An event to identify the most beautiful railway across China and celebrate the centenary of the Communist Party of China kicked off in China's Beijing, Wuhan, Nanchang and Nanning on Friday.

The opening ceremony was held at a train exhibition square in Beijing，which is the home for both of the original and upgraded Mao Zedong Hao, a locomotive named after the late Chinese leader Chairman Mao with his portrait carved on it. Nearly 100 journalists and experts attended the ceremony.

The Mao Zedong Hao served as a freight train locomotive from 1946 to 2014, and since then has carried passengers on the line between Beijing to Chairman Mao's home province of Hunan in Central China.

"In the past 75 years, the locomotive has gone through the era of steam, internal combustion and electric power, and has been safely driving for 11.55 million kilometers,” said Liu Yufeng, the 12th chief driver of the Mao Zedong Hao locomotive, during the opening ceremony. "It is known as the leader of locomotives."

The "Mao Zedong Hao" locomotive group also played a significant role in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 by delivering medical materials from Beijing to Wuhan. Wang Zhenqiang, current chief driver, said he is so touched by the bravery of his all crew members, especially the young members.

During the four-day event, a journalists group will visit more places in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, documenting the changes in the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, and visiting the venues of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.