Xinjiang's high-speed rail receives 167,000 passengers in one month

The first high-speed rail link in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region celebrates one month of operations on Tuesday, having carried 167,000 passengers.

The daily passenger flow reached 5,600. Visitors to Turpan by rail, went up 30 to 50 percent on year, said Chen Shuguo, director of the tourism bureau of Turpan.

The 530-km line became operational on Nov.16, slashing travel time between the regional capital of Urumqi and the eastern city of Hami by half to three hours.

With a designed speed of over 200 km per hour, the line is part of the 1,776-km Lanxin high-speed railway linking Urumqi with Lanzhou, capital of northwestern province of Gansu, which will be put into service by the end of this year.