The grand curve at Zhuozishan Mountain in Inner Mongolia, where trains wind their way like steel dragons. In 2007, China’s railways completed their sixth major speed upgrade, and this section was eventually replaced by a mountain tunnel.
He may not be China’s best photographer, but he is certainly the country’s most dedicated railway photography enthusiast. Wang Wei, a young man from Beijing who has been a train fan since childhood, is only 23 years old, but has been “shooting” for eight years. Starting at age 15, over the course of eight years he traveled 200,000 km to capture the scenery along dozens of China’s railway lines and the various types of trains running on them. Apart from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, he has visited every province on the Chinese mainland, leaving behind more than 200,000 photos related to railways and trains. These images document the four eras of change — from the steam age, to the diesel era, the electric era, and the high-speed rail era. Wang Wei says his goal is to get people to start appreciating the scenery in his photos and then pay attention to China’s railway culture.
A childhood bond with trains
After graduating from university, Wang Wei now works in photography at a media company. When asked how he became so connected to trains, he says it goes back to his childhood. Living next to Beijing North Railway Station, with the Beijing-Baotou Railway line right below his building, he would climb onto a stool and peer out the balcony every time a train passed by. Those days of counting and eagerly waiting for trains brought him a lot of joy during his childhood.
In 2005, at the age of 15, Wang Wei began photographing trains. His first photo was of a train at Beijing North Railway Station, which had been a constant presence throughout his upbringing. And once he started, he never put the camera down again. Later, when he went to university, he chose a major related to photography — multimedia art.
Over the past eight years, Wang Wei has traveled nearly 200,000 km, leaving his footprints in every province on the Chinese mainland. “Many places can’t be reached by car, but the more remote the location, the more beautiful the scenery,” he says. So, in order to photograph a particular train, he has sometimes hiked hundreds of kilometers — a feat that puts many veteran photographers to shame. To capture stunning train photos, Wang Wei formulates detailed shooting plans based on factors such as the train’s color, model, background, and lighting. Although his photography gear isn’t top-of-the-line, it hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm for chasing trains.
Freezing disappearing trains in photographs
In Wang Wei’s photos, many are taken from a bird’s-eye view of the trains. The advantage of this angle is that it captures the full length of the train, showcasing its grandeur. Wang Wei says he likes to shoot unique subjects and explore perspectives others haven’t. That’s why he often seeks out high vantage points, sometimes even climbing mountains to take photos. Some peaks are very steep, and some areas are densely vegetated, with thorny bushes often leaving scratches on his body.
As for the various challenges he’s faced while traveling over the years, there are even more. Trains sometimes change schedules due to weather or other unpredictable reasons, and he might wait all day at a spot without seeing a single train. Last February, Wang Wei and a companion traveled to Sanya to photograph the Hainan Western Ring Railway. This railway line runs along the South China Sea, with the ocean on one side and green mountains on the other — a view that fascinated Wang Wei for a long time. But the only challenge was that very few trains passed by, and during the good daylight hours, only two trains came through, one at noon and one in the afternoon.
To catch a train, Wang Wei would arrive at the shooting spot early. But on the first day, he waited from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. without seeing a single train. Later, he learned that the trains were delayed that day due to heavy fog while being ferried across the Qiongzhou Strait. Undeterred, Wang Wei went up the mountain to wait almost every day, and finally, five days later, a train arrived. Excited, Wang Wei and his companion pressed the shutter, capturing the coastal railway they had dreamed of photographing.
Many people have asked Wang Wei: Why go to such great lengths to photograph trains?
Wang Wei says that aside from his childhood connection to trains, he feels that with modern technology evolving rapidly, old steam locomotives are fading from view, while electric and high-speed trains are taking center stage. Many things that disappear might never be seen again if no one records them. For him, photographing trains is a complete labor of love, and that love has gradually turned into a sense of responsibility. “In January 2009, I went to Inner Mongolia to photograph trains at the Zhalainuoer Mine. Only about twenty or thirty steam locomotives were still in operation there. By March or April, those steam locomotives had disappeared from the historical stage. I’m so glad I was able to capture those photos back then!”