China’s New High-Speed Rail takes off at 300 km/hr

China launched it's new bullet train on Beijing- Shanghai track which travels at an average speed of 300 kilometers (186 miles) an hour, more than double the average speed of America's fastest train.

The shiny CRH380 model serves the new 1,318-kilometer (819-mile) Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway network - completed in just three years - and cuts journey time between China's political center and commercial hub in half to under five hours.

At $85, a roomy second-class seat from Beijing to Shanghai costs less than half of a full-fare economy-class air ticket, almost guaranteeing the new service's popularity in China's richest region.