HAIKOU A. J. Cann Jaguars Jersey , Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- A new stretch of high-speed railway (HSR) in Southern China's Hainan Province began operation on Wednesday, making it the world's first HSR to circle an island.
A bullet train set off from Haikou, the capital of the island province, at 9:40 a.m., to traverse the 345-km western track of the loop line, which links six counties to join the eastern track in Sanya City Dante Fowler Jr Jaguars Jersey , a beach resort on the island's southern coast.
The western line has 16 stations. The first train finished the entire journey at 1:55 p.m..
The 308-km eastern part was put into operation at the end of 2010, linking Haikou to Sanya, with a designed speed of up to 250 km per hour. It passes Boao, a scenic town that is the site of the annual Boao Forum for Asia.
Construction of the western track began in September 2013 and cost 27 billion yuan (4.23 billion U.S. dollars).
With a land area of 35,400 square km, Hainan is slightly larger than Belgium. A popular destination for beach lovers Yannick Ngakoue Jaguars Jersey , it is expected to receive 47 million visitors this year.
Hou Zhenmei and her husband were among the passengers on the first train. She told Xinhua that their daughter bought the last two tickets for the journey.
"It is exciting," she said. "We like to see the sea."
Xia Feng, assistant to the president of the China Institute for Reform