BEIJING, Dec. 25 -- The long-awaited Lanxin high-speed rail line in north-west China is set to make its debut this Friday. The line connects the capital cities of Lanzhou in Gansu province with Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Tickets for the line can be purchased online, on telephone and in ticket offices from today.

The line has shortened travel time between the two cities to less than 12 hours. It covers a length of nearly 1,800 kilometers, and passes the provinces of Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang in northwest China.

A total of 39 stops are dotted along the line. The railway runs through various landscapes including deserts, snow covered mountains and wetland.