China launches bullet train service on most challenging terrain

China launched bullet train services Tuesday along a mountainous terrain touted as the most challenging the country has ever built.

The train left Yichang City of central Hubei Province Tuesday morning for Wanzhou district in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, traveling a route that cuts through rugged mountains and under hundreds of bridges and tunnels, Xinhua reported.

Wang Tongliang, a railway official, said the service will cut journey time between Chongqing and Wuhan, capital of Hubei, from over 11 hours to just six hours and 40 minutes.

Travel time from other central or east China cities to southwest China will also be significantly shorter, bringing new opportunities for residents who live in the steep and remote mountains.

The Yichang-Wanzhou railway stretches 377 km. It is considered a feat of engineering as it runs through a rugged region where the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau meets the Yangtze river plain.