Off the wire
• Urgent: China to raise consumption's contribution to growth  • Spotlight: Overseas media expect China's 13th 5-year plan to bear on world economic development  • Urgent: Britain likely to publish Iraq Inquiry in June or July next year  • Urgent: CPC meeting confirms expulsion of Ling Jihua  • Quake-affected families receive assistance in E. Afghanistan  • China's first moon rover sets record for longest stay  • Foreign exchange rates in Singapore  • URGENT: CPC approves proposals for China's development for next five years  • Indian PM invites Africa to join solar-rich alliance to tap climate change  • Feature: China's rural poor learn to fight poverty  
You are here: 　 Home

China Exclusive: Mao Zedong locomotive hits 10 million km

Xinhua, October 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

A locomotive commemorating late Chinese leader Mao Zedong clocked 10 million kilometers on Thursday, equal to about 250 laps around the equator.

The locomotive, named after Mao, travels between Beijing and Changsha, capital of Hunan Province, where Mao was born on December 26, 1893. It pulled into Beijing Railway Station around 2:16 p.m. Thursday.

A gilded image of Mao at the front of the locomotive makes it stand out from other trains.

The locomotive was approved by the central committee of the Communist Party on Oct. 30, 1946, when China was still in civil war and rail services were urgently needed to transport men and military supplies.

Mao's name was meant to raise morale and deter enemy forces, said Liu Enlu, deputy Party secretary of the Fengtai District section of the Beijing Railway Bureau, to which the locomotive belongs.

In recent decades, the locomotive has changed engines six times, first from steam engine to diesel, and later to an electricity-powered engine.

An earlier version of the Mao image on the train was made of copper and weighed 370 kilograms. Now the gilded portrait is made of carbon fiber and weighs only 90 kilograms to enable higher speeds.

The locomotive started to pull passenger trains in 2014.

"The crew on board the train have a strong sense of honor, pride, and dedication to duty," said Liu Yufeng, 35-year-old chief operator of the train. Liu is the 12th chief driver.

"Only the best rail workers can work aboard the Mao Zedong train. It continues to inspire us to perform our best and achieve our goals," he said.

Four crew members have been elected deputies to the National People's Congress in the 69 years since the train started operations.

It has a perfect security record and has transported a huge amount of freight and passengers. Endi