Retro-style sightseeing train boosts rural tourism in Shangyou, E China's Jiangxi

Tourists ride a retro-style sightseeing train through rural landscapes and green forests in Shangyou county, Ganzhou city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

A retro-style forest sightseeing train is drawing increasing numbers of family travelers to a scenic rural route in Shangyou county, Ganzhou city, east China's Jiangxi Province.

During the recently concluded Dragon Boat Festival holiday, Yuancun village in Meishui township, Shangyou county, welcomed many visitors on family road trips.

Visitors boarded a retro-style train in the village to travel through farmland and rolling forests, enjoying the pastoral scenery and ecological beauty.

The sightseeing line was originally part of the "Gannan forest railway," a timber transport line put into operation in 1964. Stretching 87 kilometers, it once served as a key logistics artery for transporting timber from local forest areas.

In recent years, Shangyou county has repurposed the decommissioned industrial railway into a tourism-oriented scenic line. The refurbished train now operates as a retro-style tourist service, offering passengers a slow journey through bamboo forests, tea plantations and rural fields.

Tourists ride a retro-style sightseeing train through rural landscapes and green forests in Shangyou county, Ganzhou city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

Tourists ride a retro-style sightseeing train through rural landscapes and green forests in Shangyou county, Ganzhou city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

Tourists ride a retro-style sightseeing train through rural landscapes and green forests in Shangyou county, Ganzhou city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

Tourists ride a retro-style sightseeing train through rural landscapes and green forests in Shangyou county, Ganzhou city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

Tourists ride a retro-style sightseeing train through rural landscapes and green forests in Shangyou county, Ganzhou city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)