From mountains to minutes: Sichuan's high-speed rail shrinks travel times

A sleek new high-speed railway tearing through Sichuan's rugged terrain at 350 kilometers per hour will open its doors on Tuesday, completing a high-speed loop in the southern part of the province. The 261-kilometer line promises to shrink travel times and boost tourism, linking provincial capital Chengdu with the dinosaur-famed Zigong and baijiu-brewing Yibin.

Zigong, long known as the "Hometown of Dinosaurs" for its abundant fossil discoveries, will now be a mere 51-minute train ride from Chengdu, down from hours by road. Yibin, a city renowned for its fiery Sichuan liquor, will see travel times slashed to 73 minutes.

This engineering feat tackles the notoriously challenging geography of Sichuan, a land of treacherous mountains, deep valleys, and snaking rivers. As Tang Dynasty (618—907) poet Li Bai once wrote, traversing Sichuan's roads was akin to "scaling the heavens."

But engineers conquered the terrain, building 231 bridges and 29 tunnels along the new line, some surpassing global challenges in mountainous high-speed rail construction, according to China State Railway Group.

Starting January, trains will loop through Chengdu, Zigong, Yibin, and Leshan, running four times daily to connect these major southern cities.

The "golden hour" travel times and convenient loop schedule are expected to boost regional tourism and economic development, the railway group said. The improved connectivity will also promote closer integration between Yibin and Zigong with Chengdu, the provincial powerhouse.