Desert rail loop brings tourists, prosperity

Transport mode, key infrastructure propel Xinjiang onto accelerated development track

URUMQI — As student Abdulrehim Abduleli traveled toward the hometown of his childhood role model, he was filled with excitement, looking expectantly out of the train window, checking his watch from time to time.

The boy's role model, Kurban Tulum, was a resident of Hotan prefecture in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The Uygur farmer is well-known for his role in promoting ethnic solidarity. Although he passed away in 1975, his story lives on.

"Since childhood, we knew that Kurban Tulum had attempted to ride a donkey from Xinjiang to Beijing. Now, we can take this clean, convenient train to his hometown," said 13-year-old Abdulrehim Abduleli. He was joined on the trip by over 30 students.

The teenager was able to make this dream journey thanks to the 2,712-kilometer rail loop encircling the Taklimakan Desert, China's largest. Launched in June 2022, it is the world's first desert loop railway line.

The loop links major cities, including Aksu, Kashgar, Hotan and Korla, and has put the development of Xinjiang, especially its southern region, on a faster track.

Convenience, development

Located in southern Xinjiang, Hotan is well known, among other things, for its top-notch, mouthwatering fruits and yet for a long time it lagged in development. Now things are improving, especially with the launch of the desert railway.

"By this special train, walnuts will be transported to our customers quickly," said Rozimamat Nuri, general manager of Kelaimu Agricultural Product Co in Hotan county, adding that he expects to sell over 40,000 metric tons of walnuts this year.

According to China Railway Urumqi Group Co Ltd, as of mid-June, nearly 33.5 million tons of goods had been delivered through the freight transportation centers in the cities of Korla and Kashgar, thanks to the loop railway.

Industrial agglomeration has also been accelerated. The railway station of Qira county in Hotan prefecture, a node of the loop, was launched last year. Not far from the station is the Tianjin industrial park, where textiles and electronics enterprises are busy making products, while the main building of a regional logistics distribution center has been erected.

"We have started to build a logistics center in the area surrounding the station. Locally produced goods and other southern Xinjiang products can be delivered to the Kashgar economic development zone by railway, to better link with the Central Asian market in the future," said Ma Jiangshan, a senior official in Qira county.

According to Xinjiang's transport authorities, the autonomous region has over 220,000 km of highways, nearly 8,770 km of railways in operation and 25 civil transport airports.

The fast-track development of Xinjiang's traffic infrastructure impressed Abdulrehim Abduleli. He said that when he goes to university, he hopes to study transportation. "I want to build high-speed railways in southern Xinjiang in the future," he said.