“Time travel” with the nearly 120-year-old Gia Lam train factory

Heritage train journey back in history

Recently, within the framework of the Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2023, people and tourists enjoyed the heritage train from Hanoi station to Gia Lam railway factory. At the beginning of the journey back in history, visitors had the opportunity to experience the "memory train".

During the event, which takes place from November 18 to November 26, 2023, there will be two trains running from Hanoi station to Gia Lam station every day at 8:00 and 13:20; the return trip is at 10:50 and 16:00. The train ticket price for one-way experience is 20,000 VND/trip. To buy tickets, you can book in advance on the website or buy directly at the ticket counter at Hanoi station or Gia Lam station. According to Gia Lam station staff, the first train at 8:00 on November 18 sold out all 7 train cars in both directions.

With only a little over 20 minutes on the train, the feeling of enjoying the view of every street of the city, Long Bien Bridge and the Red River is still extremely interesting. In particular, the train is designed with an impressive private space, recalling old memories along with many attractive art performances.

Witnessing the nearly 120-year-old train factory

The next stop on the journey is the Gia Lam Railway Factory. Built in 1905 under the French colonial rule, the Gia Lam Railway Factory (in Ngoc Lam, Long Bien District, Hanoi) with a total area of ​​20 hectares is one of the historical sites of the Capital.

The factory campus includes workshops 3B1, 3B2, 5B and power station 33B... which have been "decorated" into exhibition spaces with 16 zones combining unique visual effects.

At Gia Lam Railway Factory, there are many sightseeing spaces for visitors to freely experience. These are the "Hot Workshop" architectural art space; the "Waiting Station" architectural space; the "Water Palace" installation exhibition; the "Heritage Flow" exhibition; the "Memories of Steam Locomotives" corner...

Each work contains the effort and passion of the painters, architects and artisans... From there, seemingly ordinary items are "magically" transformed into interesting stories, bringing visitors back to the flow of time.

In particular, one of the places that attracts many tourists is the "steam locomotive" area located in the longan garden. The locomotive numbered 141-179 (Tu Luc locomotive) is one of three steam locomotives of the Mikado series that were researched, designed and manufactured by engineers of Gia Lam Locomotive Enterprise in 1964.

Impressed by the large space of the Gia Lam railway factory when it was decorated to become an exhibition area, Nguyen Huyen Vi (Hanoi) shared: “This is the first time I have set foot in the Gia Lam railway factory. As an art lover, when I heard about the series of events on social networks, I was very excited and looking forward to it. I was especially impressed with the colorful space inside the factory. If I had not read the information about the exhibition in advance, I would not have known that the works here have such meaning. The activities in the Creative Design Festival have partly helped young people like me have the opportunity to learn more about the ancient heritage works of Hanoi.”

In addition, when participating in the event at Gia Lam train factory, visitors can also experience workshops, craft fairs, art creations, craft village activities and enjoy delicious dishes on the culinary street... Above all, the exhibition at Gia Lam train factory is also an impressive photo and check-in location with extremely beautiful and novel backgrounds.

Gia Lam Railway Factory is just one of many projects selected to be "awakened" to become a place to display works of art within the framework of the Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2023. The series of events helps visitors "time travel" to learn about the historical places of the Capital.

Phuong Mai is a reporter for Travellive Magazine in Hanoi.

Phuong Mai