Dedicated sightseeing trains are rising in popularity in places such as the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region due to their convenience and ability to transport passengers to popular destinations across vast distances at affordable cost.

Li Xiaoming and his friends boarded one such sightseeing train in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, on Monday, starting a 15-day rail holiday in the region.

Unlike standard trains, sightseeing trains do not pick up regular passengers and the carriages are fitted with additional compartments to cater for dining and entertainment along the journey.

Li from Nanchang, Jiangxi province, wanted to travel across Xinjiang from north to south, but was worried about having to catch costly flights or rent a car, so he chose the sightseeing train.

"The train has compartments designed for four passengers, so our group can have some privacy and a more enjoyable experience along the way," Li said.

Li and his friends were among 200 passengers on the train that will stop at major travel destinations in the region, such as Urumqi, Kashgar, Turpan, Hami prefecture and Kuitun.

"We are giving tourists more options, so they can either choose to make the whole journey or just the southbound or northbound journey," said Huang Tingfen, deputy general manager of Xinjiang Railway Tourism Corp.

A hundred such journeys are planned for Xinjiang this year, triple the number that set off last year, according to the railway group.

In recent years, sightseeing trains have been scheduled more frequently to try and boost tourism across the country, including trains dedicated to popular ski routes in winter.

Last month, sightseeing trains departed from Beijing and headed to Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan province. The trains have 5G, a music and video entertainment system, a restaurant and bar, a chess and card room, and private toilets with hot showers in the sleeping carriages.

Spring outing sightseeing trains were also launched in March in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, carrying passengers to the flowering canola fields in the south of the province.

Xinhua contributed to this story.