High-speed railway promotes tourism in Xingshan

By Chen Si, Yichang Three Gorges International Communication Studio

Since the Zhengzhou-Chongqing High-speed Railway opened on June 20, 2022, it has caused a significant boost in Xingshan County’s tourism industry.

This is not only China's first high-speed railway through the Three Gorges Reservoir area, but also a fast passenger transport corridor connecting the southwest and central China.

"Since opening two years ago, the Xingshan railway station has operated more than 27,000 trains with a passenger flow of 680,000 trips,” said Xie Jizhou, duty officer of Xingshan Station. “On the first anniversary of the line's opening, passenger flow was about 330,000, while this year it is about 350,000, up 15 percent.”



In the past two years, the station has upgraded its facilities and service quality to make travel more convenient and comfortable for passengers. In recent years, Xingshan County has also made great efforts to develop its cultural tourism industry.

Xingshan received a total of 11.5 million tourists and earned 7.3 billion yuan (US$1 billion) in the two years prior to the railway opening, said the Xingshan Culture and Tourism Bureau. After the railway opened, it has received 17.2 million tourists over two years, up nearly 50 percent from the corresponding period, while its revenue hit 11 billion yuan, nearly 51 percent higher.

At 5pm on June 19, Train G3487 from Zhengzhou East Railway Station in Henan Province with more than 500 passengers on board arrived at Xingshan Station with a travel time of just over three hours.



The tour group hosted by tour guide Ma Yalin got off at this station, and will spend the next five days visiting the Zhaojun Village and the Gaolan Grand Canyon.

"It used to take about 10 to 12 hours by bus to come from Zhengzhou. But now it only takes three hours to go directly from Zhengzhou to Xingshan," said Ma.