A rewarding journey through times long gone, but not forgotten

More than 1,684 kilometers separate Beijing and Jinggangshan, Jiangxi province, the birthplace of the Red Army - the predecessor of the People's Liberation Army - and the home of the Communist Party of China's first rural revolutionary base in the province.

It takes three hours to travel that distance by air, but more than 15 hours by train.

I was shocked by the journey time and the realization that Jinggangshan has not yet been added to the high-speed rail network, which covers almost every corner of the country.