Jiayang Steam Railway

The Jiayang line was built in 1958 to bring coal out of the hills at Bagou, laid to 762 millimetre gauge, and it never converted from steam, so small tank engines still work the twenty kilometres of track through tunnels and terraced valleys. It carried passengers because the road was poor, and it still does: local services run for villagers alongside tourist trains, at different prices. In spring the valley fills with rapeseed flower, which is when the line is busiest with photographers. Bagou at the end is a mining settlement with 1950s and 1960s buildings, a coal museum and a mine that can be visited.

What you actually see

• The steam locomotives - working narrow-gauge engines, not preserved display.
• The valley run - terraces, tunnels and villages along twenty kilometres.
• The rapeseed season - yellow fields through the valley in early spring.
• Bagou - the mining settlement and its museum at the end of the line.

When to go

March to April for rapeseed bloom, which brings the largest crowds; autumn is quieter and clearer. Winter runs continue and steam shows better in cold air. Book tourist services ahead in spring.

Honest expectations

Tourist trains cost far more than local services and sell out in bloom season. Carriages are basic and unheated. Qianwei is a slow journey from Chengdu.

Nearby

Leshan and its Giant Buddha lie north; Emeishan is northwest.