From far north to deep south, seniors relax on China's longest rail journey

About 1,000 tourists - mostly seniors - boarded a train on Monday for an eight-day trip from Harbin, in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, to Hainan Island in the very south.

"The 4,100-kilometer trip is the longest tourist route by train in China," said Kong Deqi, director of the tourist train department of Harbin Railway International Travel Agency.

"The train will cross the provinces of Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Hebei, Anhui, Hunan and Jiangxi, along with the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region," Kong said.