Full steam ahead – for better or worse

Among all the changes, what impresses Wang the most is the improvement of the travel experience.

Slow, shabby trains used to be jam-packed. "It took half an hour for people to jostle through the crowds to the bathroom a dozen steps away," Wang recalls. His albums have scenes of people clambering into packed carriages through windows.

Passengers were clambering into packed carriages through windows in 1995. [Photo/Xinhua]

These scenes were most common during the Chinese New Year holiday rush, often described as the biggest human migration on the planet.