Economy

High-speed rail economic ripples

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-07-01 13:38

Qufu's one-stop tourist center will make it easier for visitors wanting to rent a car or a bicycle, book a tour, taxi or train, or just simply find out more about Confucius' hometown. [Photo/China Daily]

Qufu: If Confucius could imagine this now

When Confucius left for Jinan to teach, he traveled by road for a week from his hometown of Qufu. The Chinese philosopher lived during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), and it would have been beyond his wildest imagination to think his journey could have taken less then an hour, or quicker than the time for an average class he taught.

More than 2,500 years after his time, the bullet trains shuttling between Beijing and Shanghai will now whizz into Qufu, and the sage's hometown is preparing itself for even more visitors than usual.

The Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Rail will stop at six cities in East China's Shandong province, and there is much exhilaration and expectation.

"My 87-year-old father can't wait to go to Beijing by the high-speed train," Liang Hu, in his 50s, said. Liang had hurried to the Qufu East Station to try to get tickets for the first day of service.

"I go on frequent business trips to Beijing and Shanghai. When the high-speed train is in service, I will definitely prefer the train to planes," Liang said, "It's more convenient to take the trains at Qufu East Station, than for me to travel to the airport and take the plane."

Qufu East Station was specially constructed to facilitate the bullet train services, and is only 15 kilometers from where Liang works.

Qufu's revenue comes mainly from tourism, thanks to the legacy from China's most famous sage.

The attractions are the Confucius Family Mansion, the family mausoleum and the Confucius Temple, and an information hub named after Confucius and Mencius is getting ready outside the Qufu East Station.

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The center integrates a travel agency, airport ticketing and transfer services, hotel bookings and transport information and is a one-stop shop for tourists.

"We expect a daily flow of 3000 tourists. Currently, we have 20 vehicles in place to meet tourists' travel requirements," an employee at the tourism center said.

The city itself has also gotten spruced up to meet the expected tourism boom.

Qufu has upgraded its roads and traffic infrastructure.

A six-lane avenue named after Confucius now connects the high-speed station with several tourism sites, including the Confucius Temple and the Confucius Family Mansion.

Along the avenue, posters and banners declare: "High-speed railway changes life".

And it certainly will.