In many places in Yunnan, bougainvillea is an extremely common flower. It has a long flowering period and colorful colors. People have long been accustomed to its long companionship and ordinary existence. Because it has bright colors and its flower shape resembles leaves, people gave it a very intuitive name: leaf flower.

In Kunming, leaf flowers have a long history of planting. When he was a student at Southwest Associated University, Mr. Wang Zengqi had seen leaf flowers in Kunming. He wrote specifically about what it looked like in his article:

"Leaf flowers seem to be called bougainvillea elsewhere, but Kunming people always call it leaf flowers rudely because its petals and leaves are exactly the same, except that the color of the dozen flowers at the top of the long strip is purplish red, while the bottom The leaves are dark green..."

Recently, next to an abandoned railway next to Kunming Taidi Temple, this kind of bougainvillea and leafy flowers that are accustomed to and commonplace to Kunming people have opened up a very beautiful scenery. "Go to the railway to see the leafy flowers","Go to Datai Temple to check in"...

Along with the spread of the Internet, the combination of "meter-gauge railway + bougainvillea" has become more and more famous among Kunming people's circle of friends as a new Internet celebrity. We cannot escape the custom and choose a sunny day to check in.

It is speculated from online information that this place is located near Jianshe Road and north of the old campus of Normal University. We walked from east to west along 121 Street, turned right after reaching Jianshe Road, and continued north for nearly 100 meters. A railway appeared in front of us from east to west.

From a distance, I can see a field of red flowers hanging down. Many men and women in brightly dressed clothes are taking photos enthusiastically. They are standing, sitting, taking photos alone, taking photos, thinking, and dancing... Everyone seems to have endless photos.

On both sides of the railway line that is not too spacious but stretches upright, clusters of lush leaf flowers are dense and red. The branches of the leaf flowers are naturally drooping, relying on the support next to them to climb up.

Flowers pour down like a curtain of waterfalls, forming a flowered wall on the north side, and the south side is the landscape of green sprouting leaves; between the red and green, two straight steel rails extend forward, between the sleepers and the dirt roads, red petals are accumulated. Against the backdrop of the delicate flowers, the cold rails also have a bit of vitality.

The colorful colors, combined with the iconic Kunming blue, are a brightly colored picture in front of you, which is so beautiful that it feels a little unreal.

In my impression, when the railway was still running in the past, there was a railway gate on Jianshe Road. Before and after the train passed through, the gate would be lowered and pedestrians and vehicles had to stop to give way;

When there are no trains passing through, no one cares about the railway line. When you see students walking on the railway line, you may be able to take a shortcut or something. The campuses of Yunnan Normal University and Kunming University of Science and Technology are distributed next to the railway line, and it is common for students to go back and forth.

I don't know when this railway line was abandoned, the road gate used to build the roadside disappeared, and the surrounding environment changed.

Many newly built communities have settled in the surrounding area, but the name "Daiti Temple" seems to have not changed. Old Kunming people know this area. The "Daiti Temple Bus Station" is set on Jianshe Road, not far from the railway line.

Next to the unattended railway line, the naturally growing leaf flower blooms alone. Whether anyone appreciates it or not, it still blooms as scheduled, year after year. Finally, its beauty amazes the world.

This suspended railway line is an extension of the famous Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, also known as the Yunnan-Myanmar Railway. The Yunnan-Vietnam Railway is the first railway in Yunnan Province. It runs from Haiphong, Vietnam to Kunming, Yunnan, China. It was designed, planned and constructed by the French in the middle and late 19th century.

Construction started on the Yue section in 1901 and was completed and opened to traffic in 1903; the Dian section started in 1903 and completed in 1910, and the entire line was opened to traffic. The Yunnan-Vietnam Railway adopts a standard with a gauge of 1 meter. It is one of the few remaining meter-gauge railways in the world. It does not match the current railway system with a gauge of 1.435 meters, so it is a system of its own.

During the Anti-Japanese War, it was planned to build the "Yunnan-Myanmar Railway" as a transportation line to western Yunnan, starting from Kunming North Railway Station and extending westward. However, due to various reasons, this railway was only built to Anning. Later, the only commonly used section was Kunming North Railway Station to Shizui. It is a short period of more than ten kilometers, so the railway line next to Taidi Temple is also one of the rare "meter-gauge railway".

Today, the meter-gauge railway has been suspended for many years. Most of the areas where the meter-gauge railway passes in Kunming City have become prosperous neighborhoods. The process of urban construction and road reconstruction continues to accelerate, and the railway has gradually been forgotten by people. The same is true for this section of the railway next to Datai Temple. Except for the surrounding residents who often use it as a walking passage and walking path, few people pay attention to it.

Unexpectedly, the red colors, beautiful flowers blooming, and the amazing power accumulated in hair will return this once-unusual place and then return to ordinary place to people's attention in a special way. The so-called is: If you bloom, bees and butterflies will come. Ordinary bougainvillea blossoms grow next to the abandoned railway next to Datai Temple, and it has become a new Internet celebrity in Kunming. It is beautiful. "The green trees are dark and the summer is long, and the towers are reflected into the pond." The summer flowers here are brilliant and match the blue sky and white clouds very well.

(May 2021)