Getting the most from a visit to Sandaoling was physically demanding with lots of brisk walking and climbing required to get to the right place in good time to photograph the next train.
JS 8167 was going well as it climbed from Ba’erzhan with a loaded train on the morning of 1 December 2016. The next train was close behind, as evidenced by the column of exhaust behind the hill. It required a very rapid move to get to the corner before JS 8190 flew past, just eight minutes later.