高铁争夺战(gao tie zheng duo zhan): High-speed rail battle

Recently several local regions, especially those with poor transport links and which lag behind economically, have been competing to get high speed railways.

The benefit of getting high-speed rail links is obvious. Convenient transportation is the key driver of local social and economic development, especially for remote, less-developed areas.

A high-speed rail station is so important to a city that local officials try their best to lobby decision-makers for a station, either elaborating the local advantages to attract attention or complaining about the poor conditions in local areas to gain sympathy.

Local residents also put pressure on their officials. In Shaoyang in Hunan province, 100,000 residents have demanded that Shaoyang's leading officials be removed from office if they fail to win the bidding for a high-speed rail station. Local officials and residents' desire for convenient transportation is understandable, but the route of a high-speed railway should be decided by scientific and comprehensive research rather than blind competition among cities.