High-speed train offers easier trips from Guangzhou to western Guangdong

The Jiangmen-Zhanjiang high-speed railway began operations on July 1, offering Guangzhou locals a much more convenient way for travelling to western parts of Guangdong province.

On the same day, a number of tourism groups departed from Guangzhou South Railway Station and traveled to the cities of Maoming and Zhanjiang or transferred to Guangxi and Hainan provinces and even Vietnam via Jiangmen-Zhanjiang railway.

"It used to take about seven hours from Guangzhou to Zhanjiang by coach. Now it takes three hours by the high-speed rail. It's so convenient to travel to the west of Guangdong," said a tourist surnamed Chen from Guangzhou.

The Jiangmen-Zhanjiang railway, which is adjacent to the sea, connects four prefecture-level cities in the western part of Guangdong province: Jiangmen, Yangjiang, Maoming and Zhanjiang. It also integrates different cultures in Guangdong - the coastal culture, overseas Chinese culture, food culture, and Leizhou culture.

The railway has also brought new development opportunities to tourism destinations in Guangxi, Hainan, and even border regions in Vietnam. According to a Guangzhou travel agency, about 40 percent of the first day's travelers were heading to the aforementioned destinations. Tourists can take the Jiangmen-Zhanjiang high-speed rail to Zhanjiang, from where they can reach more destinations in Hainan, Guangxi and Vietnam by different means such as coaches and ferries.