The world has been extremely impressed by China's high-speed trains that cross the country by the hundreds in all directions every day, but in one corner of this vast land is a gentle reminder that life was not always this fast.
Those fortunate enough to travel to Jiayang in Sichuan province will find railway carriages dragged by steam locomotives(火车头), among the last steam trains operating in China and still running every day. First used to transport coal from Jiayang Coal Mine 62 years ago, today they transport local farmers and their produce to market and serve as a tourist attraction.
"In the early days of the railway, farmers headed for the farm produce market sitting beside coal," said Liu Chengxi, the Jiayang official in charge of the trains. "As coal production has stopped, the trains are now exclusively(专门地)for farmers and tourists."
The narrow railway, only 76.2 cm instead of the standard 144 cm, stretches for 19. 84 km, with the trains reaching a top speed of 20 km/h.
A one-way ticket costs 5 yuan for seated passengers and 3 yuan for standing passengers on the ordinary trains regardless of whether they are travelling empty-handed or with animals or vegetables. But Li Cuirong, who has worked as a train dispatcher(调度员)for more than 20 years, recommends tourists pay 80 yuan for a sightseeing train, as the carriages, which have 37 seats, are more comfortable and air-conditioned. A one-way trip takes about one and a half hours.
The scenery is dramatic as the train winds through the mountain, passengers can view chickens and geese wandering among the orange trees and butterflies dancing over the fields and ponds.
Rob Dickinson, a steam train lover from the United Kingdom, has ridden the trains twice. He hopes the narrow line can last long enough for him to find the time to get back again.
