While most office workers in central Beijing head home by bus or subway after a hard day's work, Lyu Biao goes home by high-speed train.
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Lyu lives in Tianjin, some 120 kilometers away from central Beijing. Every morning, he takes the subway from home to Tianjin Railway Station, where he boards a high-speed train to Beijing South Railway Station, followed by another subway journey. It's the same trip in reverse to get home.
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The expanding high-speed train network and property prices in big cities have seen the birth of the "high-speed train tribe."
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Some questioned Lyu's lifestyle, spending about four hours on the road every day and roughly 2,600 CNY (423 USD) a month on transportation, more than enough to board in Beijing.
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"With so much time wasted on road, I'd rather board somewhere and save my time," read one comment.
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Others were more supportive, saying that a comfortable high-speed train was much better than being crammed into a sweaty subway car.