Zhaoqing City 1993. [Photo by Bruce Connolly/chinadaily.com.cn]

Guangzhou’s Garden Hotel was a regular networking venue for westerners in 1992. Several were involved in the modernization of railways within Guangdong. Rail travel has long been a passion so it was an honor to be invited to the offices of the Guangdong Sanmao Railway Company to learn firsthand about their major project and its benefits for the province’s southwest. An aspiration for almost a century was to have a railway linking Maoming in the far west with Sanshui, thus the name “Sanmao”. It would connect the port of Zhanjiang with Guangzhou while greatly shortening distances between Guangxi, Yunnan and the Pearl River Delta. Work, in stages, ran from 1958 with final completion in Dec 1990. Full operations commenced March 28, 1991. What made it special for me was that some of China’s finest steam locomotives hauled scheduled passenger and freight services to Sanshui, while diesel locomotives continued into Guangzhou.  The entire 404.2 kilometers from Guangzhou to Maoming is now known as the “Guangmao Line”.

In late Oct 1992 I received an opportunity to experience the line. As I’ve previously said, solo travel was challenging, but so much awaited to be discovered in Guangdong. This was my first major journey, and it became an inspiration for farther expeditions.

The trip was a trial run of a steam-hauled tourist train. Departing in darkness from Sanshui, it was an evening of quality dining and statutory karaoke, on a train. I awoke to an incredibly beautiful landscape at Chunwan.  However it was only 6;30 am when I was ushered outside to photograph the locomotive and climb up into the driving cab.

I was back on board for breakfast before driving through stunning mountainous topography, passing small agricultural towns and villages, to reach Yuxi Three Holes Cave. A river flowing inside the mountains carried our boat while the boatman sang as we glided along before emerging out into a scene with cattle grazing on river banks below sheer pinnacles. Lunch was in a restaurant overlooking the river, but for me the sheer natural beauty became more important than dining.