Chao Chow and Swatow Railway - Early trains in China

The ChaoChow–Swatow Railway or "Chao-Shan" railway was a privately financed and constructed standard gauge railway which ran between Chao Chow (pinyin: Chaochou, 潮州) and Swatow (pinyin: Shantou, traditional Chinese: 汕頭, simplified Chinese: 汕头) in Guangdong Province between 1906 and 1939.It's also the first line entirely financed and managed by Chinese merchants.

The railway’s senior operations staff, including the drivers and guards, were all Japanese employees, with Chinese staff engaged on less important functions. This situation endured until the railway was eventually taken over by Chinese National Railways in the 1920s. The railway company imported three 2-6-2 tank locomotives from the American Locomotive Company (Brooks plant) and 24 carriages of corridor plan were manufactured in Japan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chao_Chow_and_Swatow_Railway

The history of rail transport in China began with foreign assistance. Since then, it has made advances with domestic and foreign technology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_China