Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
A model of a train made by Zhong Yan's team. Photo by Huang Nanfei
Zhong Yan at work. Photo courtesy of interviewee
A model of a train made by Zhong Yan's team. Photo by Huang Nanfei
The 8K electric locomotive is an electric locomotive model imported by China in the 80s of last century from the European 50 Hertz Group. This classic model, known to many fans as the "French Orange", has played an active role in the development of electric locomotives in China. Among the many train models produced by Zhong Yan's team, the popularity of 8K locomotives has always been high.
The 18-meter-long 8K locomotive has been reduced by 87 times, and the vehicle still has more than 800 parts. Take a closer look at the magnifying glass, the number of knobs in the cab is the same as that of the real car, even the number of lamp beads is completely consistent with the real car, and the dimensional accuracy of many small parts has reached the level of 0.01 mm.
This may be the reason why the train model makes Zhong Yan and many players obsessed - in the space as far as the eye can see, a miniature and scaled train world, although small, but extremely real.
Planting "train dreams" from an early age
Born in Liuzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Zhong Yan's favorite childhood thing was watching the train "rumble" by. The crisp and loud sound of the train horn is even more memorable, Zhong Yan's impression of his hometown.
His ancestors and parents were all engaged in work related to mechanical engineering, and this kind of edification made Zhong Yan have a soft spot for trains.
"When I was a kid, I would go back to my grandmother's house by a railway, and every time I walked here, I would look forward to seeing a train. In my childhood impression, the train shocked me a lot, like a 'steel warrior'. Zhong Yan said with a smile.
Until he grew up and studied abroad, Zhong Yan's love for trains never changed. In 2010, after receiving his master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh, Zhong Yan worked as a mechanical engineer in an American company. That experience of studying and working made him gradually realize that the model train is not a "children's toy" in people's conventional perception, and there are many "enthusiasts" in this field. From a commercial point of view, the audience of the model train covers almost all ages, and it is a cultural industry with a long and large-scale industrial chain, and the product sales revenue is considerable.
Zhong Yan keenly captured the business opportunities: at that time, the development of China's model train market was still in its infancy, and there were still many opportunities worth tapping. "The thought of making a career in trains is exciting." He said.
In 2012, with his "train dream", Zhong Yan returned to China. At the beginning, Zhong Yan worked as a domestic sales agent for foreign train model brands, he said: "While doing it, I found that there is indeed a gap between some domestic train models and products in Europe, America, Japan and other places, and consumers have also complained a lot." I am not convinced, I firmly believe that in time, domestic train models will definitely win more favor, and cultivating an industry takes time and patience. ”
"Be sure to make a name"
After making up his mind to develop a model train, Zhong Yan told his entrepreneurial partner his idea, and fortunately, the two hit it off. They named the company "Changming", which means "long whistle of trains".
"A good model train is a combination of industrial goods and works of art, and the production process requires ingenuity, and it is not easy to find the right supplier. A lot of things need to be done yourself, which requires more financial support. Zhong Yan said.
Compared with simply being a distributor, building a factory to do production is an investment of completely different magnitude. Buying machinery and equipment, renting space and many other aspects require capital. In order to start a business, Zhong Yan sold his house, and his grandmother and grandmother even took out their savings, and the whole family worked together to support his business. Zhong Yan now remembers how moved and apprehensive he was when he took the old man's passbook, and the pamphlet seemed to weigh as much as a thousand pounds.
"Starting a business is very risky, the old man is taking out his life savings, I don't know if I can be worthy of this trust." There are also many friends who are in the same boat who have helped me all the way to where I am now. I thought, no matter what, I'm going to make a model train and make a name. Zhong Yan said.
Taking 8K locomotives as an example, from model design to production, Zhong Yan needs to explore by himself. During that time, he chased the 8K train that was about to be retired at that time, ran all over the museums and railway bureaus in Beijing, Datong, Tianjin and other places, and took more than 5,000 photos. In order to restore the details of the bogie at the bottom of the train, with permission, he climbed under the car to take pictures, and his whole face was dark when he came out.
The effort pays off. It took more than one year, and the 6K and 8K train models designed by Changming's team were immediately affirmed by fans, and the train models were sold out in less than a week.
From opening an online store in a garage to representing foreign brands, to partnering with others to set up a company in Shanghai; From cooperating with Hong Kong foundries to try to produce model trains, to investing in self-built factories in Guangdong... In the 11 years since his establishment, Zhong Yan has experienced the twists and turns of the shortage of funds, and also the joy of success - the company previously established in Dongguan, Guangdong has grown into a representative train model enterprise in China.
In 2020, Zhong Yan landed in Liubei District, Liuzhou City through investment promotion projects, and the whistle of his hometown in his memory is getting closer and closer, and he wants to chase and complete his "train dream" here.
The "little train" to the world
In the circle of car fans, the train model made by Changming's team is very famous. On the video platform, many fans uploaded their train model "unpacking" videos: the whistle "Didi" sounded realistically, the lights in the carriage turned on, and the train started immediately and ran smoothly on the track.
There are several models that are highly anticipated by players. For example, the upcoming HXN5B is one of the key products of the Changming team, and this model has launched a special version of the "China-Europe Express", and made exclusive "tagging" and exterior paint for it. At the same time, the main components such as the car shell are made separately, making the model closer to the style of the real locomotive. The headlights and electrical system have also been redesigned to make the locomotive have functions such as lighting, sound, smoke and fan rotation during the operation, which is vivid and realistic.
Today, Changming team has launched more than 100 train model products, covering representative train models in the history of Chinese trains, such as Dongfeng series diesel locomotives and Harmony series electric locomotives, as well as models representing China's high-speed rail, such as Fuxing and Harmony EMUs. In the first half of this year, the sales of "Changming" train model reached nearly 20 million yuan, and the sales in overseas markets accounted for 10%, and it has been sold to Japan, Europe, the United States and other places.
With the rapid development of China's railways, train models have also become an important carrier for spreading China's railway culture, Zhong Yan and his team hope to let more people understand China's railway development and railway culture through train models from China.
In May this year, at the China-Central Asia Summit held in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, the "China-Europe Express Dongfeng 5 diesel locomotive model" jointly developed by Changming and Tiecao Cultural and Creative Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Guangxi Railway Cultural Tourism Group Co., Ltd., appeared in the theme of the state banquet as one of the display boutiques. "I feel very proud and strengthen our determination to continue to be a model train." Zhong Yan said.
This year, Zhong Yan's team launched the Harmony 1C electric locomotive N scale new product, which is an AC transmission electric locomotive used for heavy-load cargo transportation on the railway trunk line, and a high-power AC drive six-axle electric locomotive with completely independent intellectual property rights, which is very popular with fans. After the height of the real car is restored at a ratio of 1:160, the locomotive can be driven together on the track with the locomotive of the N series and other freight cars of the team leader.
"In the next step, we will also rely on the Liuzhou Industrial Museum to build a miniature landscape world exhibition hall. With the theme of train, it records the city's cultural history, industrial production, market life and other scenes, and presents the customs and cultural landscape to visitors in a very scientific and interesting way, so as to popularize the history of China's train development and train culture to more people. Zhong Yan said. (Sun Yahui, Li Jie)
People's Daily Overseas Edition (Version 10, 2023-08-23)