The Jining-Datong-Yuanping High-speed Railway became operational on Tuesday, marking the beginning of a direct high-speed rail line between Shanxi province and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The 309-kilometer line has nine stops. It runs between Ulaanqab in Inner Mongolia and Yuanping in Shanxi, passing through the cities of Datong, Shuozhou and Xinzhou in Shanxi, and also connects with the Datong-Xi'an High-speed Railway.

It is an important part of the nation's "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" rail network.

The new line, designed for trains running at up to 250 kilometers per hour, will cut the travel time between Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia, and Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi, to about 3 hours and 12 minutes from the previous five hours.

"The new line marks the opening of the rapid railway passenger transport channel between the two provincial capitals and the further improvement of the regional railway network," Chen Lei, director of the Shanxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission, said at the opening ceremony. "It is of great significance to the high-quality economic and social development along the line, as well as the promotion of Taiyuan's status as a national comprehensive transportation hub."

The Shanxi section, with approximately 197 kilometers of new track, started construction in November 2021. As the new line opened, the Yanmenguan Railway Station, around 30 km from the Yanmen Pass section of the Great Wall in Shanxi, welcomed its first high-speed railway. "The opening of the high-speed railway has facilitated the integration of cultural and tourist development, as well as the international popularity of the Yanmen Pass," said Yan Shengyu, Party secretary of the station. "We hope to see more tourists from home and abroad come for sightseeing."

Ping Rui, a 30-year-old resident in Datong, bought a ticket for the first train as soon as he came to know the new rail line would go into service.

"The opening of the high-speed railway can shorten the distance between Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, making travel more convenient by reducing travel time," Ping said.

Expressing his desire to welcome more tourists to Shanxi, he said, "Along the route, there are many filming locations that have inspired the settings of the hit game Black Myth: Wukong, including the Yungang Grottoes, the Hanging Temple and the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda."