Thousands of years ago, China introduced the world to the compass. Navigating the earth, they showed off other inventions that also changed the world, such as printing, gunpowder, the arched bridge, the blast furnace, and the wheelbarrow. Today, China is leading the world out of this historic recession, in part, by reinventing train travel with its high-speed rail (HSR) system.

A ticket window in New York’s Chinatown sells $15 seats on a Fung Wah bus to Boston.

Smart infrastructure investment is fueling China’s economic engines. In the center of this show of power is construction of the largest civil project in world history. China’s national HSR project is longer than its Great Wall, greater in scope than its Grand Canal, and more costly than the Eisenhower Interstate System. Set to connect every major city in a network encompassing 42 high-speed lines over 8,000 miles of track, its price matches its magnitude: $750 billion. The modern Chinese masters of projects are sure to repeat past performances by finishing their work before the 2015 due date. Adding to China’s new glory is operation of the fastest trains on earth along newly opened stretches of track.

Meanwhile, America’s Great Regression drags on. The degeneration is most visible along the busiest transportation corridor in the nation. Between Washington, D.C., and Boston, planes, trains, and automobiles fight for space using WWII-era radars, 18th century rails, and our grandfather’s turnpikes. It wasn’t always this way in the United States.

In 1913, construction of Grand Central Terminal in New York City heralded America’s rising power. A mural of the galaxy on its massive vaulted ceiling represented America’s limitlessness, the Empire State’s might, and the Big Apple’s potential. In building the largest station in the world, the nation announced its arrival by rail. Sitting atop 48 acres of tracks on two levels of platforms that service local and regional trains, it remains the biggest because of its numerous platforms. Sadly, the trains and tracks using them seem as old as Grand Central itself.

Standing inside the antique superstructure this spring, I thought, Why aren’t the fastest trains in the world arriving and departing from the platforms below? Why are executives expensing trips in crummy cabs to prop-plane-era airports to wait through flight delays to get to Washington, D.C.? Why are the masses, myself included, descending into the bowels of the New York City subway system to catch the No. 6 line to Chinatown to fight for a $15 seat on a Fung Wah bus (Chinese for magnificent wind) to Boston? Why aren’t we boarding high-speed trains to cities of importance?

Running between Boston and Washington, D.C., Acela travels with the swiftness of a soccer mom on the Interstate in Montana: just over 70 mph. The least expensive ticket, booked two months prior, costs $129. Last-minute tickets cost more than $200. Pathetically, Acela’s punctuality is about that of a Fung Wah bus.

The Chinese seem to always be a step ahead — even here in the good-old U.S.A. The “magnificent wind” buses have created an industry that feeds off of the inefficiencies of the crowded toll roads, failed rail system, and logistically challenged airways. Fung Wah buses run an on-the-hour-every-hour departure service that’s clean and inexpensive between the Chinatowns of Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Sitting in my cheap seat, I’m impressed with our on-time departure. Immediately our driver is pushing our weight into Lower Manhattan’s gridlocked traffic. Minutes later he’s driving 55 of us and our toilet through a double-river-crossing out of Manhattan into Brooklyn and then back over the East River to the Cross Bronx Expressway. He avoids potholes while maximizing structurally deficient bridges. Deftly fighting congestion on the former Connecticut Turnpike, now I-95, he becomes jammed in traffic caused by an accident, a brush fire, and several work zones. Surrendering hopes of an on-time arrival, I slump into my seat while thinking back to my trip to China’s mainland a few weeks earlier.

On my nearly dozen trips to China, I’ve been struck by the vastness of the Central Nation’s construction. Destined to be the next great wonder, China’s HSR system is the envy of the world.

Look for Part 2 of this column in the next issue of Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure for a closer look at China’s HSR system.

Dan McNichol is a highly acclaimed author, journalist, and speaker. He welcomes your comments at dan@danmcnichol.com.