Thomas the Tank Engine was celebrating Chinese New Year with his new friends. When he heard there would be a dragon, he was rather frightened, then he was worried when he heard he would be carrying a lion to the celebration, but Thomas soon found that he had let his imagination get the better of him. The lion was only two people in a giant costume and the dragon was just a large puppet.

Then, Thomas heard a whistle and a third engine puffed into the station. "Chūn Jiē Kuài Lè!" it whistled.

"Happy New Year!" Yong Bao and Hong-Mei whistled together.

"I'm glad you could make it," Yong Bao added.

The engine looked at Thomas. "And who is this engine?"

"This is Thomas from the Island of Sodor. Lots of people wanted to see him, so he's been traveling around the world and visiting many different countries."

"Well, isn't he lucky," the engine smiled. "Nǐ hǎo, Thomas. My name is Yen."

"Nǐ hǎo," replied Thomas, "and that other thing you said, does that mean 'Happy New Year'?"

"Yes," said Yen, "you learn fast." Thomas chuckled.

As the celebrations continued, some people went to see the engines. One of them was the Yard Foreman. "Ah, Yen, you made it after all; good. This will save time tomorrow morning."

"Why, Sir?" Yen asked.

"I want Thomas to help you on your line tomorrow. As he doesn't know the way, you will spend the night here with the others."

"Of course, Sir."

It was late when the engines reached the sheds, but they were very happy. Everyone had a splendid time. The next morning, Thomas still felt tired as steam built up in his boiler.

"Wake up, Thomas," whispered Yen at last. "It's time to get to work."

"I'm up," yawned Thomas. "Where are we off too?"

"The coal mine where I work. It can be dirty, but you'll love my line."

When Thomas was ready, he cheerfully followed behind Yen. "Are you enjoying your time in China, Thomas?" she asked.

"Oh yes," puffed Thomas, "Yong Bao is great, and Hong-Mei is fun. An An and Yin-Long are nice too and so is Lei."

Yen smiled. "They are great, aren't they?"

Finally, the engines came to a small yard. Thomas could see lots of empty trucks in the sidings. "Are these for carrying the coal?" he asked.

"Yes," said Yen, "and it will be a long job, so let's get to work."

They quickly arranged a long line of trucks and Yen was coupled up to them. "Thomas, I want you to go to the back. We'll start by reversing along the line, but there will be a zig zag before we travel the rest of the way. Do you know what that is?"

"Actually, I do," replied Thomas. "When I was in Peru, I helped an engine named Karla take her passengers along many zig zags as we climbed up a mountain called Machu Picchu."

"That does sound exciting," said Yen. "There is only one zig zag on my line, so when we reach the junction, uncouple and you can travel in front the rest of the way."

When everything was ready, Thomas pulled away backwards while Yen pushed. Thomas found it hard to see where he was going, but his Driver kept a close watch on the tracks as they puffed along.

After passing two stations, they arrived at the third where the zig zag track was. Thomas was uncoupled and made his way through the junction first, then Yen backed the empty trucks into the siding. Thomas buffered in front and the engines continued on their way.

"This is a lot of trucks," said Thomas. "Do you always take so many?"

"Not really," replied Yen, "but since you are helping me today, I thought we could take some extra trucks to the mine."

Yen had been right about Thomas enjoying himself. He was amazed by the green hills, the small houses along the tracks and the small towns they traveled through. "It's beautiful here," he said at last.

Yen smiled. "I knew you would."

At last, they reached the coal mine, and it was very busy. There was lots of noise and there were trucks everywhere. "Cinders and ashes," said Thomas. "Is it always this busy."

"Most of the time," said Yen. "The Chinese Railway carries lots and lots of coal every day."

Thomas and Yen set to work loading the trucks and sorting them into line. "You have such a beautiful line, Yen," panted Thomas. "It's a shame you have to haul coal all the time."

Yen chuckled. "Well, not all the time. My line carries passengers too. For some of them, this line is the only way to reach their homes."

Suddenly, the Mine Manager arrived. "Min Lan has broken down," he said. "I need one of you to take her next passenger train."

Yen looked at Thomas. "You should do it, Thomas. Yong Bao did say everyone wants to see you."

"But there's only one track from here to the Main Line," said Thomas. "How, will we manage passing each other?"

"There's nothing to worry about, Thomas. That's what the zig zag is for. Passenger trains are lighter and faster, but they keep stopping at stations while the coal trains don't stop. The zig zag siding is long enough for two trains, so we both go into it and go separate ways afterwards."

"Okay," said Thomas at last, but he was still worried. "Are you sure you can manage the trucks on your own. I did come to help you after all."

"Don't worry about me," smiled Yen. "You'll still be helping by taking care of my friend's passengers."

So, Thomas went to the station to collect the coaches and the passengers waved, clapped and cheered as he arrived. Thomas enjoyed himself as he traveled along the line. He didn't like going backwards passed the zig zag, but he did his best as he brought his passengers to the station on the Main Line.

When he set off again, backwards, Thomas noticed that Yen wasn't around. I suppose she was right about us not having trouble passing each other, he thought.

Sure enough, when Thomas neared the zig zag, he saw Yen coming the other way with the coal delivery. He stopped at the points to let Yen enter the siding first, then he pulled into the station behind her. As soon as the Guard was ready, Thomas puffed forward out of the siding to continue his way down the rest of the line, whistling 'goodbye' to Yen as left the station.

The day carried on with no further trouble and that evening, Thomas joined Yen and a small diesel in the shed. "Hello, Thomas," said the diesel. "I'm Min Lan. Thank you for looking after my passengers."

"That's alright," said Thomas. "It was Yen's idea. I still wish I could've helped her, but I know how important passengers are."

"There won't be as many passenger runs tomorrow," said Yen, "so you will be able to help us finish this big coal delivery."

"I will."

"So, how do you know so much about passengers?" Min Lan asked.

"Oh," replied Thomas, "I have my own Branch Line back on Sodor. Annie and Clarabel are my coaches, but my line has a Quarry too."

And as the engines settled down for the night, they talked happily about their adventures with passengers and goods on each of their very special lines.