Passengers pose for group photos on a platform of the Yinchuan Railway Station in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on Dec. 29, 2019. Ningxia opened its first high-speed railway on Sunday. The 207-km-long railway links three cities in the region including Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia, Wuzhong and Zhongwei with a maximum design speed of 250 kph. The railway will reduce travel time between Yinchuan and Zhongwei by more than an hour. (Xinhua/Jia Haocheng)

YINCHUAN, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region opened its first high-speed railway on Sunday.

The 207-km-long railway links three cities in the region including Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia, Wuzhong and Zhongwei with a maximum design speed of 250 kph.

The railway will reduce travel time between Yinchuan and Zhongwei by more than an hour, said the local state-owned capital operation group.

The railway is part of a major high-speed rail line under construction connecting northwest China with the northern region, said Ma Wenhui, chief designer of the Yinchuan-Xi'an high-speed railway.