Bagou -- a coal town that's seen its population fall from 20,000 to 1,500 since its mine ceased operation -- is an anomaly in China. It's a town that's actually worse off in 2013 than it was 50 years ago. The narrow-gauge rail line was built in 1958 to connect Bagou with the river town of Shibanxi and has six intermediate stops along its 19.8-kilometer (12.3-mile) route.
China's incredible Jiayang Railway —
Bagou -- a coal town that's seen its population fall from 20,000 to 1,500 since its mine ceased operation -- is an anomaly in China. It's a town that's actually worse off in 2013 than it was 50 years ago. The narrow-gauge rail line was built in 1958 to connect Bagou with the river town of Shibanxi and has six intermediate stops along its 19.8-kilometer (12.3-mile) route.
David Akast/CNN
The town's buildings and facilities are all in utter disrepair, but that seems to be what's attracting tourists. Increasing numbers of tourists are arriving on the steam railway. Huangcun Station is the final stop on the old line.
Tourists come for the decay —
The town's buildings and facilities are all in utter disrepair, but that seems to be what's attracting tourists. Increasing numbers of tourists are arriving on the steam railway. Huangcun Station is the final stop on the old line.
David Akast/CNN
The river town of Shibanxi is where the line begins. Tourist trains start in Yuejin.
Start of the line —
The river town of Shibanxi is where the line begins. Tourist trains start in Yuejin.
David Akast/CNN
Until last year, there was no road to Bagou and the town could be reached only by train or on a motorbike running alongside the tracks.
Wild ride —
Until last year, there was no road to Bagou and the town could be reached only by train or on a motorbike running alongside the tracks.
David Akast/CNN
All trains are powered by one of six working steam engines that are housed and serviced in Shibanxi.
Shibanxi depot —
All trains are powered by one of six working steam engines that are housed and serviced in Shibanxi.
David Akast/CNN
A superintendent of the former Workers' Theatre proudly looks after old images of (L-R) Hua Guofeng, Sun Yatsen, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.
Mao was here (at least his portrait) —
A superintendent of the former Workers' Theatre proudly looks after old images of (L-R) Hua Guofeng, Sun Yatsen, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.
David Akast/CNN
The Soviet-built town administrative center is now a museum.
Soviet influence —
The Soviet-built town administrative center is now a museum.
David Akast/CNN
Cultural Revolution artwork and slogans can be found on many buildings.
Getting the message —
Cultural Revolution artwork and slogans can be found on many buildings.
David Akast/CNN
Quotes from Lenin are displayed on Cultural Revolution murals in Huangcun.
Art and slogans —
Quotes from Lenin are displayed on Cultural Revolution murals in Huangcun.
David Akast/CNN
With its empty buildings in terrible conditions, Bagou is a town frozen in time. Tourism may help revive it.
Downtown Bagou —
With its empty buildings in terrible conditions, Bagou is a town frozen in time. Tourism may help revive it.
David Akast/CNN
Cultural Revolution murals have been restored in Bagou.
Restored revolution —
Cultural Revolution murals have been restored in Bagou.
David Akast/CNN
Only four decades ago, "struggle sessions" viciously humiliated supposed class enemies. The stage has been authentically restored.
The original "Mao Stage" -- freshly painted —
Only four decades ago, "struggle sessions" viciously humiliated supposed class enemies. The stage has been authentically restored.
David Akast/CNN
A chartered tourist train lets off steam at the Jiaoba Curve. The Jiayang Railway makes a great addition to the well-established local itinerary of Emei Mountain and Leshan Big Buddha.
A fascinating addition —
A chartered tourist train lets off steam at the Jiaoba Curve. The Jiayang Railway makes a great addition to the well-established local itinerary of Emei Mountain and Leshan Big Buddha.
David Akast/CNN
Nothing like it in the world: China's time-tripping steam railway

Story highlights

China's Jiayang Railway offers spectacular mountain scenery and a window into the Industrial Revolution

Trains headed for the coal town of Bagou are powered by one of six working steam engines

Buildings next to the platform at Huangcun, the final stop, are covered in Cultural Revolution slogans and artwork

CNN  — 

No city better exemplifies China’s investment in its western interior than Chengdu, the booming capital of Sichuan, famous for pandas and spicy food.

The city recently hosted the Fortune Global Forum and announced that visitors from 45 countries can enjoy a 72-hour visa-free stay, further cementing its rise as a major tourism destination.

