The city of Handan is located 430km south of Beijing on the main railway line from Beijing Xi to Zhengzhou. The Handan Iron And Steel Company have a large works in the south-western part of the city and this was the focus of my interest. Prior to my visit in December 2002 there had been little information about this site other than two fairly brief reports, from Bruce Evans who visited in December 2001 but who apparantly didn't actually enter the works, and Roy Bowden who gained access in November 2002. I have certainly only seen one or two photographs taken at this location and having now had two days in Handan it is amazing that this location is not visited more frequently. As with most industrial locations I decided to engage the services of a local guide to obtain permission to visit and also to accompany me. In the event I arrived in Handan a day early and decided to at least have a look at the location from public access points. The taxi driver dropped me off at the main security gate and drew attention to my presence! However, once I showed a picture of a Chinese steam locomotive, taken at Benxi, there was no problem and I was ushered through the gate and shown which trailway tracks to follow to find the action. Therefore Christmas Day 2002 was spent at large in the works, free to wander wherever I wished. The following day I returned and was able to point out to my guide all the best locations and where to find something to eat and drink on site since he had never been there before!
and SY0702 returning with empty cauldron wagons from No.3 steelworks
A total of 20 SY 2-8-2 engines were to be found on site at Handan. Most worked in and around the main area to the south of the blast furnaces although locomotive crews told me that four of the engines were working another part of the site. At the far end of the yard, beyond the level crossing near the south gate was a small yard containing two stationary boilers. One of these was a YJ 2-6-2 No.311 and the other was SY0293. To the east of the wagon repair shop were three more locomotives that had been dumped. Two of these were YJ's (No.106 and an unidentified engine) plus SY0119. The site is currently working 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the staff claim they are producing 15,000 tons of iron per day. Despite this, on the two days that I was at Handan there was little pollution and so photography was made particularly easy.
Shortly after my visit a group of enthusiasts made an unauthorised entry into the works and were aprehended by security and escorted from the site. Permissions to visit Handan were subsequently denied except to a very restricted number of closely guarded locations. What the present situation is at Handan is unknown.
SY0800 brings a train of cauldron wagons right up through the yard towards the South Gate. This is the view from the only part of the site with public access - a guide makes sense! (below)
ANSHAN STEELWORKS BAOTOU BEITAI STEELWORKS
BENXI STEELWORKS CHENGDE HANDAN STEELWORKS FUXIN COAL RAILWAY NANPIAO MEIHEKOU
JIXI MINING RAILWAYS JINGPENG TIEFA MINING RAILWAY WEIHE FORESTRY RAILWAY XINGZANG BRICKWORKS XUANHAU STEELWORKS YUANBAOSHAN