New Year fair adds to festival atmosphere on Heilongjiang's 'slow trains'

Passengers walk to board train No. 4045 in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. (Photo/Xinhua)

A fair has recently been held on the No. 4045 “slow train”, which runs in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province between Qiqihar city and Jiagedaqi district of Daxing’anling prefecture, allowing passengers to make New Year purchases and adding to the festival atmosphere on the train.

“The fair is held on the third carriage and provides a large variety of quality products at reasonable prices,” said Zhao Jiayue, deputy conductor of the train.

Qiqihar’s passenger transport department of China Railway Harbin Bureau Group Co., Ltd. has been organizing the onboard fair during the Spring Festival travel rush to allow people to make preparations for the upcoming Spring Festival. More than 100 kinds of products, including vegetables, local specialties, snacks and items related to folk customs are available.

“We had no time to buy some vegetables and fruits before we boarded the train. It’s great that there is an onboard fair on the train,” said Wang Haiyang, one of the passengers.

Wang and his wife worked around the year in Hangzhou city in east China’s Zhejiang Province, which is far from their hometown, and took the train home for the Spring Festival. They bought vegetables and fruits at the onboard fair.

Passengers select products on train No. 4045 in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. (Photo/Xinhua)

The launch of the New Year fair is a continuation of the train’s longstanding procurement services for people along the route.

The train is the only means of transportation available to many people along its route on snowy days. “In the past, if people took our train to go to a fair, there was a chance they would miss the return trip,” said He Bin, conductor of train No. 4045.

“Over the past decades, since the launch of the train, we have offered procurement services for passengers,” He said.

He explained that the onboard fair is held to meet the demand from villagers along the route and people who return home during the Spring Festival travel rush to make New Year purchases. He noted that the train’s ticket prices are cheap, starting at about 6 yuan (about $0.89).

Zheng Tiehong, deputy Party head of the Qiqihar’s passenger transport department, said the local railway authority ensures high-quality products at reasonable prices on the train.

Train No. 4045 is one of the nine pairs of slow trains launched by China Railway Harbin Bureau Group Co., Ltd.