Asia's largest underground railway station, covering a total area of 147,000 square metres, opened today in China's southern Shenzhen city.

The Futian High-speed Railway Station in downtown Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, covers a total area of 147,000 square meters, or about the size of 21 football fields.

Its three underground floors have seating for 3,000 passengers, according to Guangzhou Railway Corporation, which operates the station.

With the opening of the new station, travel time between Guangzhou and Hong Kong will be slashed to half an hour.

The travel time between Guangzhou and Hong Kong takes about two hours by ordinary train.

Residents in Shenzhen, which is adjacent to Hong Kong, can reach Hong Kong in 15 minutes.

According to the train timetable, there will be 11 pairs of high-speed trains between the Futian Station and Guangzhou South Station each day from Wednesday to January 9.

Another 12 round trips will be added to the schedule every day starting January 10, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

Xue Weihe, a local railway official, said the daily passenger flow through the station is expected to be 10,000 on average during the initial period.