The Chinese Ministry of Transport is planning to extend the national railway network to around 200,000 km by 2035. The plans are part of a reorientation of the railway policy, which focuses more on quality-oriented development, efficiency and intelligent systems rather than purely extending the network. A key project is the planned railway connection between Hotan in the Xinjiang Province and Lhasa in Tibet, which is intended to improve connections to remote regions and strengthen socio-economic integration. China already has more than 160,000 km of track, including over 40,000 km in the high-speed rail (HSR) network, which reaches 96% of all cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants. The network is based on a grid of eight north-south and eight east-west corridors. The aim is to connect all cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants to the conventional network and all cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants to the HSR network by 2035. The new approach focuses on modernisation, digitalisation and regional balance in order to make better use of existing facilities, plan new corridors in a targeted manner and ensure long-term sustainable growth.