Train touristique spécial ligne 54 de la rue du Drapeau rouge

The Hongqi Street Route 54 Cultural Tourism Tram is a specially curated heritage tram service in Changchun that combines urban sightseeing, local history, and retro design into a roughly one-hour ride. Running from the Changying Station to the Xi'an Da Road station and back along a roughly fifteen-kilometer route, the tram is one of the more distinctive cultural-tourism products to emerge in Changchun in recent years and a clear expression of the city's renewed interest in its own historical streetscape.

The tram itself is the main attraction. The interior is decorated in a deliberately retro style, with nostalgic detailing designed to evoke earlier eras of Changchun's transit history. Drinks and desserts are served on board, which shifts the experience away from a utilitarian commute and toward a slow, social journey through the city. A professional guide narrates the route, pointing out landmarks and explaining the history of the streets and buildings the tram passes, giving the ride an interpretive layer that a self-guided walk cannot easily match.

The route along Hongqi Street is one of Changchun's most historically layered corridors, and the tram is positioned explicitly as a way to read the city rather than simply move through it. Hongqi, meaning Red Flag, is also the name most strongly associated with Changchun's automotive identity, and the street name alone gestures at the intertwining of industry, politics, and urban life that defines modern Changchun. The ride effectively becomes a mobile introduction to the city's twentieth-century cultural and architectural heritage.

Because the tram is a cultural-tourism product rather than a regular transit line, it is best approached as a scheduled experience rather than a hop-on service. Visitors typically book a seat for a particular departure, treat the ride as a relaxed sightseeing loop, and use the guide's commentary to orient themselves before exploring specific areas on foot. The full round trip runs about an hour, which makes it easy to slot into a half-day Changchun itinerary that also includes the Hongqi Street area's shops, cafes, and cultural venues.

For foreign visitors, the Route 54 Cultural Tourism Tram is one of the more accessible ways to absorb Changchun's urban history without needing a private guide or extensive reading in advance. Even without catching every detail of the narration, the retro setting, the slow pace, and the curated route combine to make it a memorable, low-effort introduction to the city.