The action will help reduce phone rates in the three cities. According to the communication tariff regulation in Guizhou, phone calls across locations using different area codes will be charged at a higher tariff.

A ceremony is held on December 19 to announce the change of the area code to the public.[Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

A ceremony was held on December 19 to announce the change to the public. The vice-governor of Guizhou province and chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology were invited to the ceremony.

Wang Jiangpin, vice-governor of Guizhou province, attended a ceremony on December 19. The number “0851” will become the new area code for Guiyang, Zunyi and Anshun, three cities of Guizhou province, starting December 20.[Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

According to a senior executive of Guizhou Telecom Company, after implementation, the change will help people in the above three cities save communication costs to a large extent, reducing costs by 25 yuan ($4) per person on average.