The coastal city of Qingdao, in eastern China's Shandong province, will have its first high-speed train service to southwestern metropolis of Chongqing on March 20, according to a statement by the Qingdao Railway Administration on March 2.

Trains G318/5 and G316/7 will be put into operation for the new Qingdao-Chongqing service and the whole journey will take about 15 hours and 21 minutes in total. The new train service will travel through Shandong province's Gaomi, Weifang, Qingzhou, Zibo, Jinan, Tai'an and Qufu; Jiangsu province's Xuzhou; An'hui province's Huainan, Hefei, Lu'an; and Hubei province's Hankou, Hanchuan, Qianjiang, Jingzhou, Yichang and En'shi.

A second-class one-way ticket for the whole journey from Qingdao to Chongqing costs 737.5 yuan ($117.5).

According to the railway administration, the first service will depart from the Qingdao Railway Station on March 20 at 7:30 am.