銆€銆€CHENGDU, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Sichuan province started laying tracks on Sunday for the first high-speed railway in mountainous southwest China, where ancient visitors called a trip there harder than that to heaven.

銆€銆€The railway, which will link cities including the cities of Mianyang, Deyang, Chengdu and Leshan, stretches 312 kilometers across the Wenchuan earthquake struck areas.

銆€銆€Workers will lay down tracks about six kilometers a day, and work will be completed by the end of 2013. High-speed trains will run at a designed speed of 200 kilometers per hour.

銆€銆€The total investment for the line will reach 40.5 billion yuan (6.4 billion U.S. dollars). There are 30 million residents along the railway.

銆€銆€The railway is expected to make transportation more convenient in China's southwestern regions neighboring a few Southeast Asian nations.

銆€銆€China opened the world's first high-speed rail line in areas with extreme low temperatures on Saturday, bringing the country's high-speed rails in operation to 8,600 kilometers, the longest globally.