Riding China’s Most Unique Slow Train Deep Inside Its Poorest Area

Today, in a modern China known for ultra-fast bullet trains, I’m taking a very different kind of journey. Traveling along the Chengdu–Kunming Railway — an engineering marvel built over half a century ago — I boarded a special public-service slow train heading deep into the Liangshan Mountains of Sichuan. A 7-hour ride for just $2.70, carriages filled with baskets, luggage, and even live chickens, and a night in a quiet mountain town rarely seen by outsiders… This train may be slow and far from comfortable, but for many people living in these mountains, it remains a vital lifeline to schools, markets, hospitals, and the outside world. Timestamp: 0:00 Intro 0:50 Leaving Chengdu South on a First-Class Bullet Train 4:42 Leaving Modern China Behind: Transferring at Emei Station 6:47 Inside the Unique Carriages: A “Study Room” on Rails 10:03 The Chengdu–Kunming Railway: China’s Heroic Mountain Line 18:10 After 7 Hours on the Slow Train: Welcome to Puxiong Station 19:59 Overnight in a Hidden Mountain Town 26:57 Before Dawn: Walking Back to the Station 29:10 The Legendary “Chicken Train”: Riding with Live Poultry 35:49 Two Eras Meet: An Old Slow Train and a Fuxing Bullet Train 39:12 A Lifeline to the Outside World ▶ I use automatic translation of subtitles, so please excuse me if some look a little weird.