A Fuxing bullet train runs on the railway bridge built on the Jinsha River in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, November 26, 2023. /CGTN
A winding new railway, the Lijiang-Shangri-La Railway, connecting two well-known tourist cities in picturesque Yunnan Province, southwest China, opened on Sunday, according to China State Railway Group.
Departing from Shangri-La at Sunday noon, the first train reached Lijiang in 1.5 hours, and is scheduled to arrive at the provincial capital Kunming in 4.5 hours.
The new railway has a design speed of 140 kilometers per hour and a total length of 139 kilometers, cutting the fastest travel time between the two cities to one hour and 18 minutes.
CGTN infographic by Du Chenxin
As an important segment of the Yunnan-Xizang Railway, the new railway weaves through breathtaking natural landscapes, creating an enchanting fusion of man-made marvels and unspoiled beauty.
A group of Tibetan people sing and dance at Shangri-La Station in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, November 26, 2023. /China Railway Kunming Bureau Group
With construction beginning in 2014, the mega project took about nine years and some 20,000 workers to build. A total of 34 new bridges and 20 new tunnels were built for the railway, covering more than 70 percent of a route which spans complicated terrain.
The new line will help improve transportation in ethnic minority areas, which will promote national unity, consolidate border stability and promote Yunnan's high-quality development, said China State Railway Group.
A view of the Shangri-La Railway Station in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. /CGTN
A Fuxing bullet train runs on the railway bridge built on the Jinsha River in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, November 24, 2023. /CFP
Eco-friendly project
With the goal of building a plateau railway project with green ecology and environmental protection standards, the China Railway Kunming Bureau Group Co., Ltd. has made every effort to ensure a green project ever since the construction started, said Huo Erlun, secretary of the Party working committee of Lijiang-Shangri-La Railway Project Department of the China Railway 16th Bureau Group.
The entrance of Haba Snow Mountain tunnel is located in the Tiger Leaping Gorge scenery spot and the Jinsha River water source protection area, said Huo, adding that in order to protect the environmental water source, a sewage treatment station was designed and put into use on the site.
A railway bridge and a highway bridge built on the Jinsha River in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, November 24, 2023. /CFP
"We used the treated wastewater as much as possible for the construction of the road, mixing stations and other areas to spray water and dust, strictly prohibiting the discharge of substandard wastewater," said Huo.
A total of eight sewage treatment stations, over 40 sedimentation tanks, about 105,000 cubic meters of wall support and protection facilities, and 187,000 square meters of green planting have been constructed along the entire line in areas such as Wenbi Sea, Lashi Sea and Tiger Leaping Gorge, said Xu Huifeng, deputy commander of Lijiang-Shangri-La section of Yunnan-Xizang Railway.
