Passengers show the commemorative cards for the inaugural high-speed train G3946, which runs from Shangqiu to Xiong'an, Sept. 28, 2026. (Photo by Wang Wei/Xinhua)

　　BEIJING, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Liu Zengyuan, a railway engineer, watched familiar fields slip past the train window. This time, he was not heading to a construction site, but going home for the National Day holiday on the high-speed line he had helped build, just days after it opened.

　　This line, which officially entered service on Sept. 28, links Xiong'an in north China's Hebei Province with Shangqiu in Henan Province in central China. For Liu, it has cut the trip from Renqiu, his workplace in Hebei, to his hometown of Heze in east China's Shandong Province, from four or five hours to only two.

　　On the same day, China opened three other high-speed rail sections, connecting Xi'an with Ankang in Shaanxi Province in northwest China, Yichang with Xingshan in central China's Hubei Province, and Harbin with Yichun in Heilongjiang Province in the country's northeast. During the National Day holiday, from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7, these new lines made it easier for people to visit relatives, and brought new vitality to tourism along the routes.

　　During the holiday, a Beijing resident surnamed Wang took his family by high-speed rail to Hengshui Lake, a national nature reserve in Hebei Province. He was pleasantly surprised to find the journey so convenient, as the trip took less than two hours, and a shuttle bus at the station took them straight to the scenic area.