China on Saturday opened a high-speed railway sector connecting Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province with Chengde, a popular summer resort about 230 km north of Beijing.
The sector, one of many recently opened to expand the world's largest high-speed rail network, provides a more convenient connection between China's northeastern provinces with the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
The high-speed rail sector cuts the trip from Shenyang to Chengde to two hours and 21 minutes, nearly nine hours less than the existing route, according to Li Yudan, deputy general manager of China Railway Shenyang Group Co. Ltd.
Six pairs of trains will run daily in the first week, and as of Jan. 5, the number of trains will be increased to 15 pairs, according to local authorities.
The new sector belongs to the Beijing-Harbin high-speed rail route that extends 1,250 km from the country's northeasternmost provincial capital Harbin to Beijing. The day-long trip from Harbin to Beijing will be cut to within five hours after the route is launched.
Another sector on the route from Harbin to Mudanjiang, known as "snow city," opened Tuesday. On the same day, China also opened a railway line between Hangzhou and Huangshan, both well-known scenic spots.
China's railway network is expected to hit 175,000 km in length by 2025, compared with 127,000 km of operating tracks by the end of last year.
