New China’s first steam train, “Ba Yi”, was retired after 58 years of service and will be preserved by CSR Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co Ltd in Qingdao.

"Ba Yi”, was produced on July 26, 1952, in a locomotive factory in the Sifang district of Qingdao. The locomotive was given the name in celebration of Army Day on Aug 1 by the nation’s Ministry of Railways of the People’s Republic of China.

The huge steam boiler carriage and locomotive resembles that of an earlier age with its steam train whistle and puffing – a scene familiar to older generations of train travelers.

The people in charge of the business culture department of the company said that the CSR Sifang Co had only been done some assembling and repair work since the completion of the factory in 1900 to the founding of the New China.

None of the locomotive trains operating in China was made during the 71 years from 1881 until the first Chinese railway was completed in 1952. Back then, the supply of locomotives depended totally on imports from Britain, the United States, Germany, Japan, Belgium and Czech Republic. All of the estimated 4,069 various types of locomotives in 1949 in China were from more than 30 factories located in nine countries. Thus, China was called the “world’s locomotive museum” in those days.

"Many of the former workers still remember the day when Zhu De, the nation’s past military leader, visited the Sifang factory in April 1952 to encourage them to produce the first Chinese locomotive,” said one former factory worker.

Three months later, on July 26, 1952, the first Chinese-made steam locomotive rolled off the line. At a ceremony on Aug 1, 1952 the “Ba Yi” locomotive, decorated with red ribbons, was viewed for the first time by government officials and the general public of Qingdao.

Later, the train headed for Beijing to play an important role in the Korean War in 1953 and later was used to help build New China.

After 58 years outside its hometown, the train returned on Oct 21 to a special welcoming ceremony at CSR Sifang Co. The train then was taken to the company’s factory in Chengyang county.

"The train is the product of the wisdom of New China’s diligent railway workers and will always be a model for the workers of future generations, inspiring us to strive for greater achievements,” the factory spokesman said.

By Audrey and Chen Zhilin