Dalian Tramway 2017 [Photo by Bruce Connolly/chinadaily.com.cn]

Recently in Beijing I took metro Line 6 out to the western suburbs at Jin'anqiao where a unique maglev line runs at 100 kph up through hilly residential parts of Mentougou. It was fascinating to look at this advanced system, which also provided excellent views of the former Shougang Steel Works now being renovated into a key location for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Compared to Shanghai’s maglev, which operates up to 431 kph speed, it is slower but represents an integral part of the capital’s rapidly developing public transport system. The 2002 Shanghai line was more experimental in very high-speed transportation.