{"id":51691,"date":"2026-05-12T07:33:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T23:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=51691"},"modified":"2026-05-12T07:33:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T23:33:34","slug":"what-is-chinas-luxury-silk-road-express-train-like-we-ride-its-new-route","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=51691","title":{"rendered":"What is China\u2019s luxury Silk Road Express train like? We ride its new route"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">A resplendent train cuts a fine figure at platform two of Chengdu West Railway Station. Its elegant exterior, unlike the other austere carriages trackside, features striking hues of celadon blue and red, and hand-painted gilded lettering. This is the Silk Road Express, one of China\u2019s first world-class luxury tourist trains, and I am about to board it for its new three-day return route to Yunnan.<\/p>\n<div datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1xdhyk6 ec74h0k0\">Conceived by the Shanghai-based Fosun Infrastructure Group, the train is China\u2019s reply to the <span data-qa=\"Component-Text\" class=\"css-0 ef9u0v00\">luxury rail renaissance<\/span>, marking the country\u2019s entry into a travel category long defined by European stalwarts such as Belmond and the Orient Express.<\/div>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Though the nation boasts the world\u2019s largest high-speed rail network, conventional railway lines remain twice as long, presenting a sizeable opportunity for slow train travel to take off among domestic travellers.<\/p>\n<div datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1xdhyk6 ec74h0k0\">The Silk Road Express\u2019 maiden voyage in July 2024 ran from Xining to Dunhuang, two gateway cities along <span data-qa=\"Component-Text\" class=\"css-0 ef9u0v00\">the ancient Silk Road<\/span> that have borne witness to the rich exchange of goods, techniques and ideas. It is a route that remains popular, but its operator, Train of Glamour \u2013 still in its growth phase, with a new train in the works \u2013 has been exploring uncharted destinations, like this expedition towards southwestern China.<\/div>\n<div class=\"image-inline-container e1a5rv550 css-1llrc1m e1yqhwb40\" data-qa=\"Component-renderMap-StyledDiv\">\n<div class=\"image-inline caption e1fvabeq0 css-19sk4h4 ea9pn0s0\" data-qa=\"Component-Container\">\n<figure class=\"image-inline caption ea9pn0s1 css-12vv9w2 e1gf69pb0\" data-qa=\"ArticleImage-ArticleImageContainer\">\n<div data-qa=\"ArticleImage-handleRenderImage-ImageContainer\" class=\"css-bjn8wh e1gf69pb3\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Stewards welcome passengers on the Silk Road Express. Photo: Joseph Koh\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/05\/08\/0f2fe2bd-1ca1-45d2-80a2-63d5e55cd417_6f8f1ff3.jpg\" title=\"Stewards welcome passengers on the Silk Road Express. Photo: Joseph Koh\"\/><\/div><figcaption data-qa=\"ArticleImage-DescriptionContainer\" class=\"css-1bj5zno e1gf69pb1\">Stewards welcome passengers on the Silk Road Express. Photo: Joseph Koh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 type=\"h3\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"eh0yk8h0 css-17x7qa9 e1pqa4re1\">A road more travelled by<\/h3>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Soliman Ma, executive president of the Silk Road Express, explains that the route is actually part of the Southern Silk Road \u2013 a 2,000km (1,240-mile) trade network linking China with Myanmar, India and Bangladesh.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/lifestyle\/travel-leisure\/article\/3352881\/what-chinas-luxury-silk-road-express-train-we-ride-its-new-route?utm_source=rss_feed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A resplendent train cuts a fine figure at platform two of Chengdu West Railway Station. Its elegant exterior, unlike the other austere carriages trackside, features&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[6292,4552,3656,3080,1197,8441,6041,5079],"class_list":["post-51691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bored-interesting","tag-chinas","tag-express","tag-luxury","tag-ride","tag-road","tag-route","tag-silk","tag-train","wpcat-33-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=51691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/51692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=51691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=51691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=51691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}