Steam Train Provides Link Between China's Past And Present

SHIXI, CHINA -MARCH 27: Coal to be used by coal powered steam engines is seen backdropped by a coal fired power plant on March 27, 2015 at a station near the town of Shixi , Sichuan Province, in Southern China. While China boasts the world's most extensive high-speed rail infrastructure with over 16,000 kilometers of track, the Shixi-Bagou railway is still a primary connection for local villagers between towns and is kept alive by tourist cars carrying passengers for ten times the price.ÊThe rail line came into service in the late 1950s and the train was initially used to transport coal from a now-shuttered mine before passenger carriages were added. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)