Southeast Asia Information Port News (www.dnyxxg.com) The warm winter sun pierced through the clouds, shining on Xingyi South Station of the Panzhihua-Xingyi High-Speed Railway. Sunlight danced through the apricot-yellow station rooms, illuminating the face of Chen Tingfu, a villager from Xinjian Village, Fengdu Street, Xingyi City, Qianxinan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province: "The Panzhihua-Xingyi High-Speed Railway has reached my doorstep! More tourists will be able to see the beauty of my hometown!"
"There are countless mountains in the world, but only here do they form a forest." The Ming Dynasty traveler Xu Xiake once exclaimed this praise when passing through Xingyi. The karst mountains have created a breathtaking landscape of countless peaks, but they have also been an obstacle to local transportation development. Chen Tingfu recalled: "Before, going on a long trip was a real headache. Going to Guiyang, the provincial capital, required a bumpy four- or five-hour bus ride, and we had to get up before dawn."
On November 28th, the Panzhihua-Xingyi High-Speed Railway in Guizhou Province was officially completed and opened to traffic, achieving full high-speed rail coverage for all central cities and prefectures within Guizhou Province. Looking at the brand-new station building, Chen Tingfu's eyes were full of anticipation: "Now, taking the high-speed rail, it only takes half an hour to Panxian and about two hours to Guiyang."
As he spoke, the train departed Xingyi South Station, quickly disappearing into the heart of the mountains. The scenery outside the window changed rapidly—just moments ago a magnificent panorama of peaks and forests, now a tunnel, and then speeding across bridges hundreds of meters high.
Behind this convenience lies years of arduous work by the builders. The Panxian-Xingyi High-Speed Railway is approximately 99 kilometers long, with bridges and tunnels accounting for nearly 91%. The builders faced not only complex karst topography but also world-class construction challenges such as karst development, high methane levels, and fault fracture zones.
"The construction of this line can be described as performing 'precision surgery' in a 'geological museum'," said Lai Xinjun, senior engineer of China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co., Ltd. and chief engineer of the Panxing Project Department. He explained that the builders innovatively applied technologies such as ground-penetrating radar and advanced horizontal drilling to accurately determine the geology ahead; they also independently developed bridge-building machines adapted to steep gradients, ensuring the timely completion of 46 bridges and 38 tunnels, turning formidable barriers into smooth roads.
The train sped forward, with towering peaks and picturesque fields visible outside the window. Beside the Wanfenglin Scenic Area, Wang Shuxian, Deputy General Manager of Wanfenglin Tourism Group, gazed at the silver-white train traversing the mountains, her heart filled with anticipation: "We've been preparing for the high-speed rail era for a long time."
"Previously, tourists could only reach Wanfenglin by bus, which was time-consuming and offered a poor experience," she explained. Now, Wanfenglin is developing a one-stop tourism route combining high-speed rail and the scenic area, ensuring that tourists can reach the "landscape gallery" of Wanfenglin within 1 to 2 hours after disembarking from the high-speed rail. Simultaneously, interactive businesses such as travel photography, tie-dyeing, and camping are being developed to encourage tourists to slow down and stay longer.
On the terrace of her own guesthouse, Wu Fangpei, the manager of Wanfenglin Heyi Tea House Guesthouse, leisurely brewed and sipped tea, observing the bustling crowds within the scenic area. As steam rose in wisps, he confidently declared, "The high-speed rail is like a flowing stream; customers and business opportunities will follow. With more customers, our business will naturally flourish!"
Today, Guizhou has woven over 9,000 kilometers of highways and an increasingly dense "high-speed rail circle" through its towering mountains. The ever-shrinking distances have made "fast travel, slow tourism" a reality.
Taking the opening of this high-speed rail line as an opportunity, the Chengdu Railway Bureau of China Railway has further optimized train operations and adjusted transport capacity as needed, connecting major tourist attractions within the province. In the initial phase of the Panxing High-Speed Railway's operation, seven pairs of high-speed trains will run daily between Xingyi and Guiyang, Tongren, Libo, and Chengdu, Sichuan. In the future, it will directly connect to several provincial capitals. The Panxing High-Speed Railway is like a golden thread, meticulously weaving together the scattered pearls along its route, such as Wanfenglin, Malinghe Canyon, and Tuole Ancient Ginkgo, allowing the cultural and tourism resources of Qianxinan and Liupanshui to shine even more brightly.
In Tuole Village, Panzhou City, the ancient ginkgo trees, some over a thousand years old, are ablaze with golden leaves. "I was inspired by Tuole's ginkgo trees online, and this tranquil and rustic scenery is truly beautiful," said Wang Xiujuan, a tourist from Guangzhou, Guangdong, strolling along the leaf-strewn stone path, constantly taking photos with her phone. "I plan to take the high-speed rail next time for a more in-depth tour and explore all the surrounding scenery."
"Our entire village has been mobilized," said Huang Qinglin, the Party Secretary of Tuole Village, pointing to the clean roads and newly renovated agritainment businesses. "All 91 agritainment businesses and guesthouses in the village are ready, and we've even coordinated a special tourist bus line from the high-speed rail station to the scenic area, ensuring that tourists can reach Tuole within half an hour of getting off the train."
(Standing on the path, it takes several people to...) Under the ancient ginkgo tree, its trunk so thick it takes two people to encircle it, Huang Qinglin counted on his fingers, beaming as he did some calculations: "At its peak this year, we had nearly 10,000 visitors a day. Now, with tourism in the village, over 300 people no longer need to go out to work. In the future, if the average daily number of tourists exceeds 30,000, even more villagers will be able to earn a living from tourism right at their doorstep."
"The 'high-speed rail + tourism' model will drive the vigorous development of related industries such as homestays, catering, cultural and creative industries, and health and wellness," said Wang Bin, Vice Mayor of Liupanshui Municipal Government. He added that after the high-speed rail opens, scenic spots in Liupanshui and Qianxinan will be efficiently connected, forming a year-round tourism product system encompassing "spring flower viewing, summer retreats, autumn foliage viewing, and winter skiing."
