Opened to traffic on Thursday, the Hotan-Ruoqiang railway runs along the southern edge of the Taklimakan Desert in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region. Photo: Courtesy of Urumqi Railroad Bureau

With a speed of 120 kph (74.6 mph), the 825 kilometer-line links Hotan city with Ruoqiang county in the Bayingolin Mongol autonomous prefecture in Xinjiang. Photo: Courtesy of Urumqi Railroad Bureau

A train takes a test run on the Hotan-Ruoqiang railway track on March 11. About 65% of the line was set on sand and stone. Workers built five railway bridges measuring 49.7 kilometers in length, to circumvent the wandering dunes. Photo: Courtesy of Urumqi Railroad Bureau

A total of 434 precast bridge piers were installed on site. Photo: Courtesy of Urumqi Railroad Bureau

Builders made the track as seamless as possible by doing away with most rail joints, thus ensuring better stability in the train’s passage. Photo: Courtesy of Urumqi Railroad Bureau

Workers inspect a section of the track. Photo: Courtesy of Urumqi Railroad Bureau

Snow covers the construction site of the railway in January 2019. The project was started in December 2018. Photo: VCG

A train passes through a section of the Nanjiang railway in Xinjiang. The Hotan-Ruoqiang railway is connected with some sections of Nanjiang railway and the Golmud-Korla railway, forming a loop of 2,712 kilometers around the Taklamakan Desert. Photo: VCG

A locomotive runs along the Nanjiang railway in Xinjiang in 2019. The loop crosses five prefecture-level regions across Xinjiang. Photo: VCG

The Ruokeya Grand Bridge is the tallest bridge on the Hotan-Ruoqiang railway with an average pier height of 24 meters. Photo: VCG

The line has 22 stations, bringing the railway to places in southern Xinjiang for the first time in history, including Yutian and Minfeng. Photo: Courtesy of Urumqi Railroad Bureau