FUZHOU, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's fastest cross-sea high-speed rail started operation on Thursday, with trains running at a maximum speed of 350 km/h along the west coast of the Taiwan Strait.
A Fuxing bullet train G9801 departed from Fuzhou, the capital of southeast China's Fujian Province, at 9:15 a.m., marking the opening of the 277-km Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway.
This is China's first cross-sea high-speed railway with a designed speed reaching 350 km/h, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., the country's railway operator. It has stops in the cities of Fuzhou, Putian, Quanzhou, Xiamen and Zhangzhou.
The new rail slashes travel time between Fuzhou and Xiamen, an economic hub and tourist hotspot in the province, to just under an hour.
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 28, 2023 shows a Fuxing bullet train running on the Wulong River bridge along Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)
Chen Chengyi, the driver of the Fuxing bullet train G9801, makes preparations before departure at Fuzhou south railway station along Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway, southeast China's Fujian Province, Sept. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)
The Fuxing bullet train G9801 departs from Fuzhou south railway station along Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway, southeast China's Fujian Province, Sept. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 26, 2023 shows the Wulong River bridge (C) along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 26, 2023 shows the Wulong River bridge (C) along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 19, 2023 shows the Quanzhou Bay cross-sea bridge (R) along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 26, 2023 shows the Wulong River bridge (3rd R) along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)
This photo taken on Sept. 18, 2023 shows the Quanzhou Bay cross-sea bridge along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 19, 2023 shows the Anhai Bay cross-sea bridge along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
This stitched aerial panorama taken on Sept. 18, 2023 shows the Quanzhou Bay cross-sea bridge along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 19, 2023 shows a part of the Anhai Bay cross-sea bridge along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 26, 2023 shows the Wulong River bridge (C) along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
A performer puts on a puppet show on the Fuxing bullet train G9801 operating on the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province, Sept. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 19, 2023 shows the Meizhou Bay cross-sea bridge along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 19, 2023 shows the Meizhou Bay cross-sea bridge along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
This stitched aerial panorama taken on Sept. 15, 2023 shows the Meizhou Bay cross-sea bridge along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 19, 2023 shows a Fuxing bullet train running on the Anhai Bay cross-sea bridge (L) along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)
A Fuxing bullet train G9801 awaits departure from Fuzhou South Railway Station on the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Sept. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
Passengers walk into the waiting hall of Fuzhou South Railway Station on the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Sept. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 19, 2023 shows a Fuxing bullet train running on the Anhai Bay cross-sea bridge along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 18, 2023 shows a cargo ship sailing towards the Quanzhou Bay cross-sea bridge along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 19, 2023 shows the Quanzhou Bay cross-sea bridge (R) along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
Two passengers from southeast China's Taiwan speak with their family in a video chat while taking the Fuxing bullet train G9801 on the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province, Sept. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 19, 2023 shows the Meizhou Bay cross-sea bridge along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 13, 2023 shows a Fuxing bullet train running on the Wulong River bridge along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 18, 2023 shows the Quanzhou Bay cross-sea bridge along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 19, 2023 shows a Fuxing bullet train running on the Meizhou Bay cross-sea bridge along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 18, 2023 shows the Quanzhou Bay cross-sea bridge along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
A passenger travelling aboard the Fuxing bullet train G9801 on the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway takes photos of the scenery outside the train window in southeast China's Fujian Province, Sept. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 19, 2023 shows the Anhai Bay cross-sea bridge (L) along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 19, 2023 shows a test train running on the Meizhou Bay cross-sea bridge along the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)■
