Kunming, China's 'City of Eternal Spring'

Initially, following the main Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, the train at Changsha switched onto the Hukun Railway and started heading southwest. Looking out, I knew this was why I chose to travel by train. The scenery was both beautiful and indeed from a human point of view, fascinating. Mostly rural, with villages grouped alongside fish ponds, the landscape becoming increasingly mountainous. Rivers, long tributaries of the Yangtze catchment area, provided essential transportation corridors for both freight and people.

Our journey was slow, the line mostly single track but work was underway on double tracking, electrification and extensive tunneling. We passed through areas of small, local coal mines then lacking the urban facilities and lifestyles I had left behind in Beijing. While those rural-urban contrasts were stark, the landscape was certainly beautiful.

I spent time in the dining car, chatting with fellow passengers, enjoying simple food while regularly looking out at the passing countryside. Villages were composed of two floor wooden homes with balconies. Beyond, mist clung to high, forested mountain slopes.