Is an hour-and-a-half just too long a trip? Then you'll be happy to hear that the new high-speed train between Shanghai and Hangzhou started its trail operation yesterday, which will cut the travel time from here to China's prettiest city to just 38 minutes. The train has set world speed records of 416.6 km/hour and will officially open in late October. more ›

Remember that proposed maglev train - the one from Shanghai to Hangzhou - that we thought was scrapped after protests and then brought back up again last year? Apparently it won approval at the National People's Congress this weekend. The 199.4 km-long line is said to cost an estimated 22 billion RMB ($3.22 billion) - a surprising 13 billion RMB less than what a shorter line was proposed to cost in 2006. Huh. The train will allegedly go at speeds of 430km/h, essentially turning Hangzhou into a Shanghai suburb. more ›

• Construction starts on rail link [Shanghai Daily] "Construction on the 29.68-billion-yuan (US$4.34 billion) Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway started yesterday at Fengjing area in Shanghai. The project, which is expected to be completed before the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, will cut the journey between the two cities to 38 minutes from the current one hour or more and is part of a plan to cut travel time between any two cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region to within one hour."
• Has Western Fast Food Hit a Wall in China? [Mark's China Blog] "I can't say that I'm that surprised that Chinese people may move away from eating western fast food as much as they have been. First, western fast food joints in China aren't cheap. In America, when you eat the crap that fast food places serve up you at least don't have to spend much money. That can't be said for China."
• China: ‘Can I supersize my stimulus?’ [FT Alphaville] "Expectations are growing China could super-size its stimulus package when it votes on the budget next week, especially since the draft currently being considered already foresees a record-breaking fiscal deficit for the country in 2009 of some 950bn yuan (higher than previously expected)."