Green-painted trains provide cost-effective rides for rural vendors

With a wooden pole resting on her shoulder to help carry two wicker baskets of vegetables, rural vendor Zhao Shuying boards the No.5652 train with its old-fashioned green livery, heading for a nearby city to sell her fresh produce.

Unlike the sleek, silver-white bullet trains commonly seen on China's railways, the retro-looking No.5652 train operates at a lower speed, and departs from Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, on a journey of 261 km, which terminates in neighboring Guizhou Province.

However, this relatively slow train offers a much lower price compared with the speedy bullet trains. The most expensive ticket on the No.5652 train costs only 36.5 yuan (US$5), while the cheapest fare is just 6 yuan.

For Zhao and rural vendors like her, who get off in the city of Qujing with baskets on their shoulders or backs, the green train offers a very cost-effective ride to a bustling market where they can sell fresh produce at a better price, especially with the Spring Festival drawing near.

"We all take the slow train to get here," said Zhao in an interview with Xinhua, while pointing to vendors beside her. "Thanks to a favorable policy in the market, we set up our stalls free of charge, while our products sell pretty fast here at a higher price."

As one of the green trains operated by the China Railway Kunming Bureau Group Co, Ltd, the No.5652 is a public-interest oriented train serving people from all walks of life, ranging from small vendors like Zhao to migrant workers and students – especially those from rural and mountainous areas.

In addition to the low fares these trains offer, the Kunming bureau group has also launched a variety of both volunteer and convenient services for passengers in recent years.

While China boasts the world's largest network of high-speed railways, which handled nearly 3.3 billion passenger trips throughout 2024, it has also maintained the operation of green-painted trains to provide a more affordable and budget-friendly travel option.

In northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, another such train travels through cities including Urumqi, Turpan, Korla, Aksu, Kashgar and Hotan via its 30-hour trip to the southern part of Xinjiang.

With an average speed of less than 80 kilometers per hour and a minimum fare of only 4 yuan, this train is affectionately dubbed the "little slow guy" by its passengers.

Thanks to its affordable fares, the train has become somewhat of a school bus for students living along the route, while serving as a shuttle bus for farmers and herders needing to work outside.

To help local people in southern Xinjiang sell their agricultural products, this train also features regular "mobile bazaars" in designated carriages. During the harvest seasons in summer and autumn, local villagers board such carriages to peddle their fruits, vegetables and other local specialties, or to travel to markets in nearby counties and townships to sell their produce.

With the Spring Festival approaching, this train is now also carrying more people home to reunite with their families. According to Xinjiang's local railway department, in the first nine days of 2025, the southern Xinjiang railway had transported a total of 326,200 passengers, an increase of more than 14,000 people compared with the same period in 2024.