Model railways in vegetable plot become viral sensation

A vocational college student from Zhoukou city in Central China's Henan province has wowed Chinese netizens with his formidable hands-on skills.

Zhang Yadong, a freshman at Zhengzhou Electric Power Technology College in Henan, has built miniature infrastructure pieces, including railways, tunnels and bridges, in his vegetable plot at home.

Zhang developed an interest in electromechanical models such as trains three years ago. During the COVID-19 outbreak, he began to study the construction of railways, tunnels and bridges while at home. Then he tried to carry out construction work in the vegetable plot.

He has laid more than 70 meters of model railway track, and assembled six bridge models so far.

In an interview with the Btime news app, Zhang said the whole project took him around 20 days to complete. He also revealed he planned to build a larger-scale project including electric high-speed rail.

Chinese netizens were amazed by his work and many praised his ingenuity.

One commenter said: "Impressive. A man of idea and action." Another said:"Hobbies and interests are the best teacher." Some thought this showed the strengths of vocational education in developing firsthand knowledge.