Jinguyuan in Luoyang sounds like the address of a billionaire’s enclave. Indeed, 1,700 years ago during the Western Jin dynasty, China’s wealthiest oligarch Shi Chong smashed two-foot-tall red coral trees here purely to flex his aristocratic vanity.

Fast forward to the late twentieth century, and that same historical ground transformed into a gritty, coal-dust-scented railway compound. In this episode, we revisit an unapologetically analog childhood among green-skinned trains:

• The Green Train Era: When train windows actually opened, air conditioning was non-existent, and a cheeky smile could occasionally substitute for a ticket.
• Railway Family Lore: Navigating crowded tenement housing where neighbors shared every meal, taking casual train rides to neighboring cities just for a bathhouse visit.
• Analog Freedom vs. Digital Order: Reflecting on a lost world that lacked strict automated barriers but brimmed with communal warmth, grit, and spontaneous human connection.

Background music from YouTube Audio Library.