They opened their first dedicated high speed rail line in 2008
Is it actually affordable? Nobody I know actually uses the AVE trains in Spain because they’re so damn expensive.
I’m pulling this from memory, I have the ticket at home so I can double check later. But I think it was 119 yuan which is about 17 USD. The train was completely full from what I could tell and it was in the middle of the week at noon or so, so it seems like it’s affordable.