This is the Wenzhou Train Station. There's been a lot of buzz around this little city in Zhejiang province recently because of the tragic train accident that happened there last month. 40 died and 192 were injured in China's first high-speed rail crash ever.
It's basically been hushed up by the government, but many netizens insist on continuing a discourse about how the rescue efforts were carried out (not to mention how poorly tested and ill-prepared the bullet train system was).
We zipped past the bridge where the two trains had collided a week before, breaking apart and plunging to the ground below. There was still a lot of wreckage. The bullet trains go about 120 mph, or at least ours did the day we took it--a week after the accident (safest time to travel!). It wasn't full by any account, and ticket sales have definitely declined post-tragedy.
Al Jazeera has a fabulous and comprehensive piece revealing how much the government controlled media coverage of the accident. I remember watching the news as the accident leaked to television; notwithstanding the complete terror and total panic obviously rippling through the scene, I was so impressed by the organized and compassionate local villagers who rushed to the scene and did whatever they could.
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