[2025 Mengzi Attraction] Travel Guide for Yunnan-Vietnam Railway Historical and Cultural Park (Updated Jan)

After parking at the parking lot of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway Historical and Cultural Park, we took a shuttle bus to the main part of the cultural park: Bisezhai Railway Station. The shuttle bus winds along the mountain road, and it is amazing that this train station, which is over 100 years old, was not built on flat ground, but on a mountain. Bisezhai Station was built in 1909, the first year of the Xuantong period of the Qing Dynasty, and has a history of 115 years. At that time, the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway was laid to this point, and a station was built, initially named Bishizhai Station. Later, because it was built on a mountain and faced the water, with beautiful scenery, it was renamed "Bisezhai," a name full of romance. When the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway was completed in 1910, Bisezhai Station became the core hub of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway and one of the oldest train stations in China. In 1921, the Ge-Bi-Shi Railway, the first private railway in China and the first railway completely funded, built, and operated by Chinese people, was connected to Bisezhai, making it a very important railway hub in Yunnan, and it became prosperous for a time. Later, with the development of history, the old line of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway was gradually replaced by a faster new line, and Bisezhai Station gradually withdrew from the stage of operation history and became a historical background. In recent years, with the filming of the movie "Youth," Bisezhai Station has re-entered people's view. In addition, as people's understanding of history continues to deepen, the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway Historical and Cultural Park, with Bisezhai Station as the main body, began to be built. The current Bisezhai Station still retains the station building, tracks, barracks, company buildings, and even one of the earliest red clay tennis courts in China, all left by the French of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway Company. Walking through it, it feels like walking into the early 20th century, or like walking to the south of France. This sense of time travel makes Bisezhai the latest check-in place in Yunnan.

After leaving Nanhu Park, we drove to the mountains of Mengzi and arrived at a place called Bisezhai. Bisezhai Railway Station is one of the earliest railway stations in modern China and has witnessed the development of China's early railways. It was once a stop on the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway and has now become a tourist attraction full of historical charm, with rich railway cultural relics and European style. The Yunnan-Vietnam Railway began construction in 1903 and was completed in 1910. It connected Kunming and Haiphong Port in Vietnam and was the first railway in southwest China. Mengzi is located in the middle of this railway, making it an important railway hub and quickly developing into a prosperous border trade city. In today's Yunnan-Vietnam Railway Historical and Cultural Park, visitors can visit many historical buildings, including Bisezhai Station on the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, Bisezhai Station on the Ge-Bi-Shi Railway, the former site of Datong Company, the locomotive depot of the Ge-Bi-Shi Railway, the Golus Hotel, and the former site of the Bisezhai Branch of Mengzi Customs. The scenic area is open all day, and the sightseeing bus ticket is CNY 20 per person. Please note that the parking lot is quite far from the scenic area and you have to climb a mountain, so the sightseeing bus is very necessary.