Bridges, tunnels used in 90% of journey across legendary mountains.

A new high-speed railway linking Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province with Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province started its full-course test run on Nov. 22, making it China's first high-speed railway in the geologically sensitive Qinling mountain range, which is home to hundreds of rare animal species, including giant pandas.

The 643-kilometer line, with a top speed of 250 kilometers per hour, will slash railway travel times between the two cities from the previous 16 hours to three hours.