Trains

The oncoming train was another common revolutionary symbol; one that, like the revolutionary opera The Red Lantern, underlined the importance of China's railway network. As with ships and planes, trains are always shown travelling from right to left; and usually at full speed. There was nothing anachronistic or "retro" in the depiction of steam locomotives - the Cultural Revolution was almost entirely coal powered - but a sleek and streamlined diesel locomotive added a frisson of modernity.