Good food on high-speed rail? Yup.

As a regular high-speed rail passenger, Wang Xiaoqing has long been tired of the limited food choices.

On Tuesday, however, Wang had her lunch — chicken with rice, peach juice and beans — delivered to her seat for the first time as she was traveling by bullet train from Jinan, Shandong province, to Shanghai.

It’s the latest new feature offered by the ever-improving high-speed railway system in China.

“It feels just like ordering food at home with a variety of choices. I would certainly recommend this service to my friends,” the 35-year-old said.

She spent 43 yuan ($6.40) on the lunch. The price included a delivery fee of 8 yuan.

On Monday, 27 major rail stations in 24 big cities, including Xi’an, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Chengdu, launched an on-demand food delivery service for highspeed trains passing through the stations.

The pilot program’s menu varies from station to station, with distinctive local features. For example, you can order goubuli baozi —a steamed stuffed bun that’s a signature food of Tianjin — if your train stops at the northern port city. Some spicy food is on offer when the train stops in Sichuan province.

In addition to traditional Chinese dishes, Western style fast food, including KFC, is available on most trains. Prices are similar to those on popular food delivery apps in cities.

Passengers are asked to order on China Railway Corp’s ticket-booking website or via its app two hours before the train is scheduled to arrive at the selected station.

The order will be canceled if the train is canceled or delayed for more than 30 minutes, and passengers will get a refund.

On-demand food delivery services have been booming in China over the past few years, aided by a fast-growing express delivery industry and people’s embrace of mobile phones and payments.

The food delivery on the train is aimed at complementing meals offered by the railway operator, which are often criticized as having low quality and high prices. Xinhua contributed to this story.

HANG XINGWEI / FOR CHINA DAILY Middle school students from the states of Pennsylvania and Maine in the United States get a lesson in Kunqu Opera in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, on Tuesday, as part of their summer holiday.