The opening ceremony of Zhejiang province section of the Quzhou-Ningde Railway is held at Qingyuan Railway Station. [Photo/lsnews.com.cn]

The opening ceremony of Zhejiang section of the Quzhou-Ningde Railway – which runs from Quzhou city in East China's Zhejiang province to the coastal city of Ningde in China's southeastern Fujian province – was held on Sept 27, rail officials said.

The ceremony was held at Qingyuan Railway Station in Qingyuan county, administered by Lishui city in Zhejiang province.

After the ceremony, Lishui Party Secretary Hu Haifeng and Mayor Wu Xiaodong boarded train D9558, the first high-speed train to officially operate on the line.

Lishui Party Secretary Hu said that Sept 27 marked World Tourism Day, which coincided with the opening of the entire Quzhou-Ningde Railway. He expressed the hope that hordes of tourists would take the railway to Lishui to enjoy the unique charms of the China's foremost green city.

Officials said that when train D9558 subsequently departed Qingyuan station bound for Shanghai South Railway Station, the history of railway impassability in the three Lishui counties of Suichang, Songyang and Qingyuan – as well as the county-level city of Longquan in Lishui – ended.

The Quzhou-Ningde Railway links the southwest of Zhejiang province and the northeast of Fujian province.

It starts from Quzhou in Zhejiang, passes through Zhejiang's Lishui city, as well as Fujian's Nanping city, before arriving at the final destination of Ningde in Fujian – a total distance of 379 kilometers.