A 5G base station installed in Urumqi, China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 28, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

China's telecom giant China Mobile announced that it started to offer 5G commercial services in northwest China's Xinjiang.

URUMQI, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- The branch of China's leading telecom, China Mobile, in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region announced that it launched 5G commercial services in Urumqi, the regional capital Thursday.

China Mobile Xinjiang Branch said the company would offer multiple 5G packages to customers and a variety of preferential services when customers buy 5G terminals.

"I just used the 5G network in the experience zone. It was pretty fast," said a resident in Urumqi, surnamed Yan.

The telecom giant has built more than 40,000 5G base stations in more than 50 cities across the country. It plans to invest 24 billion yuan (3.39 billion U.S. dollars) to accelerate the construction of the 5G network and has launched 5G network construction in about 300 cities.

The Xinjiang branch said it would further expand its 5G network coverage and accelerate the popularization of 5G terminals next year. ■