China launches world's longest high-speed train line

China has launched the world's longest high-speed rail line which significantly reduces travelling time between Beijing in northern China and Guangzhou in southern China.

The 1,428 mile-line sees trains travel at 186mph, with the journey time between Beijing and Guangzhou cut from 20 hours to just eight hours.

The train stops off at major cities en-route, including provincial capitals such as Shijiazhuang, Wuhan and Changsha.

According to the official Xinhua News Agency, there will be more than 150 pairs of high-speed trains running every day.

Train travel is essential to China's transportation system and the government plans building a grid of high-speed railways, involving four east-west lines and four north-south lines by 2020.

It's thought the new trains will be carrying many tourists on tailor-made tours from northern to southern China over the coming weeks and months.

The opening of this new line brings the total distance covered by China's high-speed railway system to roughly half its 2015 target of 11,250 miles, with the figure currently standing at 5,800 miles.