Advertisement windows of Train 59 on Line 3 are occupied by poems.

CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- “To seek a dream? Just to pole a boat upstream, to where the green grass is more verdant; or to have the boat fully loaded with starlight, and sing aloud in the splendor of starlight.” Saying Good-bye to Cambridge Again by Xu Zhimo silently appeared on Line 3 recently.

Citizens found that the advertising spaces on a train of Line 3 are covered by poems in both Chinese and English, matched with claptrap pictures, which makes people feel the romantic poetry.

“Poetry on the Metro”, jointly launched by the British Council and Chongqing Rail Transit (Group) Co., Ltd., is one of the parts in the UK Government’s “Spirit of Youth” campaign, which aims to share the best of Chinese and British poetry, bringing knowledge and fun to daily metro commutes.

Although such a program has been launched in Shanghai and Guangzhou, this is the first appearance on the straddle-type monorail train in China.

In just a couple of days, the train was called “the most artistic light-rail train in Chongqing” on the internet. As for those 40 poems presented on the metro, 20 Chinese and 20 British poems were selected and promoted. Poets include the literary giants such as Shakespeare, Shelley, Li Bai and Xu Zhimo, as well as the post-1980s generation of young poets from both China and Britain, including Sarah Howe and Si Rongyun.

Those poems, with the theme of ‘”youth”, praise youth between the lines.

The “Poetry on the Metro” themed train will run till December 31. You can take Train 59 of Line 3 to meet those beautiful poems. (Translated by Xu Mengmiao, Fathom Language Limited)