The term caravan was used to describe groups of people who travelled together across the ancient network for safety reasons, such as merchants, travellers or pilgrims.
Heavily armed police raiding the homes of unarmed, non-violent suspects on the flimsiest of pretexts, and behaving more like an occupying army in hostile territory than guardians of public safety.
The lines it's built have drastically shortened journey times, improved safety, reduced carbon emissions, and allowed many Chinese people from rural or less developed areas to access to the country's massive cities.