High speed rail brings development opportunities to western interior

XINING - Three new high speed railway lines officially opened on Friday, the bullet trains' maiden journeys may have transported passengers but they also brought economic opportunities to China's underdeveloped western interior.

The Lanxin high speed railway -- which links Xinjiang's Urumqi with Xining, capital of Qinghai province; and Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province -- is the first of its kind to be built on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The Guiguang high-speed railway, meanwhile, links the southwestern Guizhou province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the south to the economic hub of Guangdong province. The designed speed is 250 km per hour on this route.

The 574-km Nanguang high-speed railway links Nanning, capital of Guangxi, to Guangzhou, capital of Guandong.

The new railways are marvels of advanced modern engineering, as the west of China is infamous for its challenging environment.

Distance and time

China's western regions are rich in natural resources and home to dozens of ethnic moronities. However, for a long time, development has been stagnant.

Thus, the three lines will not only benefit the local people in terms of transportation but will also help the local economy.

Wang Dongwei, 51, a businessman who lives in Zhangye City in Gansu province, jumped at the opportunity to take the high speed train from Zhangye to Lanzhou.

"In the 1980s, it would take 21 hours to travel from Zhangye to Lanzhou.Even today, the normal train takes more than six hours, but now, the trip is a mere three hours," he said.

Meng Yinzhi, an agricultural worker in Gugua Village in Sandu Autonomous County, which is southwest of Guizhou, said the railway would change her life.

"I will find a job in Guangzhou after the Spring Festival, as the new railway reduces the trip from two days to just three hours, meaning I will be able to change my work/life balance," said Meng, 36.

She explained that she had worked in Guangzhou for several years, but had returned home five years ago to take care of her elderly parents and baby, leaving her husband in the coastal city.