Banxi Railway Station on the Yunnan–Vietnam Railway

Banxi Railway Station, the earliest established second-class station (originally named Pixi Station) on the Kunming–Hekou section of the Yunnan–Vietnam Railway, is one of the important transit hubs in Yuxi. It connects Kunming to the north and Vietnam to the south, extending all the way to the Pacific Ocean. With the completion and operation of the Yunnan–Vietnam Railway, the dream of "reaching the sea" was realized for the people of Yuxi. The Kunming–Hekou section of the Yunnan–Vietnam Railway began construction in 1903 and is known as the "meter-gauge railway" due to its 1-meter track gauge. In 1910, the Yunnan–Vietnam Railway was completed and opened to traffic, becoming the first railway in China's southwestern region. It "connected not domestically but internationally," forging an efficient passage from China’s southwest to the world and forming an important part of the modern Southern Silk Road. At the same time, the Yunnan–Vietnam Railway represented the highest level of global engineering technology in the early 20th century, and together with the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal, it was hailed as one of the "three great wonders of modern transportation history." In 2018, it was included in the first batch of China's Industrial Heritage Protection List. Over the long course of history, it has undergone multiple restorations and demolitions, witnessing a century of historical changes in Yunnan and even China. Within Yuxi City, the Yunnan–Vietnam Railway spans approximately 30 kilometers, with three stations: Lufengcun, Nuozu, and Banxi.

Today, the once bustling scene of constant passenger traffic and the calls of merchants no longer exists. Stripped of its former glamour, Banxi Railway Station still stands here, telling passersby about the profound years when the Yunnan–Vietnam Railway brought change to the local area.