A Railway Wonder
On June 16 this year, the Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway (和若铁路) opened in Xinjiang. It was really exciting.
The newly-opened railway is about 825 km long. It connects (连接) Hotan City in southwestern Xinjiang with Ruoqiang County in the southeast. The railway is also connected to two other railways. Together, they form (形成) a 2,712-kilometer-long line around the Taklimakan Desert, the largest desert in China.
The Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway is of great importance. It has 22 stations and has brought an end to the history of having no railway in some counties and towns in southern Xinjiang. And it shortens the travel time. Now the train ride from Hotan to Ruoqiang only takes about eleven and a half hours. The railway will help people there live a much better life.
But building the Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway was not easy. It started in December 2018 and took about three and a half years. About 65% of the railway is in the sand and wind zone (地带). To solve the sand and wind problem, workers planted a great many trees along the line. In some parts, workers built bridges to let the sand and wind pass under them.
What a wonder the railway is!
