With Chengdu as its station of origin and Lodz its terminal, the Chengdu-Europe Express Railway helps to build business links between the two cities. It also connects a Polish man's heart to Chengdu.

The 29-year-old Maciej Czastka comes from Lodz, Poland. He has been in Chengdu for four years since he finished his degree in East Asia relations at the University of Lodz.

"I was always hoping to visit China after graduation because of my major. I knew at that time that a cross-continental cargo train would leave from Lodz so I wanted to visit its other end," said Maciej.

After graduation, he applied to Sichuan University for language study. He now works for Amber Global Consulting, a company that provides services to Polish manufacturers and merchants to help them enter the Chinese market.

During his four-year life in Chengdu, Maciej witnessed the opening of the Chengdu-Europe Express Railway, the friendly city relations established between Chengdu and Lodz and the booming business between the two cities.

"We used to have little contact with China, and Poland itself lacks experience with exports. Now Chengdu is a well-known city in Poland and a growing number of enterprises in both countries can have direct trade with each other thanks to the Chengdu-Europe Express Railway." said Maciej.

“The express is important to the communication and cooperation between Poland and Chengdu. Both cities are now in their golden age of developments,” he added.

“For quite a long time we Polish could not overcome the geographic inconvenience of being in the middle of Germany and Russia. The Belt and Road changed that, turning our disadvantage into an advantage.”

Now the Chengdu-Europe Express Railway has been operating for four years, supporting its two ends, Chengdu and Lodz, to extend their trade and business further. As the doorway to Europe, Poland is seizing opportunities brought by the Belt and Road and engaging in the globalization of economy and trade.

Since the day the car and the airplane coexisted people have dreamed of combining them into one all purpose, go — anywhere, do — anything vehicle. However, there are a lot of reasons why cars and airplanes have yet to join forces.

They have very different needs, like the number of wheels. The four wheels on a car distribute its weight and provide traction and stability. A 3-wheeled car is much more likely to roll when taking a turn at high speed. But airplanes have 3 wheels because when they're on the ground they don't need to take turns at speed, so a 4th wheel would just be unnecessary weight. Tricycle wheel arrangements are also better suited to landing in crosswinds.

Aircraft also have other needs like wings. Whether they're fixed wings like an airliner or rotary wings like a helicopter, to generate enough lift they have to be much larger than the restricted freeway lanes and parking spaces would allow. So most designs for flying cars have wings that are either detachable （可拆卸的）or foldable.

That hasn't stopped some people from trying, and now one Dutch company, PAL-V, thinks their Liberty design has made flying cars a practical reality.

In 2005, the company discovered the work of another Dutch company, Carver, which made 3-wheeled cars that leaned like motorcycles. As for generating lift, PAL-V chose a rotary design called autogyro. Unlike a helicopter, the rotor （旋转翼）of an autogyro is unpowered in flight. Instead, the air flowing over it causes it to spin and generate lift. Autogyros also have short takeoff and landing requirements, so setting one down in an emergency is less dangerous than in a fixed-wing aircraft.

The Liberty received road certification in Europe in October of 2020, hoping to deliver to their first customers starting in 2022.

E-Bike Safety Tips

Before you go on your next two-wheeled adventure, make sure you’re familiar with the ins and outs of bicycle safety. E-bike is a great way to get around, save money and protect the environment. But fun as e-bikes are to ride, they still require practices to ensure your fun rides can be safe.【小题1】.

▲ Keep dos and don’ts in mind. Wear a helmet. A full face helmet with a face shield (护罩) can give you all around protection. Ride with the flow of traffic rather than against it.【小题2】. Don’t forget to use the lights to make you more visible at night, which may decrease chances of road accidents.

▲ Be sure your bike is ready to ride. That starts with checking that the tires are inflated. Make sure the brakes are working properly.【小题3】, if the bicycle hasn’t been used for a while. For an e-bike, also make sure your battery is charged. And before and after every ride, inspect your bicycle for damage.

▲【小题4】. This is important for e-bike riders. With the ability to go faster comes the responsibility to know when you should slow down.

▲ Ride in the right lanes.【小题5】, when you’re riding in the street. Moreover, check the sign to see where e-bikes are allowed. Riding on sidewalks or other walkways can lead to a fine.

You can check the People for Bikes website (peopleforbikes.org) for more information.