Chengdu, reaching Sichuan's capital by railway
From Baoji we were “double-headed”, hauled by two powerful locomotives for the route would be leading up into mountainous northern Sichuan. I noticed frustratingly that daylight was slowly fading. Photography!
Initially this mostly single-track line with passing loops climbed through spectacular scenery, crawling along ledges above at times rivers cascading through narrow gorges. Lengthy tunnels penetrated steep forested slopes. Back in the dining car it was difficult to eat for I was constantly trying to watch such magnificent scenery despite the encroaching darkness. Stopping at remote, alpine stations, lengthy freight trains waited to head north while villagers ran alongside our coaches offering water, fruit and boiled corn cobs to passengers seated at open carriage windows.
