A new high-speed railway connecting Lijiang and Shangri-La in southwest China’s Yunnan Province started operation on November 26. It is an important segment of the Yunnan-Tibet railway.
With a length of 139 kilometers, the new railway slashes the travel time between the two cities to 1 hour and 18 minutes from about 4 hours by bus. It mainly passes through Lashihai and Xiaozhongdian stations, linking attractions including Old Town of Lijiang, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Tiger Leaping Gorge, and Haba Snow Mountain.
The railway also connects Shangri-La, in the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, to the provincial capital Kunming. The travel time will be around 4 hours and 30 minutes from Shangri-La to Kunming.