Take the Slow Train Through Ancient China

I'm traveling through the Sichuan countryside (in southwest China) on the Jia Yang railway. This is one of the few remaining passenger steam trains still operating on a narrow gauge (30-inch wide) track. It's an essential service for the local farmers, as there are no roads in these remote bamboo forests in southern Sichuan. The 12-mile journey takes 90 minutes, stopping at nine stations with six tunnels en route.

Not geared for the luxury tourist, the first-class seat on the carriage (30 yuan = $4) is a hard wooden bench without an in-coach service or toilets. The carriage staff is a group of giggly teenage girls who lock the doors and switch on the lights when the train goes through a tunnel. They also have to work the brakes, which means turning a huge wheel near the floor.

The train was built as a joint venture between British and Chinese companies in 1939 to haul bulk coal from the mines to the nearest big town. Now it mainly serves rich Chinese city dwellers who come to visit their country cousins.

Rattling and bumping along at 15 mph through the hills of southern Sichuan Province, the terraced paddy fields rise from the valley floor up the hillsides in a myriad of shapes, each separated from the other by small earthen dykes. Water buffaloes work in the fields dragging simple wooden ploughs guided by men or women who are dressed in shabby clothing and authentic bamboo hats. A way of life unchanged for centuries. I could be back in ancient China…if it wasn't for the surrounding flash photography, colorful lycra jackets, and jazzy sunglasses of my fellow travelers.

The fun point of the trip is when the driver stops for photos. Everyone gets off the train and he reverses back half a mile, and comes back up the shallow gradient, hugging the wooded hillside, with belching cones of white steam billowing from the dinky little eight-wheeler engine.

At Bee Rock, a cul de sac V station, the train pulls up to the buffers then reverses back out on the other leg of the V. For the rest of journey you go backwards up through the hilly forests.

Chinese people love their digital cameras and mobile phones. Constant posing for photographs at the doorways--which meant much movement up and down the tight narrow aisle between the seats.

Cousin Wang just had to call cousin Yang on her phone to recount exactly where we were and what we were doing, and all these one-sided conversations could be heard all over the carriage.

It's a fun, noisy trip--wear a big smile and take along your camera (and a set of earplugs…)

Brian Thomson
For International Living

P.S. If you plan to take this trip, make sure you get your timing right. Avoid traveling on public holidays: Spring Festival (first day of the first lunar month--approximately February 4); Mayday (from May 1 to 7, Chinese workers have annual holidays); or any national holidays. Everywhere is crowded and prices inflated on these days. Many businesses add on extras when they see dollars coming their way, claiming, "The room rate for foreigners is different" (i.e. double). We settled on the Chinese rate of 260 yuan ($34) for two people in a two-star hotel, breakfast excluded.

Editor's note: The Early Bird discount--$500--for our Essential Grand Tour expires Sept 10. This is an opportunity for you to take off on a unique journey of discovery … a rare chance to renew your spirit … and an unapologetic prospect to experience pure, unadulterated luxury in its most classic form. For those who take part, the rewards will be great.

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- Enjoy old world travel with new world conveniences at International Living's Grand Tour, November 10-21, 2007