The High-Speed Train Bound for the Capital

Train attendants Jiang Xiaotian and Ma Qingqing help an elderly passenger, Uncle Bai, on a high-speed train. After a dispute with his adopted son over a demolition, he is carrying burial clothes and intends to return to his hometown to kill himself. Uncle Bai has heart disease, high blood pressure, and dementia. He also accidentally scalds a child on a summer camp trip aboard the train. Why does the old man want to die? How can they find his family? And how should the injured child be treated? These stories, each full of conflict and complications, cause no end of trouble for the attendants Jiang Xiaotian and Ma Qingqing. Yet as they help Uncle Bai, they finally learn about the daughter he lost years ago, his late wife, and an alchemy furnace, a cultural relic that has ended up among ordinary people. Their discoveries lead into a legendary tale of Beijing customs and traditions, mystery, and suspense. These stories unfold in the capital, Beijing, and aboard the speeding Fuxing high-speed trains. They follow four attendants with very different personalities: Jiang Xiaotian, who comes from a railway family and loves singing; Ma Qingqing, an outgoing, warmhearted woman who takes life as it comes; Lu Changjun, a meticulous and steady-looking train manager; and Zhang Aizhen, a quiet, gentle, and selfless attendant. Their work and lives reveal the dedication and commitment of railway employees striving to keep China’s railways safe. In particular, Jiang Xiaotian writes a song called High-Speed Train Bound for the Capital while working an ordinary job aboard the high-speed trains. He wins first place in the China’s Best Voice competition, becomes a nationally renowned singer, and makes an outstanding contribution to railway culture.