Traveling the world on a mini train

World
Europe

03:10

CGTN

Imagine this: a train passing through a tunnel, going along the river into the forest before heading for the sea-crossing bridge; eventually, it takes a U-turn on the turntable and pulls into the station, waiting for more passengers before it rolls away again – all this happens in a 330-square-meter courtyard.

A girl playing by the mini train. /CGTN Photo

Interesting right?

There's a man among billons who's creating and living this dream.

"I feel like a king dispatching these trains," says 63-year-old Zhang Jiu'an.

He has spent almost 5 years to create this 1:22.5 mini-railway in his own courtyard. Not only trains and tracks, but there is also a roundhouse, a coal tower, a water stop, roadbeds, culverts, fences and various factories, even miniature "residents". All these details make this an elaborate railway sand table.

A mini train created by Zhang Jiu'an. /CGTN Photo

"This was my childhood dream. I always liked trains, and I wanted to be a train driver, although it was a luxury then to buy model trains. I had to work hard for this costly hobby. Now I can finally afford that dream."

CGTN Photo

"The work requires versatility. Working on the natural elements is a sort of physical exercise. It involves brainwork too. It's a mix of work and leisure, pretty healthy for an old man like me."

Zhang Jiu'an feeding the fish in his garden. /CGTN photo

He began collecting model trains in 2003 and made a small sand table, measuring about 10 square meters. In 2011, he bought a house with a huge backyard and started to map out his model railway plan.

"The model trains must be digitalized in a more complex sand table, otherwise controlling them would be a real handful. I want to dispatch them systematically as if they were real trains."

Zhang installed electronic chips on the trains in order to control their movement and make them whistle.

"There are different whistle sounds for different model types, and that should be taken into consideration."

CGTN Photo

"The most preferred scale for the garden railway is 1:22.5. There are more refitting possibilities with larger trains. They look great in an outdoor setting, but only with proper artificial landscapes including plants and houses, etc."

Zhang's craving for perfection made him realize that he needed a professional perspective.

Soon, Zhang teamed-up with a German engineer to work on a sea-crossing bridge over the "Pacific Ocean."

Their cross-border friendship was spurred by the common passion for railway culture.

Together, they worked out the bridge's specifications according to the railway's layout, before taking the blueprint to the factory. When the bridge was finished, the error was smaller than 1 mm.

"God had sent me an angel," Zhang recalled.

CGTN Photo

He even built a lifelike "Sino-Euro tunnel." The tunnel was designed as per European standards on one side and traditional Chinese features on the other.

Plus, there are miniature lights and passengers in every train carriage.

Perfectionism is what makes Zhang's locomotive kingdom so vivid and eye-popping.

CGTN Photo

"Now that I have realized my dream, I feel much healthier and at peace. I shall celebrate my 100th birthday by playing with these trains."

"There's culture in trains. I am having fun with them. Yet I am, in a broad sense, promoting the railway culture in China. I'm also showing people that there're more ways of enjoying the retirement life other than square dance and traveling."

CGTN Photo

Director: Liu Yangyang

Editors: Ma Mingyuan, Gao Xingzi

Filmed by Zhang Hao

Text by Yao Xinyi

Copy editors: Henry Weimin, Khushboo Razdan

Producer: Wen Yaru

Chief editors: Liu Hui, Qin Xiaohu

Supervisor: Pang Xinhua

"The 1.3 Billion" series explores diverse lives that make up China.