Chapter 29: Forty thousand kilometers, a man-made steel Great Wall!
Martha was surprised!
"Yan, what you mean is that... China builds high-speed railways in those remote areas not to make money, but to alleviate poverty? If you want to get rich, you must first build roads. Do you think that as long as you build high-speed railways to those remote areas, you can make them rich?"

The entire Blue Star audience was also shocked!
They have never heard of this way of "poverty alleviation"!

Isn’t poverty alleviation just about giving a little relief to the poor people who really can’t afford to eat, to ensure that they don’t starve to death?
What kind of weird train of thought is this in China, spending tens of billions or even hundreds of billions to build a high-speed railway that is destined to lose money, just to make them "rich"?
"It's half and half. Building high-speed railways in remote areas is certainly meant to promote the development of remote areas, but it's not right to say that China is not doing this for the sake of making money."

Lin Yan smiled and said, "Take a long-term view. Don't think that just because the high-speed rail operation department is losing money, it means that the entire high-speed rail is losing money."

Martha was confused: "Yan, what are you talking about? I don't understand at all! The railway operating company itself is losing money, how can it still make money?"

The audience in the live broadcast room also echoed:

"You Chinese are really good at telling jokes. Losing money is not a loss, it's called 'earning less', right?"

"I have to admit that I was amused by the Chinese people's humor."

"Hey, brother, it's not that serious to admit that you are bragging. Just admit that there are only a few sections of China's high-speed rail. We have also seen that China's high-speed rail is indeed very fast, and we won't laugh at you."

"Wait, guys, I just searched on Gudu, and it turns out that China's high-speed rail is not fake, but really exists! Moreover, according to official statistics from the Blue Star Alliance, the mileage of high-speed rail built in China as of last year is... 45 kilometers!"

"Tsk, what did I say? China's high-speed railway is really just that short. It's only 45 kilometers long. What can it do?"

"Are you blind? It's not 45 kilometers, it's 45 'thousand' kilometers!"

"What!?"

"Impossible! The total mileage of the Shinkansen is less than 3,000 kilometers! How could China have more than 40,000 kilometers!"

"It's true. I just checked the official website of the Blue Star Alliance. It's really 45000 kilometers! Damn, such a terrifying data, why has no one ever told me!"

A bombshell exploded in the live broadcast room!

The Blue Star Alliance is a joint organization registered by all the countries in the Blue Star. This alliance may be useless at times, but its statistics are absolutely authoritative! They can even be called "conservative"!
Not only does China really have high-speed rail, but the total mileage of high-speed rail is as high as 4.5 kilometers! This data is enough to pull all other countries in the Blue Star together and still have many times more!
While netizens from various countries are proudly puffing out their chests for their country's hundreds or thousands of kilometers of high-speed railways, believing that this is a symbol of the highest industrial achievement of the blue planet, a mysterious ancient oriental country has unknowingly grown into an unimaginable giant in this field!

"Oh my god……"

Martha was also so shocked that she couldn't speak for a long time.

If she remembered correctly, when her father wanted to negotiate with a foreign company to build a high-speed railway in the UAE, the other party asked for 100 million yuan per kilometer, even if the initial quotation did not include the subsequent "travel expenses"! Not to mention the previous experience of the subway and the subsequent bad things!

With such a high price, even a country with the most money like the UAE is reluctant to buy it!
Even if China undertakes to build it, let's just count half of the cost! China has invested at least 4.5 trillion yuan in 2 miles of high-speed rail!

A poor and backward country that can only build a few "model" cities cannot afford such a huge investment!
Sure enough, even my father’s understanding of China is somewhat out of date!
Martha's mind was in turmoil in an instant!
Looking at the reactions of foreign netizens in the live broadcast room, Lin Yan shrugged:

"Now you know that we Chinese never brag, but only state the facts, right?"

Foreign netizens: "..." OK! You are amazing! You are so arrogant! I am the loser!

However, the most crucial issue has not been clarified yet!

"Yan, so you Chinese have really built high-speed railways in many mountains? Even if it means losing money?"

"The statement that it is losing money is actually inaccurate. I said that it is the high-speed rail operating department that is losing money. They are not the whole high-speed rail system. Outside of this system, the high-speed rail is not losing money. On the contrary, it continues to produce various huge tangible and intangible benefits."

Lin Yan compared Martha to himself and said with a smile:
"Martha, aren't you the perfect example?"

Martha: “…Ah?”

"Let's make an assumption. Let's assume that the high-speed train we are riding now is actually operating at a loss. It cost a lot to build, and it takes a lot of effort to maintain it on a daily basis. However, its passenger flow and ticket revenue cannot match the high cost. Then, in your normal understanding, this high-speed train has absolutely no possibility of making a profit. It will only lose money, so it will not be built at all. Is that right?"

Martha and the audience in the live broadcast room nodded secretly.

This is also the biggest reason why they doubt the mileage of China's high-speed rail.

"But that's not how the account is calculated."

"If there is no high-speed rail, Martha, if you want to go to Western Xinjiang, you will choose to fly directly, or not go at all. In this case, we will not choose to settle in Chang'an City, and the accommodation, tourism, and consumption we will generate in Chang'an City will not be collected by Chang'an City. This part of the income is an absolute profit income for Chang'an City, but do you think this part of the profit will be included in the revenue of the high-speed rail operation?"

——But how much can we do about this?

Martha was about to raise her doubts, but suddenly she thought of something, her eyes widened, and an incredible look appeared in her eyes.

Lin Yan seemed to know what Martha was thinking now, and continued with a smile:

"Places that were previously unvisited have now become popular because of the high-speed rail. Remote resources that were previously undeveloped have now become worth developing because people are visiting them."

"Why don't people abroad know that our high-speed rail is so powerful? Because we don't regard the high-speed rail as the glory of our country. On the contrary, the existence of the high-speed rail itself is proof that our country is not strong enough!"

"We have too many remote areas, too many places that are not rich enough, not strong enough. But we are all Chinese people. Why is the Magic City of Jinghai destined to be prosperous, while the remote mountainous areas are destined to be backward? We Chinese will not accept this absurd fate. Therefore, we must challenge fate and challenge the 'impossible'!"

"We fight against mountains, water and the sky, and build roads to the sky and high-speed railways! Through our high-speed railway network, the developed coastal areas and remote mountainous areas are connected together as never before. Let us unite and share!"

"Loss of money?"

“Compared to the huge changes that high-speed rail has brought us, is it a loss?”

(End of this chapter)