If you like train culture, Yujiang recommends taking the Chengdu-Kunming Line once. Riding a train may not be comfortable, with turbid smells and mixed people, but watching my locomotive pass over railway bridges and the alternation of day and night as soon as it enters and exits the tunnels is worth the experience.
Let’s first take a look at the main stations along the Chengdu-Kunming Railway:
Chengdu Station - Chengdu East Station - Chengdu South Station - Meishan Station - Emei Station - — Hanyuan Station — Puxiong Station — Xichang Station — Miyi Station — Panzhihua Station — Guangtong North Station — Kunming Station
Four of them are special. Worth visiting, from north to south are:
1 Chengdu-Emei
As a popular destination for travel, it goes without saying that Chengdu is here. What I want to focus on is the cities such as Pengshan, Meishan and Leshan that the Chengdu-Kunming Railway passes through after starting from Chengdu. These cities are all covered by the Chengdu Plain. Different from the bustling Chengdu, life here is leisurely and comfortable, and there are countless delicious foods. If you are not in a hurry, Yujiang recommends choosing a city to stay for a few days to experience the slow life here.
In addition to natural landscapes and cultural heritage, it also passes through some geological wonders, such as red earth and mysterious stone pillar forests. The red earth glows with brilliant colors, and the stone pillar forest looks like a fantasy scene from fairyland.
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2 Emei-Puxiong
There were few ethnic minority settlements where Yujiang grew up, so The culture of ethnic minorities has a fatal attraction for me. Passengers on the Chengdu-Kunming Line gave me a profound experience of the true feeling of harmonious coexistence of multi-ethnic cultures. The traditional costumes of the Yi, Bai, Naxi and other ethnic groups worn by the passengers on the train turned the carriage into a show. Their unique folk customs made me feel the charm of multiculturalism. Each nation has its own unique customs and traditions, and every detail made me intoxicated.
In Jiajiang County, Leshan City, the Chengdu-Kunming Railway will cross the Qingyi River and pass through the east side of Mount Emei. Then we met the Dadu River on a narrow road in Shawan, and stayed with this surging river until we parted ways at Ouse River Town (Hanyuan Station). This section will pass through the most difficult section of the Chengdu-Kunming Railway construction process. The railway soldiers have dug tunnels on the granite cliffs. Passengers can see the grand scene of the train constantly shuttling between darkness and light, and The unfathomable Dadu River Canyon on both sides.
3 Puxiong-Xichang
The Chengdu-Kunming Line allows Yujiang to truly feel what "native China" is. If China's railways are compared to a tape, then the high-speed rail is only one side of it. It is densely distributed among the hundreds of kilometers between high-speed rail stations.The train station above is the other side of China Railway. These are also a part of life, a part that you may have never been exposed to, but it really exists.
Once you pass Wushe Town, you will reach the boundary of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. Puxiong is a small town connected by railways. Countless Yi people boarded the train from here to leave the impoverished Daliang Mountains and go to the outside world. In a sense, Puxiong Station is a Yi version of the "center of the universe." From this point on, the Chengdu-Kunming Railway will pass through the Daliang Mountains.
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4 Xichang-Panzhihua
During this journey, the railway meandered along the Anning River from time to time. , sometimes drive straight in. One can see wind turbines one after another, densely clustered in the Anning River Valley. From Yonglang to Miyi and then to Yanbian, the railway bid farewell to the Anning River and fell into the embrace of the Yalong River.
The magical salt wells along the train tour are a traditional way of making salt by evaporating underground salt water. When the train passed through these salt wells, I could see salt towers several meters high and white salt fields, as if I had entered a pure and magical world. The unique historical atmosphere and beauty are intoxicating, making people immersed in the long river of time.