State-of-the-art high-speed trains have shortened the distance between China’s megacities, but in the mountainous regions of the countryside, special trains are allowing residents to overcome their geographic isolation and cross rough terrains for a miserly fee. /VCG Photo

In Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Liangshan, in the southwestern province of Sichuan, train No. 5633/4 passes through extremely poor areas and functions like a bus. Along its 353-kilometer journey, it stops 26 times, almost every ten minutes, easing its passengers’ movement. /VCG Photo

The train has also brought convenience to farmers by arranging special wagons for the transport of livestock. /VCG Photo

The cheapest ticket price is only two yuan (around 30 US cents) and the fee has remained unchanged for the past 22 years. /VCG Photo

At present, the national railway has 81 pairs of such trains as part of the government’s poverty alleviation efforts. Traversing remote poor areas in the southwestern, northwestern and northeastern parts of China, these trains have served nearly 30 million people in 2016. /VCG Photo