On the afternoon of September 11, led by Mr. Chen Wei, Vice Executive Dean of International Education College and Vice Director of the MOFCOM Training Base for International Business Officials (Shanghai), the group of the Seminar on Railway Planning and Construction for Officials from Russian-Speaking Countries undertaken by Shanghai Business School visited China Railway Shanghai Design Institute Group Corporation Limited (the Institute) for investigation and exchange. Mr. Zhong Guogang, Vice President of the Institute, delivered a welcome speech; Mr. Han Tao, Senior Engineer and Director of Operation Department of Overseas Business Division, gave a lecture on planning and design of a railroad modern logistics base; Mr. Yu Shuiming, General Manager of Overseas Business Division, Ms. Ah Yufei, Deputy General Manager of Overseas Business Division, Ms. Meng Yanli, Director of Technology Department of Overseas Business Division, Mr. Zheng Yanghai, Director of Comprehensive Department, and Mr. Qin Qihui, Deputy Director of Operation Department of Overseas Business Division were also in the reception team.
Mr. Zhong Guogang expressed that railway, as the artery of national economy, plays a pivotal role in the development of the country. From exploration to breakthrough, and from catching up to leading, it took only 20 years for China to establish a complete system of railway technical standards, accumulate rich experience in design, construction, operation and management, and make railways a powerful engine to promote social and economic development.
Mr. Han Tao’s special lecture centered on the history of China’s railway freight transport development, the historical background, the implementation policies of China’s railway logistics and typical cases. In the lecture, he mentioned that 100 years ago in 1919, Mr. Lu Xun, a famous writer and thinker in China, shared in his diary that he returned from Beijing to Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, to spend the Spring Festival at home, and the whole journey took 54 hours through 6 transfers of railway and boat transport; until 2002, the average speed of railways across China was only 50 km/h; today, only 20 years later, it takes only 5 hours to return to Shaoxing from Beijing by high-speed train. The participants were all shocked and clapped their hands to praise it!
Mr. Chen Wei summarized the sharing and exchange meeting. He expressed his admiration for the achievements made by the Group in recent years, especially that by the Institute in the field of design to promote the development of China’s high-speed rail business. He said that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road initiative, and he is looking forward to, with this exchange and interaction as an opportunity, deepening the mode of school-enterprise cooperation, promoting the exchange and mutual trust between SBS, the Institute and Russian-speaking countries in the aspects of railway planning and construction, seeking for common development, and boosting the steady advancement of the Belt and Road initiative.
The fellow participants from different countries expressed their gratitude to the Institute and SBS for the meticulous work done for the visit. Mr. RYSKULBEK ZHUMABAEV from Kyrgyzstan National Railway Company said, China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway is a grand project for the benefit of the people of all countries, and sincerely invited the Chinese guests to visit Kyrgyzstan for a field visit and in-depth communication on the project.
Founded in 1952, the Institute, one of the many practice teaching bases of the MOFCOM Training Base for International Business Officials (Shanghai), is a national large-scale comprehensive Class A survey and design unit, a backbone enterprise under the world’s Fortune 500 enterprise - China Railway Construction, and the most influential railroad design institute in eastern China. Starting from 2021, the cooperation between SBS and the Institute, a model of university-enterprise cooperation has taken advantage of both sides’ strengths, focused on the fields of rail transportation and urban planning, and lead to a series of highly acclaimed high-quality courses.
Written by: Zhao Zixuan
Photos: China Railway Shanghai Design Institute Group Corporation Limited
Reviewed by: Chen Wei
