A century-old French railway station stands marooned inside a high-rise residential complex in Kunming. In January 1910, French operators established the modest Xizhuang Halt near the Baoxiang River. By 1922, surging passenger and cargo traffic forced planners to build a formal station, Si-Tchouang, one kilometer north of the original halt. Local laborers laid the bricks, adapting to the low-lying, damp earth.

To prevent the structure from sinking, builders engineered a deep foundation reinforced with vaulted masonry arches. They topped the single-story, 150-square-meter brick-and-wood row house with a double-sloped roof of greyish-red clay tiles. The grander first-phase stations along the line used imported materials. This second-phase station relied on local clay and timber. Inside, a ticket hall, a waiting room, and a station master's office managed the daily flow of travelers.

In October 1958, the expansion of Wujiaba Airport severed the line. Engineers rerouted the tracks between Kunming South and Chenggong, leaving Xizhuang decommissioned and silent. The iron rails were eventually dismantled, replaced decades later by the towering concrete blocks of the Century Town residential development.

Rediscovered in March 2003, the station escaped demolition. Following structural repairs in 2009, it reopened on March 30, 2010, as a free public exhibition hall. Now a Kunming Municipal Cultural Relic, its yellow walls and vaulted foundations remain intact. Visitors can touch the cool brickwork and contemplate the vanished narrow-gauge line.