One area in which the United States unfortunately lags far behind China is public transportation infrastructure. For evidence, look no further than China's high-speed bullet trains. The speed, comfort, and convenience of this transportation is practically inconceivable to most Americans.
The USA TODAY (@usatoday) TikTok account posted a video in which one man takes a trip aboard a Chinese bullet train.
The trip "should take me two-and-a-half hours by car, but 50 minutes by this train," he says, boarding the bullet train. He later shows that the train travels at an incredible speed of 307 kilometers per hour, or 190.76 miles per hour.
"The dining car is really nice — nicer than Amtrak, actually — evidenced by this bar car that has free food and alcohol," he reports.
@usatoday Ever wanted to ride a "bullet" train? Check it out! #Olympics #Beijing #trains #winterolympics #china ♬ original sound - USA TODAY
Other Americans and Canadians who have experienced the magic of the Chinese bullet train have reported similar things. One Canadian content creator recently made a trip to China just to try out one of the trains for himself and decided that "this is the greatest way to travel, ever," also noting how much leg room you get compared to air travel.
Another viral video taken aboard a bullet train shows how smooth the ride is — surprising, considering the high speeds at which the trains travel. This smoothness is due to the trains' magnetic levitation, or "maglev" technology.
Not only are the trains convenient, comfortable, and incredibly fast, they are also much better for the environment than car or air travel. Maglev trains do not generate any direct planet-overheating emissions, and the ones in China are powered by electricity largely derived from clean energy sources such as wind and solar.
Sadly, the United States does not seem particularly interested in developing high-speed rail, save for a couple of small, privately owned train lines.
"America is stuck in the 20th century," one commenter responded to the USA TODAY TikTok.
"The US of A is so behind other countries in so many ways," wrote another, adding simply: "Why."
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