China Steam Loco

Type HP Steam Locomotive (China)

A conundrum, this card also says GJ99005 (10-1). The GJs don't seem to look like this, HP was a prototype for the QJ class but was a different wheel format. Or perhaps HP stands for High Pressure, a boiler that operates at pressures well above what would be considered normal,...whoosh goes quick.  GJ or Gong Jian class was a construction worker class built between 1958-1961 usually for steel industry transportation so maybe that is what it is. Despite looking at wonderful pictures of steam trains travelling across China I know no more. No matter its a great card.

My postcrossing friend Xu who sent me the card likes travelling by train and sums up the pleasure of this mode of transport, sitting by the window to see the scenery, sleeping through the miles at night and talking with strangers. My sentiments too, although I cannot like her get up in the morning from a overnight trip and eat instant noodles, maybe one day in China, who knows.  But Xu quotes something that applies to both life and travelling:

"Happiness is a journey, not a destination"