When I traveled to Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, I had been in Yunnan for a long time. I have traveled through highly sought-after tourist cities such as Dali, Lijiang, and Xishuangbanna, and I have also shuttled in the deep mountains of Lincang and Lancang. And this trip to Honghe was originally because of the charm of Mengzi Bridge Rice Noodles, but in the end it was completely captured by the "Bise Village"!
What kind of place is Bisezhai? To me, it is a place that can calm the mind, make people think, and feel the magic of time and space travel. Built in 1909, it has a history of 110 years. It is one of the oldest railway stations in China and the core hub of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway. I came to this small village only 10 kilometers away from the county seat of Limeng in the afternoon, and I was intoxicated for a second.
Bisezhai, when I saw these three words for the first time, I felt romantic and beautiful. It was once isolated from the world, and it was "raised in a deep boudoir that no one knew" and its scenery lived up to its name. The nearby village bears the same name as it. When I first came here, I couldn't believe that there was a very exotic place hidden in the border of Yunnan. Many people even called it "the most artistic village in Yunnan".
On the day I was in Bisezhai, there were almost no other tourists, so I was able to meet it which is quiet and which people yearn for. Looking at the free-flowing tourists, you may naturally have doubts in your mind: can tourists walk on the railway tracks? Or is the railway already "retired"? If not, why not fence it? In fact, don’t worry, if you have heard the following two sentences.
Trains are not as fast as cars, and railways do not connect domestic and foreign countries. These are two of the "Eighteen Monsters of Yunnan", which refers to the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway. And Bisezhai used to be a special station on the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, the distribution center of Yunnan's import and export trade, and it is loved by three thousand people. The train goes north to Kunming, and goes south to Vietnam directly.
Are there still trains? have! Today, Bisezhai, which is located in a remote corner, is passed by trucks every day, and I heard that occasionally there will be passengers who hitchhike halfway. Look, this is the "Dongfeng" train that just passed by. Before it arrives, it will start to whistle far away, and people playing on the railway will automatically avoid it, because the speed is really slow, and everyone will love this moment of quietly waiting for the train to pass by.
In recent years, Bisezhai became popular because of the movie "Youth", and more and more people know about it. Many people began to yearn for this French-style filming location, and came here admiringly. "In fact, the real Bisezhai witnessed the Sino-Vietnamese War in history, but it did not become a shelter like the one in the movie. It carried the heavy responsibility of material transportation. Over the past century, this story-telling railway station has experienced ups and downs, and it has played a pivotal role in history. "
Once a "Little Paris" inhabited by foreigners, Bisezhai still has many historical relics. Walking by these buildings, I can touch, stay, and stare, and I have somewhat forgotten the time. The French staff dormitory, the still standing circular water tower station building...everywhere has a story.
The word "Paris" on the train station clock quietly reminds the world of the vicissitudes of life here. And other old objects are also silently witnessing every moment when this century-old French-style old station has gone from prosperity to desolation, and now it enters the public's field of vision in another posture - a niche travel destination.
The quiet Bisezhai is one of the most memorable places in my travels. The surface is calm, but in fact it hides all the magnificence. Whether it is scenery or humanities, it is a place that cannot be ignored when traveling in Mengzi and Yunnan.
The dilapidated old houses, the sloping adobe walls have never spoken, but those years have already blown into the ears of those who care about it together with the wind, and melted into the life of the new flowers and plants together with the soil. This is the place where I am so intoxicated that I am reluctant to leave. All things constitute an impeccable natural painting. As long as I am in it, it can take my thoughts far away together with the meter-gauge train.
Will this century-old railway station on the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway be your travel destination?