Jianshui’s “Small Train” Ride Invites Tourists to Relive Honghe’s Gebishi Railway History
When purple pottery, the Zhu family mansion, and the Double Dragon bridge are mentioned, Yunnan locals instantly know that one is referring to the ancient town of Jianshui, in Honghe Prefecture. Along with the Hani rice terraces of Yuanyang, Jianshui has developed a reputation as one of Honghe Prefecture’s premier travel destination sites. The roots of the ancient town of Jianshui stretch back to the Tang Dynasty’s Nanzhao State, switching between various names, including Huli and Lin’an, before becoming Jianshui County during the Qing Dynasty. Yet, it’s relation to Gebishi railway history still remains a story often untold.
Nowadays, rumbling noises can be heard chugging along the town’s flat outskirts. This is Jianshui’s popular “internet famous” train. Once known as Lin’an Train Station (临安站), the bustling train station has evolved into a tourism magnet. Often referred to by locals as the “small train” line, because of its initial usage of narrow gauge (600 mm) tracks, the yellow train retraces the path of the Gebishi railway (个碧石), China’s first privately owned and operated railway. Since opening the train ride to tourists in 2015, the half-day train ride experience has become one of the town’s main attractions. For many, the scenic route has also become a way for travelers to learn about the now, four hour train route’s complicated relation and deeply intertwined history with the meter-gauge Yunnan-Vietnam Railway (滇越铁路), just an hour away.
Jianshui’s Major Tourist Experience: The Narrow Gauge Railway
Today, visitors hop aboard the “small train” that departs from Jianshui Train Station twice daily — once at 9 am and again at 2:30. Each four-hour ride, takes visitors through three other destinations: Shuanglong Bridge, Xianghui Bridge Station, and the historic Tuanshan Village.
Exploring the 240.78 sq. meter Jianshui Train Station, visitors will come across a mixture of old French-style buildings and three-dialed clocks scattered throughout. Vintage trains from the days of the old narrow gauge train tracks, including a 1940’s British locomotive, sit as reminders of the large steel beasts that used to steamroll through. Covering 13 km at a slow, but steady pace of 25 km per hour, the train ride allows tourists to soak in some of Jianshui’s most historical sites. In 1970, the Kunming Railway Bureau switched Jianshui’s route to meter-gauge tracks, when portions were integrated into the national railway.
Life-sized bronze statues, including a teenage girl dishing out packs of cigarettes out of a suitcase, a young boy selling sugar hawthorns, and a trendy woman wearing a qipao, recreate the scene of the bustling station nearly a century ago. Yet, these statues wouldn’t be standing today, if it weren’t for a bold, strategic move and action taken by a couple government officials and group of courageous local businessmen.
China’s First Privately Owned Railway
With the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway completed and operating by 1910, the French colonial powers had complete control of railway transportation from Kunming to the ports at Hai Phong in northern Vietnam. Looking to expand their dominance in southeastern Yunnan, the French shifted their attention to extracting the region’s rich deposits of natural resources—in specific tin. Assuming negotiations with the weak Chinese government would be quick, the French began drawing up plans of an additional westward line, connecting to the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway. However, in a bold defiance against the French, then Yunnan governor Cai E made a determined move, changing the region’s railway history forever.
Rather than yielding to French demands, Cai E decided to empower the local Chinese to build a new western route to the mineral-rich mountains of Gejiu, when he accepted a proposal from local industrialists in southern Yunnan. Later in 1914, Governor Tangjiyao (who succeeded Cai E in 1913) appointed local businessman Chen Heting (陈鹤亭) as general manager of the newly established Gebi Railway Company, to begin construction of China’s first privately owned railway.
Other prominent local businessmen became investors in the new railway company, giving locals control of the railway line’s future. Gebishi Railway Company managers wasted no time in designing the initial construction plans to connect Gejiu to one of the busiest train stations along the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, Bisezhai (碧色寨).
Completion of the Gebishi Railway
Driven by both topographical and political motives, officials approved construction of narrow-gauge tracks to build the Gebi Railway. The move rendered the railway route unusable to the French, whose trains moved along the meter-gauge tracks of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway.
Built during the Republic of China, the Gebishi Railway began construction with Jijie Station (鸡街站) in 1915. An important transit stop, Jijie Train Station was built just 34 km north of Gejiu, playing a crucial role in transferring the precious ore and minerals out from Gejiu’s mountains. By 1921, the valuable shipments from Jijie station began reaching Bisezhai, and the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, 73 km away to the east.
The Jijie to Jianshui branch began construction in 1992 and officially opened in 1928, connecting another major city in the region. The Gebi Railway would finish construction in 1936 when it reached Baoxiu Station (宝秀站) in Shiping (石屏), weaving together regional economic centers and changing local life forever. Baoxiu became the last western stop along the narrow-gauge railway, renaming the Gebi Railway to the Gebishi Railway. With completion of the 176 km long Gebishi Railway, the cities of Shiping, Jianshui, Gejiu, and Mengzi were all connected. In total, locomotives would roll through 24 stations along the Gebishi Railway, greatly contributing to the region’s economic development, as well as significantly enhancing the area’s quality of life.
Apart from purposely rendering the tracks useless to the French trains, the narrow gauge tracks were selected for a few other reasons. One, was the narrow gauge’s flexibility in laying down tighter tracks along the region’s mountainous curves. Laying less track also reduced overall construction costs. The Yunnan-Vietnam Railway’s meter gauge tracks, were more expensive and imported from other western countries. The meter gauge tracks also required more manpower to transport and carry up Yunnan’s rocky hillsides. Although heavy, workers could lay the narrow-gauge tracks more efficiently with less manpower.
Unforgotten Gebishi Railway History
Today, the Yunnan-Vietnam and Gebishi Railway continue to share their fascinating history with visitors and locals. Smaller train stations, such as Jijie, Lahadi, Heilongtan, and Zhicun have slowly opened up, offering a glimpse into each station’s own unique background. Many of the smaller train stations have their own untold stories and tales, attracting explorers to hike nearby, while sampling regional delicacies. Train enthusiasts will even trace the tracks to other stations from Yunnan’s border city Hekou, to the last station in the north, Kunming. Old American-made Class SN 0-10-0 steam locomotives, once a common sight along the Gebishi Railway, now reside in multiple museums across China.
As the last afternoon train rolls in at sunset, young trendy travelers and older couples snap a few last-minute photos along the legendary train tracks. For now, Jianshui Station shows no sign of relinquishing its reputation as the most “internet-famous” stop on the Gebishi Railway.
