Lifeline made of iron in remote region
The train is coming. That's all anyone is talking about on the southern outskirts of Xinjin county in Sichuan province. From the hole-in-the-wall eatery she has run for 20 years, it takes Li Xi a few minutes to walk over to where the brand new railway station stands silent and waiting. The 50-year-old local has watched the high-speed line between Chengdu, the provincial capital, and Mianyang stretch inch by inch, slowly cutting through fields of crops and clusters of crumbling farmers' homes.
In March, trains will run over this virgin route and stop here for the first time.
"It's coming," Li says. "I'm excited. Everyone is excited. There will be more employment here for my son and daughter, for my children's generation. They won't have to move away to the east to find work."
