China to open world's longest high-speed railway

China is set to open the world's longest high-speed railway in about two weeks, linking the cities of Beijing and Guangzhou, the Ministry of Railways (MOR) announced Friday.

According to the ministry, the 2,298-km Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway will open on Dec. 26, the birthday of late Chairman Mao Zedong.

Running at an average speed of 300 km per hour, the railway will cut travel time between the country's capital and the southern economic center of Guangzhou to about 8 hours.

Designed with a maximum speed of 350 km per hour, the railway has 35 stops in major cities, including Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Wuhan and Changsha.

The high-speed line is expected to increase the cargo transport capacity between Beijing and Wuhan by 20 million tonnes, according to the MOR announcement.