Passengers were funneling into packed carriages in 1994 at Harbin train station. [Photo/Xinhua]

"The painful experience disappeared along with the development of the high-speed railway," Wang says. Passengers can now enjoy far more comfortable journeys in modern trains on the world's longest high-speed rail network.

But for Wang, the improvement has also brought unwanted side effects. He misses people sitting besides each chatting to kill time. "You could make friends on a journey," he says, "but now people just stare at phones or laptops. They seldom talk."

He can't help to ask: "Is technology bringing people closer together or pushing us apart?"