Jiayang Steam Train

Name in Chinese: 嘉阳小火车 [jiā yáng xiǎo huǒ chē]

Location: Qianwei county, Leshan city, Sichuan province, China

Opening Hours: Sun.-Sat.  09:00-16:30

Tour duration: 4-5 hours

Highlights: Typical Chinese Rural Landscape; Steam Train Riding Experience on Old Railway; A trip through China’s Past

    Here in Qianwei county, southwest China’s Leshan city, one can  find China’s last narrow-gauge steam train - Jiayang steam train, which has been running non-stop since 1958. The train operates using primitive methods borrowed from the age of steam, such as coal feeding, driving, barking, and rail switching, and has thus hailed as a ‘living fossil’ of the industrial revolution.

    In 1958, the 19.84-kilometer-long railway was constructed to transport coal produced from Jiayang Coal Mine. The tracks measure 762 millimeter wide, only half of the nationwide standard. Later, the train began to transport villagers living alongside the rail, which still remains the only means of transportation for locals. Today, the train company has added some sightseeing carriages equipped with air-conditioning and soft seats.

    The train takes 70 minutes to cover just 12 miles. It goes all the way through the hills, with 108 bends, six tunnels and a maximum slope gradient of 36 degrees. A round trip takes about 2 hours. The scenery is most gorgeous in spring when a widespread rape seed flowers on both sides of the railway are in full bloom.

     The mini steam train departures from Yuejin station, passing through Mifengyan station, which is part of a zig zag, and stops at Liangshuituo, where the train emits a large amount of steam as a performance,  creating a rainbow when illuminated by the sunlight!

    The final stop on the line is the old coal town of Bagou, once a thriving community of 7000 people. The mines are now abandoned, but many remnants of a bygone era still remain. Tourists can pay a visit to the Jiayang National Mine Park Museum next to the station.

    Jiayang steam train is located 55km away from Leshan Giant Buddha, a UNESCO’s Cultural and Natural Heritage Site. This world’s oldest and tallest stone carved Buddha statue is drawing large visitors. It is highly recommended to take a side trip to Jiayang steam train national park after touring around the nearby Buddha scenic area,

    How to get to Jiayang Steam Train National Park

    The scenic area is about 120 mi from Chengdu with a travel time of 3.5 hours. Tourists can fly to Chengdu from most of major cities within Mainland China. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) is one of two airports serving Chengdu, which now mainly serves domestic flights around China. The other one is Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (TFU), which also operates domestic flights and took over all international routes from Shuangliu International Airport. Currently, there are 30 international routes to most of major cities abroad, such as, Hongkong, Moscow, Taibei, Seoul, Phuket, Istanbul, Sydney, Cairo, Los Angeles, Bangkok, Osaka, Hanoi,Singapore, Tashkent, Kuala Lumpur, Nha Trang, Toronto, Vancouver, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Paris, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is located 18 km (11 mi) south of the city center, the journey from the airport to the city center takes about 35min while Tianfu International Airport is 65 kilometers (40 mi) southeast of the city center, taking about one hour.

    As the major rail hub in southwest China, Chengdu possesses an extensive rail network, operating around 250 high-speed trains on a daily basis. It well connects to over 100 cities nationwide, making it super convenient to reach Chengdu from other popular tourist destinations, such as Xi’an, Chongqing, Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin, Zhangjiajie, Lanzhou, Hongkong, etc.