XI'AN: Tobias Masefield, 50, travelled all the way from Britain to China, not to see the Great Wall, Forbidden City of Chinese culture - but steam engines in Tongchuan, a city in Shaanxi Province.

"It took me 10 hours flying from London to Beijing, 12 hours by train from Beijing to Xi'an, and then three hours by car to Tongchuan," Masefield said. "But I think it's worthwhile because I love them."

This was his seventh visit to Tongchuan.

The city, which used to be a hub for coal, has become a hot spot for steam engine fans worldwide.

In Tongchuan's Wanshiwa Coal Mine, there are 12 different steam engines, mostly manufactured in the 1950s. This is the largest number of such engines in China, said Yin Hui, an official from the Tongchuan Tourism Bureau.

Masefield said: "Englishmen remember the old steam engines we invented in the First Industrial Revolution, but we cannot easily find them."

There are a large number of steam engine fans who enthusiastically seek old steam engines throughout the world.

"We take photos and notes in detail of these old steam engines, and we exchange this information among our fans," said Masefield, adding that fans run their own magazines and websites of old steam engines for exchanges.

A project, entitled Tour for Remembering the Old Steam Engines, was established by local tourism agencies in Tongchuan in 2000, having been inspired by two German steam engine fans; and the news was spread on the fans' websites and magazines, Yin said.

Since then, more than 200 steam engine fans from a dozen countries have made the journey to the city. One Belgian has made the return trip 14 times, the official said.

To attract more foreign fans to Tongchuan, the local government plans to invest funds to buy more steam engines and build a museum, the official said.

"We also plan to teach the fans to drive the steam engines, and, if they can drive well, we will give them a special driving licence," Yin said.