On the right track
A tourism train, which will showcase Beijing’s northeastern Huairou and Miyun districts, began running in mid-July.
The train uses the S5 rail line that connects various scenic spots, including Yanqi Lake, Hongluo Temple, Yunmeng Mountain, Wtown and the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall.
The train is the brainchild of the Beijing Rail Travel Service, which comes under the Beijing railway bureau.
It runs twice a day and intends to cater to travelers in the summer vacation.
A single trip ticket costs 12 yuan ($1.74).
The train can accommodate more than 400 passengers.
The Beijing authority has invited artists from across the capital to give performances to entertain travelers on the train during the roughly two-hour trip starting at Huangtudian station in the large residential area of Huilongguan.
The compartments are all decorated with various elements, such as new urban scenes, views of the night sky and the Great Wall, and the windows are bigger than those on regular trains to enable travelers to enjoy the scenic views.
“It will be great for parent-children outings,” says Wang Yuanyuan, an employee with the Beijing rail travel agency.
Currently, a one-day package tour of Wtown scenic resort is priced at 199 yuan, while that for the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall is at 168 yuan.
The Beijing railway bureau has also launched a smart travel platform for mobile phone users. There, travelers can place orders online and buy packages that cover transportation, scenic spot tickets and other customized services.
“Once travelers make an order, a QR code will be sent to them, and they can use it to access all the places and services involved,” says Wang Feng, who was in charge of developing the platform.
In addition, one can look up all rail information across the country on the platform, as well as real-time visitor numbers at major scenic spots across the capital.
“So they can plan their schedule accordingly,” Wang adds.
More resources besides the tourism train will be integrated in the travel platform in the near future.
“For example, we will work with tourism authorities in Huairou and Miyun districts, and they will put out more of what the two districts have to offer on the platform,” says Wang.