Akash Bansal, the founder of Skyvik, took to social media and shared his experience of travelling in trains in China. Pointing out the “convenient life in China”, he shared how he “travelled 1600 km in a single day for a 3-hour meeting and wasn’t dead by the end.”

This post lauding the public transport system in China, especially the trains, comes after a series of anecdotes from Bansal. In previous posts he mentions how passengers, if they arrive early, can reschedule their ticket for an earlier train. With no additional commute cards required, Bansal shared, a traveller’s national ID secures entry to the train stations. Comments from Bansal reveal that his 1600km journey costed him Rs 8000 in total.

Making a stark comparison to Indian railway stations where massage lounges have become an attractive feature on major stations, Bansal shared that nearly 30% of the seats in the waiting area in Chinese train stations are massage-equipped. More on the price point, another user noted that the 130 km travel from Shanghai to Suzhou in a high-speed train cost him nearly Rs 500 one way.

‘Don’t behave like we Indians are in stone age’: Social media reacts

Users on social media slammed Bansal’s narrative and trolled his claims, while others came at him just for praising China. Some of the users also pointed out that it wasn’t such a big feat. “So what’s your point here? Delhi-Mumbai is 1300KM. We take flight in morning do full day work and reach back delhi by 10PM. Same is for Delhi-chennai and many other cities across India. Don’t behave like we Indians are in stone age…,” a user wrote on X.

Another user commented, “I did a bit of research. Average speed of Artrack in America is 50mph. To travel 1,600km in America would take 22 hours.” Others said that it wasn’t fair to compare China’s Bullet Trains with other means of transport found in the US or India.

“These trains are definitely a big missing piece here in the US. Having a car is great but driving distances is inconvenient,” express another user under the post.

On the other hand, some even slammed China and highlighted their lack of democracy, pensions and other policy frameworks for their population. “The root cause of all development in China is the single-party dictatorship,” opined a user. Another wrote, “Please stop comparing India with China.”the mammoth difference between the polity and context.