When Shandong province opened its first inter-city line --- the Qingdao-Rongcheng high-speed railway -- connecting the coastal cities of Qingdao, Yantai and Weihai, on Dec 28, it made Rongcheng on the outskirt of Weihai the first county-level city to have high-speed rail station in the province, and is expected to promote the county's tourism, according to Zhang Wanjun, director of its tourism bureau.

Swan Lake, on the outskirts of Weihai, Shandong. [Photo by Zhao Ruixue/chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhang went on to say, "We'll take this opportunity to build Rongcheng into a tourist destination with our own tourist advantages such as seaweed houses, whooping swans and high-quality air."

The 286-km line is designed for speeds of up to 250 km per hour. This line is part of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway line and shortens the travel time from Weihai to Beijing from 16 hours to 6 hrs, and by New Year had already brought 60,000 tourists to the county.

Residences and seaweed houses in Rongcheng. [Photo by Zhao Ruixue/chinadaily.com.cn]

Rongcheng county plans to set up a travel advice office at the city's seafood exposition center to properly handle the large number of tourists the new railway could bring. It will cooperate with touring websites across China to provide tourist information on transportation, scenic spots, routes, and hotels.

Zhao Ruixue contributed to the story