The opening of the Xiong'an-Shangqiu high-speed railway marks a new milestone in Heze's urban development. As a key part of China's national high-speed rail network, the line has fundamentally reshaped the transport landscape of southwestern Shandong province, transforming Heze from a peripheral city into a high-speed rail hub at the crossroads of four provinces.
At Hezedong Railway Station, the new line intersects with the Rizhao-Lankao high-speed railway, making Heze the only cross-shaped high-speed rail hub in southwestern Shandong.
The travel time from Heze to Beijing has been slashed from nearly three hours to just two hours, while the journey to Xiong'an New Area now takes around 1.5 hours, fully integrating Heze into the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei two-hour economic circle. Southbound connections via Shangqiu in Henan province link Heze directly to major cities in the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The Heze section spans about 149 kilometers, the longest in Shandong, and has three stations: Yuncheng, Hezedong and Caoxianxi. Yuncheng and Caoxian in Heze now enjoy full high-speed rail coverage, allowing millions of county residents to share in the benefits and connecting the county economies to the national development landscape.
At the same time, the railway is expected to boost Heze's peony and intangible cultural heritage tourism, accelerate the transformation of Caoxian's hanfu industry focused on traditional Chinese attire as well as Yuncheng's liquor packaging sector, and attract new industries such as biomedicine and energy storage.
The city aims to leverage this advantage in transport links to build a modern industrial system and strengthen its role as a regional center.
A high-speed train passes through Hezedong Railway Station on the newly opened Xiong'an-Shangqiu high-speed railway. [Photo/WeChat account: hezewhly]
