorations to infinity and beyond， during your visit you can check out the 10，000-square-meter China Space Museum in Beijings Fengtai District， featuring the history and future of the space industry in China.

3. The Silk Road is back in action

This billion upon billion dollar investment will create modern infrastructures in areas less trodden and open up vast opportunities to walk in the footsteps of those who risked their lives and adventured the trails to find new and exciting places and riches along the way. With the One Belt， One Road initiative well underway， China is linking up the Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road to create connections with more than 60 countries along its path.

4. Chinas gone bot-y2

While Skynet3s takeover is probably a few millennia away， today many of Chinas industries are going bot！ Robots are doing taxes， conducting surgical operations， taking over dangerous jobs at ammunition plants， and even made into cute little helpers rolling around banks waiting areas servicing and joking with customers.

However， China is still labor heavy， and labor is still relatively cheap， keeping the bots at bay; with many jobs still being done by many people that would be done by machine in the developed world： farming， factory processing， construction， toll gate ticketing...

5. Poverty-free is the way to be

China has lifted 68 million people out of poverty over the last five years. China has set a goal to lift all of the people in the nation out of poverty by 2020.

One major bonus for people living in small poor regions of China is that there is now a tourism infrastructure being built around and invested in ancient towns， allowing people to earn money as well as preserve their historical cultures.

6. WeChat is where its at

Since its launch in 2011， WeChat has become the all-in-one tool for modern China. Before you step foot across Chinas border make sure to download this app as it is the favored tool of communication for its 980 million active users in China.

There are 300 million users who have their credit cards attached to their accounts which allows users to have food， groceries and goods delivered to their house， pay cell phone， utility or other bills through third-party plugins and even hail a cab. It even has a built-in QR scanner to make all your QR purchases a breeze4.

7. QR codes， QR codes everywhere

Payment and information come in a nice， neat little package in China—QR codes. While in the West， these never quite caught on， QR codes are a way of life here， from getting another persons contact information and following a publication you like， to ordering food or paying bills.

If you are walking down the street and see a wrinkled old man serving some local Chinese snacks， you can be sure that you will also see a QR code somewhere to scan and pay for his wares over the phone！

8. A booming sharing economy

Remember those QR codes we just talked about， well they go even farther. In China， the sharing economy is so vast that you can share just about anything. But the biggest boom in todays market is the share transportation.

With one little scan， you are off on your share bike to your destination. Pesky 15-min walks from the subway have turned into 5-minute jaunts and weekends are now spend “share-biking” the city with friends. With over 600 million people participating in Chinas $550 billion sharing economy， there is nowhere to go but up.

9. China has Uber， well Didi， too

Founded in June 2012， Chinas car-hailing app Didi Chuxing （Didi）， the only company to have all of Chinas three internet giants—Alibaba， Tencent， and Baidu—as its investors， is the most valuable start-up company in the world.

With an interface like Uber or Lyft， users can simply plug in their location and destination and be on their way in a few minutes. In addition to regular car-hailing services， customers can also request luxury cars， airport pickup and full day car and driver rentals. In addition， Didi added an English interface in 2017 making it accessible to more and more people living in and visiting China.

10. Life in China is a mixed bag

While you can dine in lavish Michelin-starred restaurants in Chinas large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai， there is still deep-rooted culture at every turn.

In a little more than an hour from Beijings city center， you can step into rural China and tour ancient villages and even participate in homestays to learn more about traditional culture.

China is one of those places where you can see a Tesla zoom by and also have handmade dumplings from a vendor for less than one US dollar.

While there is a lot of modern changes happening in this vast country， there are still areas that are practically untouched that you can spend some time getting away from it all.

闭上眼睛，想象一下中国——那个拥有14亿人口的国度。你想到了什么？

片片稻田，带子系在下巴处的尖顶小草帽，咧嘴大笑的农民随风飘动的长长胡须？……嗯，虽然农业仍然是中国最大的产业之一，但中国已经发生了很多变化。如今，中国的现状及其创新正在改变人们对这个东方巨人的看法。以下几件事可以让你快速了解当今中国。

1. 中国拥有世界上最快的火车

在像中国这么大的国家，人们需要到处走动，而且速度要快！上海磁悬浮列车是世界上速度最快的商用列车，时速高达431公里（303英里）。也就是说，如果从中国的首都北京乘坐这样的高速列车出发，大约4个半小时即可到达活力四射的上海。

此外，中国拥有世界第二长的铁路网，连接起国内除澳门外的每一个主要城市，只要踏上火车，便可直达西安兵马俑等主要景点，这不仅比搭乘飞机更方便，而且速度相当。

2. 中国勇于探索前人未至之地

别跟英国摇滚乐队平克·弗洛伊德的那张概念专辑混淆了，中国正努力成为首个真正发现“月之暗面”的国家。2018年，中国发射了“嫦娥四号”探测器，考察能否在月球上建立起合适的通信链路。中国正在利用其技术创新的巨大进步来填补专业人士对宇宙认知的空白。

如果想了解更多中國探索浩瀚宇宙的信息，在中国游览期间可以去参观位于北京丰台区的中华航天博物馆，该博物馆展出面积约达1万平方米，场馆主要展示中国航天事业的历史和未来。