XI'AN, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- A high-speed railway line connecting Xi'an, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, with Yan'an in northern Shaanxi has entered its trial operation phase, marking a significant step toward full operation.

The trial run commenced on Monday morning when test train 55302 departed from Xi'an toward Yan'an -- transitioning from the joint debugging and testing phase to operational simulations.

As the first high-speed railway in northern Shaanxi's old revolutionary base area, this 299.8-km project is designed for speeds of 350 km per hour and slashes the journey duration between Xi'an and Yan'an from 2.5 hours to approximately one hour.

Yan'an holds profound historical significance -- as it served as the base of the Communist Party of China leadership between 1937 and 1947.