China to open world's longest high speed rail

A high speed train bound for Guangzhou pulls out of Beijing West Railway Station for a trial run on December 22, 2012. The new Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed rail, to be started operation on Wednesday, links major Chinese cities including Shijiazhuang of North China's Hebei province, Zhengzhou of Central China's Henan province, Wuhan of central China's Hubei province and Changsha of Central China's Hunan province. The 2,298-kilometer high speed rail, known as the world's longest of this kind, will connect the capital city in the north and the southern economic hub with an eight-hour one-way drive.  [Photo/Xinhua]

A reporter takes photos in a high speed train bound for Guangzhou during a trial run December 22, 2012. The 2,298-kilometer high rail will start operation on Wednesday. [Photo/Xinhua]