My rail life #6: Chinglongchiao Railway Station, a 110-year-old witness to Chinese railway! 青龙桥站，百年中国铁路的见证者 ︳月旦评

Dear steemians, welcome to my blog!

Chinglongchiao railway station is one of the most famous stations in China. It's an important station along the Beijing-Kalgan railway which was the first railway designed by Chinese engineers alone.

This century-year-old station was located in northwest Beijing, between the Badaling and Juyongguan Great Wall. With construction beginning in 1908, the station was designed by the most well-known Chinese engineer Zhan Tianyou (詹天佑, Jeme Tien-Yow). Zhan was a poineering Chinese railroad engineer and known as the "Father of China's Railroad".

Chinglongchiao Railway Station

Zhan designed the Beijing-Kalgan railway all by himself. To overcome the steep gradient near the Chinglongchiao station, he made a zigzag railway line nearby. These things crashed the foreign fallacy that "the Chinese are incapable of building a railway" with convincing facts and made Chinglongchiao railway station famous all over the world.

Location of Chinglongchiao Railway Station

In 1919, Zhan died in Hankou at the age of 57. He was buried at the Chinglongchiao railway station. Now Zhan Tianyou Memorial Museum is built to commemorate the great engineer for his devoting the whole life to Chinese railway developments.

Statue of Mr. Zhan Tianyou

When I was a child, I went to Badaling Great Wall many times all by train. I usually got off at the Chinglongchiao station and took a look at the statue of Zhan. In August 2008, the suburban railway between Beijing North Railway Station and Yanqing Railway Station,so-called BCR Line S2, was put into operation. All train on the Beijing-Kalgan railway have to stop to change directions at Chinglongchiao station.

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In September 2009, I went to Chinglongchiao station and took some pictures.

I took the train #S287 at Beijing North Railway Station. The station was also designed by Zhan Tianyou and the old ticket house was protected.

Harmony-Great Wall Train inside the Beijing North Railway Station

the train I took

locomotives outside the station

here came the train!

the old ticket house of Xizhimen Railway Station

After one hour, I got off at Chinglongchiao station where I had visited many times.

I climbed the undeveloped Great Wall nearby to find a speical view.

Badaling Tunnel

the zigzag railway line

the zigzag railway line view from the hill

Badaling Great Wall in the distance

Chinglongchiao Railway Station

The small station and the track maintenance division witness the rapid expansion of Chinese railway network.

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Thanks for reading, I'm @rail-life! Hugs from China!