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IrelandBehind China's fast trains, a supplier looks toward Europe
A German report follows the passenger experience into a Qingdao factory making train doors, locks and blinds.
GermanyStory of Why this story? One of ZDFheute Nachrichten's most watched videos since yesterday, with 351,206 views.
ZDFheute Nachrichten: The news division of ZDF, a German public broadcaster. 1.9M subscribers and 2.1B views.
350 km/h und immer pünktlich: Warum Chinas Züge besser funktionieren
Things we can learn from the video
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- 0:03Passengers undergo identity checks, security screening and luggage scanning before boarding.
- 0:23The report introduces train speeds, with Chinese state television footage identified separately from the reporter's journey.
- 0:48Hot water is available on board, and app-ordered food is subsequently delivered directly to the reporter's seat.
- 2:16Qin Zegang's factory makes train doors, locks and blinds; later, the report examines cab noise-reduction development.
- 4:12Family photographs introduce Qin's railway heritage before a visit to Qingdao's German colonial landmarks.
- 5:38Qin discusses European market opportunities and shows a new factory building.
Qin Zegang speaks German as he shows the components his company makes for Chinese high-speed trains. Doors, locks and blinds are less conspicuous than a streamlined locomotive, but his factory supplies part of the machinery behind the journey. He is also looking toward opportunities in Europe.
Germany's ZDFheute Nachrichten, the news channel of public broadcaster Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, visits Qin in a report connecting China's high-speed rail ambitions with the service passengers encounter on board.
Its title, "350 km/h und immer pünktlich: Warum Chinas Züge besser funktionieren", means "350 km/h and always on time: Why China's trains work better". The report presents Chinese rail travel as fast and reliable, while its most concrete demonstrations concern the journey itself and the suppliers supporting it.
Passengers pass identity checks, security screening and luggage scanners before boarding. Inside the train, the reporter finds hot-water dispensers for tea or instant noodles, then orders food through a smartphone app. A railway employee delivers the meal directly to her seat for a delivery charge of about one euro.
Speed appears in two distinct settings. The reporter's journey includes a display reading roughly 340 km/h. Separate footage attributed on screen to Chinese state television shows a CR450AF with a much higher speed reading; that is not the speed shown during her ride.
At the factory, Qin describes his business as a little-known leader in China's railway supply industry. Workers manufacture components, and the report examines product development including noise-reduction technology for drivers' cabs. Qin also brings out family photographs to explain his family's railway tradition.
The visit extends into Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong province on the Yellow Sea, where the reporter explores traces of German colonial history and stops at a beer-dispensing station. Back at the business, Qin shows a new factory building and discusses the prospects for Chinese suppliers selling into Europe.
A coastal city in China's Shandong province, facing the Yellow Sea. It was previously transliterated as Tsingtao.
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Where next?
- Channel
- ZDFheute Nachrichten
- Subscribers
- 1,900,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 24,622,757
- Channel views, pace per day
- 1,052,687 (on a normal day: 2,682,773)
- Video published
- November 8, 2026
- Video views so far
- 351,206 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 396,594
The numbers
The report drew about 351,000 views since yesterday, the largest total among new videos on Germany's leading news channels.
💡 Test your knowledge
What can passengers prepare using the train's hot-water dispensers?
The reporter shows hot-water dispensers provided for tea or noodle soup.