Reflections | How ancient China’s standardised vehicle and road ‘specs’ transformed the country

Besides the Qin dynasty’s standardisations pertaining to Chinese writing and currency, equally significant was that of carriages’ axle width

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An engraving depicts an early Chinese horse-drawn carriage from the 18th century. More than 2,000 years ago, the Qin dynasty introduced the “standardised axle width”, which played a vital role in shaping ancient China’s military strength, administrative efficiency and cultural integration. Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Published: 8:15am, 12 Apr 2025

Tucked away in sleepy Perlis, Malaysia’s tiniest state, an ambitious infrastructure project is quietly taking shape.

The backers of the Perlis Inland Port believe that it could one day sit at the crossroads of a Europe-to-Asia trade route, a transshipment hub to which cargo from Europe could be shipped and from there transported on freight trains to Thailand, Indochina, China and beyond.

Most of the Malaysians I know have never visited Perlis. The mostly agricultural state in the far north of the Malay Peninsula shares a land border with Thailand and is better known for its rice fields. Those who have visited travelled through it in passing on their way to southern Thailand.

The entire state is smaller than Hong Kong in geographical size, and its population is just under 300,000.

Perlis is a mostly agricultural state in the far north of the Malay Peninsula. Photo: Shutterstock

The timing of the Perlis Inland Port could not be more apt, though. With traditional shipping routes endangered by ongoing wars and potential flashpoints, people are starting to look at rail again as a viable alternative for moving goods across continents.

Of course, turning that vision into reality is another matter altogether.