(210122) -- BEIJING, Jan. 22, 2021 (Xinhua) -- A train departs the Beijing Chaoyang Railway Station in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 22, 2021. China on Friday launched a new high-speed railway service that connects Beijing with Harbin, capital of the northeastern province of Heilongjiang. A newly unveiled 192-km-long section, running from Beijing to Chengde, in the neighboring Hebei Province, started operation Friday morning. Combined with two previously opened sections, the Beijing-Harbin high-speed railway extends 1,198 km. The new railway service forges a closer link between the national capital and the northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang. With a designed speed of 350 km per hour, the service is expected to shorten the travel time from Beijing to Harbin to about five hours, around one and a half hours less than the previous fastest railway route. The first section of the route, extending from Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province, to Harbin, was put into operation in 2012. The section from Shenyang to Chengde began service in 2018. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)
