For many years, China has been building the world’s fastest and most expansive high-speed railway network. The maiden run linked Beijing with Tianjin, cities that are 147 kilometres apart, in only 29 minutes. (And yes, it’s so smooth there is barely a ripple in your tea as you fly along at 350 kilometres per hour.)

Guangzhou has already been linked with Wuhan under this new high-speed system, and soon Guangzhou and Shenzhen will be connected, cutting travel time from an hour down to only 30 minutes. That’s faster that most people’s commute home after work. And it’s only part of the vast transport network planned for this area, reports the Shenzhen Standard:

The high speed rail that links the Shenzhen Guangzhou and Wuhan and Hong Kong sections will be open on the eve of the Universiade games in August. The section was originally scheduled to open by the end of 2010 when the Shenzhen North Railway Section is completed.

But work on the Shiziyang tunnel was delayed, and was just completed two weeks ago. The tunnel that passes under the Pearl River was about 11 kilometers and is said to be the longest underwater railway tunnel in China. The tunnel is part of the 140 kilometer railway system that links Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The rail lines will be open in sections from now till 2016.

Hong Kong, the southern terminus of the national network, will be connected in 2015, allowing travel from the shores of Kowloon to Beijing in only 8 hours.

The national plan is to be able to travel between any two PRD cities within only one hour. This new railway line goes a long way to accomplishing that, allowing people to have dinner in Shenzhen and drinks later in Guangzhou.