Photo: Nanchang Railway

On Sunday morning, the G3998 Fuxing bullet train departed from Ruijin Station in East China's Jiangxi Province and set off for Yan'an in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, marking the first direct high-speed rail services between the two major revolutionary sites, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Central Red Army's Long March. Ruijin and Yan'an, the starting point of the Long March and the revolutionary heartland of the Communist Party of China after its conclusion, are located in East and Northwest China. 

The train departs from Ruijin at 11:02 am, calling at stations including Yudu, Ganxian North, Ji'an West, and Xi'an East, before arriving at Yan'an at 10:34 pm. The journey covers more than 1,800 kilometers in 11 hours and 32 minutes, according to information from the Ruijin government website.

Previously, no direct train or flight service existed between the two cities. Passengers had to make at least two transfers, with total travel time running as long as 16 to 22 hours. 

It is reported that the service is an ultra-long cross-line high-speed train running across seven railway lines, including the Ganzhou-Ruijin-Longyan Railway, the Beijing-Hong Kong High-Speed Railway and the Xi'an-Yan'an High-Speed Railway, spanning the jurisdictions of the Nanchang, Wuhan and Xi'an railway bureaus.

The launch of the railway route carries far-reaching significance. For local communities, it effectively resolves the transport difficulties facing the old revolutionary base areas of southern Jiangxi and northern Shaanxi, making travel between the two regions far more convenient. For tourism, the route links the revolutionary sites of southern Jiangxi, the mountain and water scenery of northwestern Hubei, and the revolutionary heartland of northern Shaanxi, providing convenient transport support for revolutionary study tours and red tourism, and helping upgrade the cultural tourism industry in old revolutionary base areas.