On September 9, 1958, China’s first internal-combustion electric locomotive was successfully trial-produced at the Changxindian Locomotive Factory in Beijing. Weighing 60 tons and capable of reaching a top speed of 85 kilometers per hour, this locomotive featured more than 30,000 components—all of which were domestically produced, thus bringing to an end China’s long-standing inability to independently manufacture internal-combustion electric locomotives.
Old China was poor and backward. At that time, all locomotives were imported products. China Railway was once jokingly referred to as the "World Steam Locomotive Exposition." The birth of China's first internal-combustion locomotive marked the beginning of a new chapter in China's locomotive manufacturing—moving toward internal-combustion power. Subsequently, thanks to the hard work of numerous industrial workers, China's first-generation railway internal-combustion locomotives were successively developed at the Qingdao Sifang Locomotive Factory and the Dalian Locomotive Factory.
After the founding of New China, our country began to imitate and modify old steam locomotives, and subsequently stepped up efforts to independently design and manufacture new steam and diesel locomotives. In 1975, China’s first female diesel locomotive driver was born at the Jinan Railway Bureau.
Entering the 21st century, China’s high-speed rail has developed rapidly, and the Harmony and Fuxing bullet train sets have taken center stage. The overall design and key technologies of the Fuxing bullet train set have achieved complete self-reliance.
From steam locomotives to internal-combustion locomotives, and from electric locomotives to high-speed railways, China’s railway transportation has developed rapidly. The locomotive industry has also achieved a remarkable leap—from having nothing at all to becoming world-class, overcoming past backwardness and catching up with global leaders. Today, it is leading global trends in a comprehensive and all-around manner. The country’s rapid economic development has laid a solid foundation for this remarkable progress.