Panda stickers and panda dolls are seen everywhere on the Xi’an-Chengdu high-speed trains, which begin operation on Dec. 6.

The 658-km Xi’an-Chengdu line is China’s first rail route to run through the Qinling Mountains, which are the natural boundary between north and south China, and the natural habitats of giant pandas.

“My hometown is also the home of giant pandas, and I feel delighted to see pictures of the cute animal,” said a passenger from Foping County, better known by a giant panda nature reserve in southern Shaanxi province.

The panda population in Foping has been on the rise in recent years.

Li Yudan, deputy director of Xi’an Railway Bureau, disclosed that in the future, some high-speed trains running on the line will be named after famous scenic spots and panda habitats, in a bid to promote tourism.

With a designed speed of 250 kilometers per hour, the line will slash the travel time between Xi’an and Chengdu from about seven hours to about four.