Only begun in 1999, China's high-speed rail network has quickly become the largest in the world, with more than 11,000 kilometres of track in service during 2013, with the total expected to reach 16,000 kilometres by 2020, according to official media.
根据官方媒体，中国的高速铁路网络自1999年才开始，并迅速地成为了世界最大的高速铁路网络，在2013年投入服务的轨道长度已超过11000公里，到了2020年预计将达到16000公里。
In late 2012, China opened what it hailed as the world's longest high-speed train line linking Beijing with Guangzhou, near Hong Kong.
2012年，中国开通了连接北京和广州的高铁线路，被誉为世界上最长的高铁线路。
The high-speed network, however, has been plagued by graft and safety scandals following its rapid expansion, with a deadly collision in July 2011 killing more than three dozen people. The accident triggered a flood of criticism of the government and accusations that the authorities had compromised safety in its rush to expand.
然而，高速铁路网在迅速扩张的同时，也被贪污和安全丑闻所困扰，2011年7月，一次列车相撞事件导致了超过三十多人死亡。那次事件激起了对政府潮水般的批评，中国政府被指责为了快速发展而牺牲了安全。
兰新高铁是我国首条草原高铁
The Lanxin high-speed railway linking Lanzhou and Urumqi comes as China is pushing a Silk Road Economic Belt to boost commercial ties with countries in Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, and beyond.
在中国推进丝绸之路经济带发展的背景下，连接兰州和乌鲁木齐的兰新高速铁路开通了，这能推动中国与哈萨克斯坦及更远的中亚国家的经济联系。
12月26日10时49分，兰州西至乌鲁木齐南的D2703次动车首发驶离兰州
Xinhua last month quoted He Weigang, vice principal of the Communist Party school of Urumqi, as saying that convenient and efficient transportation was needed for Xinjiang as a bridgehead for the plan.
上个月，新华社引用了乌鲁木齐市委党校副校长何卫刚的话，说XJ作为丝绸之路经济带计划的桥头堡，需要便利快捷的交通。
"The high-speed rail, by connecting Xinjiang with the rest of China and Eurasian countries, will play an important role in regional development and economic integration in the larger picture," he said.
他说：“连接XJ与中国其他地区、与欧亚国家的高速铁路会在地区发展和经济一体化的大局中发挥重要作用。”以下是美国网友评论：
