In January 2018, Todd Halamka and I traveled to Sandaoling in the Xinjiang region of western China to a remote coal mine railroad. Sandaoling is located 1,700 miles (2,700 kilometers) northwest of Beijing. We did a presentation for the Center for Railroad Photography & Art’s Virtual Conversations conference as Scott Lothes moderates the discussion between us about our trip, the photography, and our experiences in China.