The world has been dazzled by China’s
high-speed trains that crisscross 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 — perhaps with
the help of one of those
bullet trains — will fi nd
railway carriages hauled
by steam locomotives,
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 farm-
ers and their produce to
market and serve as a
tourist attraction.
The mine is about 140
kilometers (87 miles)
from Chengdu, the pro-
vincial capital, and before
the railway was built in
1958 coal was hauled out
of the mine by horses and
then loaded onto junks
that carried it along the
Minjiang River.
“In the early days of the
railway, farmers headed
for the farm produce
market sitting beside
coal,” said Liu Chengxi,
the Jiayang offi cial in
charge of the trains. “As coal production
has stopped, the trains are now exclusively
for farmers and tourists.”
The narrow gauge railway, only 76.2 cen-
timeters (2.5ft.) 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 (73 US
cents) for seated passengers and 3 yuanfor standing passengers on the ordinary
trains, regardless of whether they are
traveling empty-handed or with animals
and vegetables.
But Li Cuirong, 45, who has worked as
a train dispatcher for more than 20 years,
recommends tourists pay 80 yuan for a
sightseeing train, as the
carriages, which have 37
seats, are more comforta-
ble and air-conditioned. A
one-way trip takes about
one and a half hours.
As the train winds
through the mountain,
passengers can view
chickens and geese wan-
dering among the orange
trees, butterfl ies dancing
over the paddy fi elds
and lotus ponds, and
farmhouses in bamboo
groves.
The scenery is most
dramatic in spring as
the train passes a vast
expanse of yellow rape
seed blossoms as seen
in a picture album about
the trains published by
the Sichuan Fine Arts
Publishing House.
The photos of the
trains in the four seasons
were taken by Yuan
Chengfang, 58, who was
a miner in Jiayang Coal
Mine from 2004 to 2016.
The trains attract many
people eager to experience the halcyon
days of steam travel, Yuan said.
Rob Dickinson, a steam train lover from
the United Kingdom, has ridden the trains
twice. Writing for the International Steam
Page listed on a few internet portals, he
said he hopes the narrow-gauge line can
last long enough for him to fi nd the time to
get back again.‘‘
Additional information is on fi le with the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.
West, I can tell which episode it comes from,”
Zhan said. “Because I admire Sun Wukong, I
want to be impeccable in the performance.”
He used to display the most diffi cult mar-
tial arts skills onstage, but he said produc-
tion of the fi lm has made him realize that the
skills need to fi t the “role” to best refl ect “the
exceptional personality of the cultural icon”.
The eff ort has paid dividends. Wang
Xiaoshuai, a well-known fi lm director, said:
“Thanks to the remarkable martial arts
scenes, this fi lm will be a new attraction for
future generations, possibly drawing more
young enthusiasts to Peking Opera.”
Peking Opera is no stranger to the silver
screen. Dingjun Mountain (1905), the fi rst
Chinese fi lm, is a recorded clip of a Peking
Opera excerpt. Peking Opera fi lms played
a dominant role in the 1960s and 70s, but
their popularity was stunted with the arrival
of more diverse entertainment.
In recent years, there has been a revival
in the popularity of Peking Opera fi lms,
as noted by the screenplay writer Gong
Yingtian. In 2015 a national alliance of Peking
Opera fi lms was established, giving impetus
to further development of the genre.
However, the overuse of special eff ects in
real-life scenarios that can be seen in many
fi lm adaptations of Peking Opera plays
has diluted the original charm of the stage
performances.
“We cannot sacrifi ce the imagination
(enabled by the stage) for a fi lm’s expres-
sion,” Gong said.A train trip back to
a slower ageTrains pulled by steam locomotives in Jiayang, Sichuan province, are among the last ones running in
China. LIU LANYING / FOR CHINA DAILYSun Wukong turns
from a carefree
character into the
great Monkey King
in the coming-of-
age tale Havoc
in Heaven.