At No. 913 Beijing Road in Kunming, the South Hall of the Yunnan Railway Museum stands as a meticulous replica of the region's lost transit heritage. Reconstructed between 2012 and 2014 due to the construction of Kunming Metro Line 2, which runs beneath the station, this building faithfully recreates the original French-designed Yunnanfu Station—the historic terminus of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway that once stood at Tangzixiang. Its mustard-yellow exterior walls, arched windows, and red-tiled roofs evoke the colonial aesthetic of the early 20th century. Atop the structure, a classic central clock tower marks the passage of time.

The station's history began in December 1938. It opened in December 1941 as Kunming General Station and was renamed Kunming North Railway Station upon opening. By 1979, it had become the terminus for three narrow-gauge lines: the Kunhe, Kunshi, and Kunxiao railways. An elevated steel-truss pedestrian bridge connects this historic South Hall to the modern, high-speed-rail-inspired North Hall, spanning directly over three active railway tracks.

Inside, the museum preserves the human struggles of those who laid these tracks. Thousands of Chinese and Vietnamese laborers died carving the original lines through mountainous terrain. To resist foreign exploitation, local people built the private Ge-Bi-Shi Railway, represented here by the 1923 American-built SN29 narrow-gauge steam locomotive. Nearby sits the French-made Michelin railcar, a 1914 passenger vehicle modified in 1932 with rubber tires to provide silent shock absorption at speeds of 100 kilometers per hour. Visitors can touch the cold steel of the locomotives, look through the arched windows, and listen to the rumble of trains passing beneath the elevated bridge, connecting the quiet preservation of the past with the active transit of the present.