Editor's note: Developed during the Industrial Revolution, steam locomotives facilitated the world's development. While such locomotives are now rarely used in most parts of China and the rest of the world, there are still 17 of them in Sandaoling Mining Area in Hami Prefecture of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. They are the last fleet of steam locomotives in China.

The 17 steam locomotives are used in coal mining and transport, carrying around 8 million tons of coal each year. The locomotives were initially designed to run 70 kilometers per hour, but they now run at only 20 kilometers per hour. Some of them have been in operation since 1958 when coal mining first began in the area. When the mining work there comes to an end in the very near future, the locomotives will also cease to exist.

Steam locomotives were developed during the Industrial Revolution, and most of them have been superseded by new types of locomotives. But because new locomotives are not available in the Sandaoling Mining Area, steam locomotives are still used in coal mining and transport there. [Photo/China.org.cn]

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