A coin balances on its edge on a Chinese bullet train at 350 km/h

What happens in the video

The idea is as simple as a science-class demonstration. Xinhua, China's state news agency, set a two-euro coin on its edge aboard a Fuxing bullet train and let the camera roll while the train held what the video's description calls a steady 350 km/h. The title poses the question the whole clip is built around: how long can the coin stay up? The video runs a little more than eight minutes.

The video's thumbnail sets the scene. The coin stands on the window ledge next to a pen balanced on its end, a smartphone showing a stopwatch, and a plastic water bottle standing upside down on its cap, while green countryside streaks past the glass. Any of those objects would topple at the first real jolt, which is what makes the test so easy to read: there is no speedometer to interpret, only things that are either still standing or not.

The timing was not an accident. Xinhua posted the video on September 21, 2017, and its description pairs the coin test with that day's news: the top speed on the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway was going back up to 350 km/h, six years after it had been lowered to 300 km/h.

Why a coin can stay upright at 350 km/h

The train in the clip belongs to the Fuxing family (复兴, Fùxīng, "rejuvenation"). China Daily reported that the first two models, the CR400AF and CR400BF, made their debut on June 26, 2017, leaving Beijing South and Shanghai Hongqiao at the same moment. They were designed to cruise at about 350 km/h, with a top speed that could reach 400 km/h.

Three months later the new speed took effect. According to China Daily's report on the change, 14 Fuxing trains began running at 350 km/h on the 1,318-kilometer line, cutting the fastest trip between the two cities to 4 hours and 28 minutes, while other trains on the line stayed at 300 km/h.

Speed alone does not explain the coin, though. What matters is how little the car shakes, and that starts with the track. In a February 2026 feature, Xinhua described the coin trick as one of the most intuitive ways passengers sense how smooth the trains are, and pointed to seamless rail as part of the reason. A welding base typically joins five 100-meter rails into a single 500-meter rail, which is then carried to the line and welded again in place. Fewer joints mean fewer of the small knocks a wheel makes when it crosses a gap. The same report describes welders checking joints by hand for misalignments as small as 0.2 millimeters.

Coin videos have since become a small genre of their own, filmed by passengers on many lines. Xinhua's version stands out because the news agency itself posted it on the first day of the faster timetable. For another kind of speed record, see the Shanghai Maglev, which floats instead of rolling.

How to ride a Fuxing train yourself

Fuxing trains are regular scheduled services, not a tourist ride, so riding one is just a matter of booking a high-speed ticket. Foreign visitors can buy tickets with a passport on the 12306 English website or the official app, through an agent such as Trip.com, or at a station ticket counter. Tickets go on sale 15 days before departure, and the passport you book with is your ticket at the entrance, at the gate and on board. Our high-speed train guide walks through registration, seat classes and the station checks step by step.

• Pick a G train. Train numbers starting with G are the fastest high-speed services. On the Beijing–Shanghai line named in the video's description, they run between Beijing South and Shanghai Hongqiao.
• Book a window seat. In second class the window seats are A and F, which gives you a ledge to try your own coin test.
• Choose your moment. Wait until the train is cruising on a straight stretch. Acceleration, braking and curves can tip a coin over even on very smooth track.
• Keep your passport handy. You need it to enter the station, pass the gate and exit at the other end.

Curious how the track itself gets laid and connected? The Longyan railway video shows 1,500 workers rebuilding a rail junction in a single night.

Mandarin you can use at the station and on board

Some station staff in big cities speak English, but a few short questions in Mandarin go a long way when you are hunting for a counter or a platform. The free tickets and station entry lesson covers buying tickets and getting through the gates, the platforms and transfers lesson helps you find the right train, and the delays lesson gives you the words for when the schedule slips.