China State Railway Group

Stories

North Korea edges back into the world after six years of extreme isolation

As of May 2026: Operating the Chinese leg of the resumed K27/K28 train

North Korea sealed its borders on January 23, 2020, before most countries had heard of COVID-19. For six years it operated in near-total isolation: China trade fell 96%, food reached levels not seen since the 1990s famine that killed hundreds of thousands, and no tourists entered.

Updated May 30

World's largest annual human migration

Built World

As of May 2026: Managing 539 million expected trips in 2026

Every winter, China empties its cities. Some 9 billion passenger journeys—more than the total global population—occur over 40 days as hundreds of millions of migrant workers return to their home villages for Spring Festival. This is Chunyun, the largest annual human migration on Earth.

Updated May 23