Recently, China Pictorial and the News Center of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission jointly launched a grassroots Chinese New Year reporting initiative titled “Advancing Steadily at the Start of the 15th Five-Year Plan.” The reporting team visited CRRC Corporation Limited, focusing on frontline high-speed rail R&D and manufacturing employees during the Chinese New Year travel rush. The feature highlights how China’s advanced equipment manufacturing sector is progressing toward high-quality development.
Two Trial Trains Demonstrate Technical Strength
During testing, two streamlined silver EMU trial trains accelerated on parallel tracks, showcasing the precision and performance of China’s latest high-speed rail technology. Reporters traveled to Zhuzhou and Changchun to examine the technological systems and intelligent manufacturing capabilities behind these trains.
Two Youth Teams Driving Innovation
On the assembly line, rows of Fuxing intelligent EMUs stood ready to enter service for the 2026 Chinese New Year travel rush.
The Fuxing intelligent EMU adopts the “Long Feng Cheng Xiang” (dragon and phoenix in auspicious harmony) design theme, with a biomimetic “falcon” nose that reduces aerodynamic drag by 7.9% and energy consumption by 10%, saving approximately 1.8 million kWh of electricity per train annually. According to Chief Train Designer Dong Xueyan, her R&D team successfully developed the Intelligent Fuxing EMU, which achieved 350 km/h autonomous operation for the first time on the Beijing–Zhangjiakou High-Speed Railway. The team was awarded the 27th “China Youth May Fourth Medal Collective.”
Behind this achievement were months of concentrated effort: 42 nose design proposals, 316 prototype review sessions, 5,289 structural drawings, nearly 10,000 upgraded electrical schematics across four revisions, and 1,894 technical documents and testing outlines.
Turning blueprints into “steel dragons” racing across the nation requires precision assembly. Each train contains nearly 20,000 cables and more than 40,000 components, all assembled on site.
Yao Zhihui, who has worked in high-speed train assembly for 16 years, is part of the “One-Pass Clarity” youth team, also honored with the 2025 “China Youth May Fourth Medal Collective.” The team practices a culture of mastering every procedure by heart, reciting process standards fluently during operations and conducting repeated checks to ensure zero errors.
Craftsmanship innovations include precision soldering techniques capable of completing seven connection points within an area the size of a chopstick tip—less than one millimeter in scale—and a 45-degree adhesive application method that achieved zero defects across nearly 150,000 meters of window sealing. Each completed process is signed with the operator’s unique identification plate—“steel signatures” that travel nationwide with every Fuxing train.
The “Beating Heart” and “Intelligent Brain”
At CRRC Zhuzhou Institute Co., Ltd., traction and network control systems—often called the “heart” and “brain” of rail vehicles—form the core of high-speed EMU performance.
Dr. Hou Zhaowen, who joined the institute in 2017 and began working on high-speed EMU projects in 2022, explained that the institute began building China’s first permanent-magnet traction R&D team as early as 2003.
Installing a permanent-magnet “heart” into high-speed EMUs presented challenges in insulation fault diagnosis and active safety control under higher-speed traction conditions. Through sustained research and validation, the team developed precise diagnostic and protection strategies for extreme faults such as inter-turn and phase-to-phase short circuits. They established comprehensive traction control logic and tiered emergency response systems to ensure both power output and operational safety.
A New Leap in Intelligent Manufacturing
At Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric Co., Ltd., a 75,000-square-meter manufacturing center houses 9 product lines and 87 production lines, soon to undertake mass production of permanent-magnet traction systems and control devices for high-speed EMUs. At the manufacturing center, reporters observed assembly worker Xiao Qiyang carefully using a red marker to draw an extension line at the three o’clock or nine o’clock position on each bolt—confirming that the screw had been properly tightened. The marking process serves as a visible quality control measure, ensuring fastening accuracy during assembly.
While traditional assembly postures remain visible, the facility integrates advanced intelligent systems: HCM human-machine collaboration interfaces visualize workflows and provide real-time error alerts, six-axis robotic arms conduct welding and assembly operations with agility, and automated guided vehicles navigate via QR-code systems to transport components efficiently.
Twenty-one-year-old assembly worker Xiao Qiyang, though less than a year into his career, aspires to master intelligent robotics and contribute to next-generation manufacturing.
Speed and Warmth in Motion
As the 2026 Chinese New Year travel rush unfolds—projected to involve 9.5 billion interregional passenger trips—Fuxing trains continue to shorten the distance between reunions. From the falcon-inspired nose slicing through wind resistance to the permanent-magnet motors delivering sustained power and zero-error assembly ensuring reliability, each departure and arrival embodies the dedication of researchers and craftsmen alike.
Their perseverance ensures that every journey begins with confidence and ends in fulfillment—an enduring testament to China’s high-quality development in advanced rail manufacturing.
