A 45-minute rail trip puts China’s tourism towns within day-trip reach

A trip from Xi’an to Ankang now takes just 45 minutes by high-speed train, putting a same-day getaway within reach for visitors from China’s Guanzhong Plain. For tourism officials in Ankang, the shorter journey brings an opportunity—and a challenge: attracting more visitors is only the start. Giving them reasons to return will require better attractions and service.

The connection is one of four major high-speed railway sections China has opened across its northern, northwestern, central and northeastern regions. According to The Independent Uganda (direct), carrying a Xinhua report, industry experts and local officials expect the routes to encourage tourism during holidays, including the ongoing National Day break. The openings give residents of major cities easier access to cultural sites and natural destinations.

The potential destinations range from the Three Gorges Dam in Hubei Province to the forests of Yichun in China’s far northeast. The tourism opportunity is not confined to longer holidays. Shorter journeys also make weekend breaks and trips across provincial boundaries more practical, extending the reach of destinations that the new railway sections serve.

Shorter journeys, a wider visitor base

Yuan Baohua, deputy director of the construction department at China State Railway Group, said the Yichang–Xingshan section connects cultural and tourism resources. He said the Harbin–Yichun section also provides conditions for developing tourism and ecological resources along its route. The two links bring different types of attractions within easier reach of rail passengers.

The Xiong’an–Shangqiu section adds another connection between historical and cultural destinations. Liu Yanhong, deputy general manager of Xiong’an high-speed railway corporation, said it strengthens links across Hebei, Shandong and Henan provinces. That connection is expected to support shorter cultural tourism trips across regions, rather than limiting the benefits of faster rail travel to a single destination.

In Ankang, local cultural and tourism official Qu Xiaoyuan described the change in everyday terms: faster trains make cities feel closer, not simply look closer on a map. With Xi’an now 45 minutes away, visitors from the Guanzhong Plain can travel to Ankang and return that day, making spontaneous outings possible without a longer stay.

Easier access is only the beginning; bringing visitors back depends on improving tourism offerings and service quality, Ankang tourism official Qu Xiaoyuan said.

The test is bringing visitors back

Qu expects the wider passenger catchment to bring a significant increase in weekend and short-holiday visitors. That could raise demand for tourism offerings that combine activities and focus on experiences. Attractions, he said, will respond by developing their distinctive features and improving quality, rather than offering interchangeable experiences that resemble those elsewhere.

The new sections also arrive amid heavy holiday travel demand. China Railway expects about 284 million passenger trips over the combined Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day travel period, running from September 23 to October 8. Railway passenger traffic peaked on October 1, according to the report. Beyond that rush, the next test for destinations along the new routes is whether easier journeys translate into repeat visits—the challenge Qu placed at the centre of improving tourism products and service.