Global Times: How Xinjiang's 'money-losing' train market delivers warmth and hope across the Gobi

Global Times: How Xinjiang's 'money-losing' train market delivers warmth and hope across the Gobi

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The year 2026 marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). For years, some Western media outlets have adhered to a narrowly market-driven framework, interpreting China's governance solely through the lens of short-term economic returns and questioning the country's large-scale public welfare investments in remote, underdeveloped regions. Recently, Global Times reporters traveled to the Gobi Desert, snow-covered plateaus and remote mountain regions to document three livelihood projects that may appear financially unviable: subsidized slow trains serving farmers across the vast Taklamakan Desert in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region; a high-altitude highway linking the valleys of Medog in Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region; and school retention programs that keep children in classrooms in the Daliang Mountains of Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Behind these outlays that defy profit-and-loss logic lies a distinctly Chinese philosophy of governance: wherever the people are, the state's protection follows. Through the human warmth of these seemingly unprofitable endeavors, one glimpses the enduring commitment of the Party to stay rooted among the people and to build social cohesion through inclusive welfare.

"Dear passengers, welcome aboard the Hotan Yulong Train. We are about to launch our mobile bazaar event on this service. Carriage 11 features intangible cultural heritage handicrafts from Hotan, alongside local baked buns, peaches, walnuts, dried apricots, honey and more. We invite all passengers to join us in Carriage 11 and wish you a pleasant journey."

Soft announcements echoed through the carriages as a lively mobile bazaar unfolded across the Gobi Desert alongside the railway tracks. Farmers wheeled stalls laden with peaches, cherries and traditional nut cakes down the aisles. Polatkhan, chief conductor of the train, held up a microphone and called out to passengers: "Taste our produce - if it's not sweet, you pay nothing!"

Passengers leaned forward from their seats, some filming the bustling scene on their phones, others asking about prices. One traveler bit into a fresh peach handed to him by a local farmer and gave a thumbs-up.