China's top economic planner has approved two railway projects, with a combined investment of 238.26 billion yuan (about 37.4 billion U.S. dollars).

The projects include one high-speed rail track connecting north China's Tianjin and Weifang in east China, and one linking Xi'an in the northwest and Chongqing in the southwest, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

Earlier data showed a total of 4,208 kilometers of new rail lines were put into service in 2021, including 2,168 kilometers of high-speed tracks.

By the end of last year, the operating length of China's high-speed railway network exceeded 40,000 kilometers, as major projects began operations as scheduled.