Zhanjiang government recently listed the 10 major tasks to be completed in 2016 and starting construction of the Xicheng Express Line, a main road connecting the city with the future high-speed rail station, ranked top.

The project, located from the Beizhan Road in Chikan district to Shugang Road in Mazhang district, stretching 7.78 kilometers, marks that the city is moving closer to a "high-speed rail era", according to Zhanjiang's urban planning and transportation departments.

The high-speed railway linking Zhanjiang to Guangzhou and other first-tier cities in the Pearl-River Delta will open in 2017. Zhanjiang already has a high-speed rail link to Maoming, a city between Shenzhen and Zhanjiang.

The other section of the Shenzhen-Zhanjiang High-speed Railway from Maoming to Shenzhen will be completed in 2017, when the travel time from Zhanjiang to the Pearl River Delta will be shortened from more than seven hours to less than two, with the train travelling at speeds of 250 kph.

Construction of the urban track will also provide a significant boost to the development of Xicheng New District, according to the city's government work report in 2016.

Edited by Owen Fishwick