?Yet only two hours from this metropolis of 14 million people lies a town that has remained fundamentally untouched by the economic changes that have transformed so many lives in China over the past 35 years.

Bagou – a coal town that has seen its population fall from a peak of 20,000 to 1,500 in the years since the mine ceased operation – is an anomaly in China. It’s a town that’s actually worse off in 2013 than it was in 1963.

The vast workers’ auditorium, miners’ cottages (several built by the British in the 1930s), schools and hospitals are all empty and in a state of abject disrepair, but the fact that more tourists are arriving on the steam railway means the town’s worst days may now be behind it.

The narrow-gauge rail line was built to connect Bagou with the river town of Shibanxi in 1958 and has six intermediate stops along its 19.8-kilometer (12.3-mile) route.

Although used primarily for the transportation of coal, it continues to provide a passenger service.

In fact, until 2012 there was no road to Bagou and the town could be reached only by train or on a motorbike running alongside the tracks.

Tickets for “local” trains cost 5 RMB (about 80 cents) to ride the line in its entirety, while those for the new tourist trains from Yuebin are RMB 50 ($8).

These services are air-conditioned, provide a seat (not guaranteed on local trains) and will usually stop in Jiaoba to allow passengers to photograph the most scenic part of the route.

All trains are powered by one of six working steam engines that are housed and serviced in Shibanxi.

More on CNN: Checking in on Chengdu, China’s latest urban star

The final stop on the old line is Huangcun Station.
The final stop on the old line is Huangcun Station.
David Akast/CNN

China’s industrial heritage

?Most passengers, both locals and tourists, disembark in Bagou, but an interesting alternative is to continue to the final stop, Huangcun, to take in the Cultural Revolution slogans and artwork that decorate the buildings right next to the platform.

Huangcun is also home to the coal mine Bagou and its surrounding villages relied on for more than 70 years.

The mine has been open as a tourist attraction since 2008 and daughters of former miners (the guides are all female) lead informative tours.

After emerging back into daylight, the 20-minute walk to Bagou through plantain groves passes many buildings of interest, including the former Occupational Disease Clinic, hospital and middle school.

?With a well put together museum in Bagou, housed in the Soviet-built former town-administrative center, the mine and steam engines mark the beginning of a nascent interest in industrial heritage in China.

Steam enthusiasts arrive from, chiefly, the UK, Germany, the U.S. and Japan, but it’s Chinese tourists that the town is trying to attract in larger numbers.

An increasing number of chartered trains bringing in groups from Chengdu and further afield attest to the success of the local campaign sign-posting the railway as “a living fossil of the Industrial Revolution.”

Along with the industrial heritage appeal, Bagou is attracting tourists interested in the social history aspect of a town that has been frozen in time.

A superintendent of the former Workers' Theatre proudly looks after old images of Hua Guofeng, Sun Yatsen, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.
A superintendent of the former Workers' Theatre proudly looks after old images of Hua Guofeng, Sun Yatsen, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.
David Akast/CNN

Cultural Revolution artwork and slogans that adorn many buildings have been repainted and the original “Mao stage,” where only 40 years ago “struggle sessions” viciously humiliated supposed class enemies, has been authentically restored.

The Jiayang Railway makes a fascinating addition to the well-established local itinerary of Emei Mountain and Leshan Big Buddha. With outstanding hiking opportunities in the bamboo-covered hills that surround the line, fresh, fiery and delicious Sichuan food and accommodation at RMB 50-100 per night it also makes for an ideal weekend excursion from Chengdu.

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Essential info

To get to the train line, take a taxi from downtown Chengdu to Shiyang bus station for RMB 25 and purchase a ticket to Qianwei for RMB 68. Buses run every hour and the journey takes approximately two hours.

Once in Qianwei town take a local bus, taxi or motorbike taxi (RMB 50) to either Shibanxi – the true beginning of the line – or Yuejin, where the tourist trains commence.

It’s possible to hike the entire length and attendants are on hand to say when it’s safe to pass through each of the six tunnels. Accommodation is available en route but it’s easiest to find in Bagou.

A local guesthouse will cost in the region of RMB 50-60 per night and a room in the new station hotel is RMB 100.

Visitors arriving in Shanghai can take the 431 kmh (267 mph) Maglev to begin their China experience on the world’s fastest train. The contrast between this and the Jiayang trains trundling along at 30 kph perfectly encapsulates the divide between old and new and rural and urban that so marks modern China.

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