How long is the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway?

The Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway connects Fengtai, Beijing, to Zhangjiakou, Hebei via Badaling, Juyongguan, Shacheng, Xuanhua, with a total length of about 200 kilometers. It was completed in 1909. It is the first railway in China that does not use foreign funds and personnel. Railways that were completed by the Chinese themselves and put into operation (Before the completion of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, China was the first to have the Xinyi Railway from Xincheng to Gaobeidian, which was also built under the command and leadership of Zhan Tianyou but was only used by the Empress Dowager Cixi to worship her ancestors). Zhan Tianyou was the chief engineer of the railway construction and later served as the general office of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway Bureau.

This road is "separated by high mountains and ridges, with the most masonry and more than 7,000 feet of bridges. The road is dangerous and difficult like no other place," especially "Juyongguan and Badaling, with many mountains and steep rocks." , After studying the roads that have been built in various provinces, this is the most difficult. Even all the books in the West consider this project to be extremely arduous." "From Nankou to Badaling, the distance is 180 feet, and every forty feet must be increased by one foot." After the news that China had built its own Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway came out, foreigners sarcastically said that the Chinese engineers who built this railway were afraid Not yet born. Zhan Tianyou bravely took on the arduous task of chief engineer and encouraged the engineering staff to win glory for the country. He personally led the engineering team to survey the route and selected the one with the lower construction cost from the three surveyed routes. From Xizhimen to Zhangjiakou via Shahe, Nankou, Juyongguan, Badaling, Huailai, Jimingyi, Xuanhua. The most difficult section of this route is the Guangou section from Nankou to Badaling. Not only is the terrain steep, but the slope is also very steep. In the Badaling section near Qinglong Bridge, in order to cross the steep mountain ravine of Jundu Mountain in the Yanshan Mountains, a zigzag track is used in the 22-kilometer line section, and the train is climbing up the slope using the retracement method; but the slope is still 33.7‰, which requires Pulled by two locomotives. There are four tunnels on the railway, of which the Badaling Tunnel is 1,092 meters long and is excavated using the shaft method; the Juyongguan Tunnel is 400 meters long. There is also the Huailai Bridge, a 200-meter-long steel frame structure.

The Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway started construction on September 4, 1905. Zhan Tianyou and the railway employees worked together to overcome difficulties such as insufficient funds, machine shortages, and weak technical force, and successfully completed the two difficult tunnels of Juyongguan and Badaling. The project was completed four years later on August 11, 1909, and opened to traffic on October 2. The construction time was shortened by two years than originally planned; and the construction cost was also saved 350,000 taels of silver compared with the original budget (some say Saved 280,000 taels). The total cost is only one-fifth of the price that foreign contractors used to charge. It can be said that it costs less, has good quality and is completed quickly. In the face of the hard facts, foreigners cannot help but be convinced. The Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway is the first railway designed and constructed by the Chinese themselves. It is a glory for the Chinese people and the Chinese engineering and technical community, and a victory for the Chinese people’s anti-imperialist struggle in modern Chinese history. In 1922, a bronze statue of Zhan Tianyou was erected at Qinglongqiao Railway Station. In 1987, a memorial hall for Zhan Tianyou was built nearby. At that time, all passenger buses entering Beijing had to stop for half an hour to pay homage to the bronze statue and memorial hall of Zhan Tianyou.

Today's Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway is the first section of the Beijing-Baotou Railway between Beijing and Baotou. Due to the poor passing capacity of the Guangou section of the original Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, an additional Fengsha Line was built between Fengtai and Shacheng (Huailai) in 1952. The Fengsha Line took the route that Zhan Tianyou thought was better, but was forced to abandon it due to the high cost. The Fengsha Line has always been responsible for coal transportation. In 1972, the Phongsa line was converted into a double line and electrified in 1984. Many passenger trains have now been diverted to the Fengsha Line.

However, most people don’t know that before taking over the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway project, Zhan Tianyou had been working on China’s railway construction for nearly 20 years. During this period, he participated in the surveying and design of the Tianjin-Tongzhou Railway planned to be built by Li Hongzhang (the Tianjin-Tongzhou Railway that caused fierce controversy); participated in the construction of the Tianjin-Shanhaiguan Railway; and participated in the construction of the Luanhe River Iron Bridge that still exists today. .

To be precise, "the first railway built by the Chinese" is not the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway. In 1901, Cixi returned to Beijing from her escape and took a train for the first time on the way. The train left a good impression on her, and she proposed to take the train to Xiling to pay homage to the mausoleum in two years' time. Therefore, the Qing government urgently raised funds to build a branch line from Gaobeidian Station of the Beijing-Hankow Railway to the Imperial Mausoleum of Lianggezhuang. Liang Ruhao, a "young boy studying in the United States" who was the General Office of Railways inside and outside Guanhai at that time, presided over the matter, and he recommended Zhan Tianyou.

Zhan Tianyou rose to prominence and commanded the rapid completion of the project in the ice and snow where construction was difficult.

This is the first railway built independently by the Chinese. Although it is only 37 kilometers long, it is ironic: it is a railway built for one person to worship his ancestors.

Zhangjiakou is the gateway from Beijing to Inner Mongolia, and the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway has obvious military, economic and political value. When news of the road construction came out, Britain, which had the most power in China, was determined to win. Tsarist Russia, which regarded the area north of the Great Wall as its sphere of influence, would not give in. The two sides argued and finally reached an agreement: If the Qing government did not borrow foreign debts and did not use foreign craftsmen, it would be entirely left to its own devices. The Chinese built it independently, and neither side extended a hand. From the perspective of Britain and Russia, backward China has no such ability at all, and they are waiting for the Chinese to ask for help when they reach a deadlock.

On May 3, 1906, Zhan Tianyou wrote to Mrs. Northob, his "parent" when he was studying in the United States. The letter said:

I am now the mother of seven children. Father—three girls and four boys! I am currently the "Commissioner and Chief Engineer of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway". This railway is about 125 miles long and will have three tunnels, the longest of which is three-quarters of a mile. This road is the first railway to be built entirely by Chinese engineers. I hope we can complete it smoothly!

Zhan Tianyou surveyed three routes. The second detour is too far and is not advisable. The third line is today's Fengsha Line. It was built from the south to the west of Beijing and passed through a large number of cemeteries, which created too many obstacles. Due to limited funding and tight time, Zhan Tianyou decided to take the first route, which was from Xizhimen via Shahe, via Nankou, Juyongguan, Badaling, Huailai, Jimingyi, Xuanhua to Zhangjiakou, with a total length of 360 miles. The difficulty of the whole line lies in Guangou. This area is full of mountains and cliffs. The engineering difficulty was unprecedented in the country at that time and rare in the world. The slope is extremely steep, and the height difference between the south entrance and Badaling is nearly 60 meters.

On October 24, 1906, Zhan Tianyou said in his letter:

Dear Mrs. Northop:

It is true that I am very lucky to be appointed now. work. China has gradually awakened and is in urgent need of railways. Now all over the country, Chinese engineers are being recruited. China must use its own funds to build its own railways. It seems that I have become the best engineer in China, so all Chinese and foreigners are watching my work closely. If I fail, it will not only be my personal misfortune, but also the misfortune of all Chinese engineers and all Chinese people, because Chinese engineers will no longer be trusted by people in the future!

Before I was assigned this job, and after Ji Shi took office, many foreigners publicly claimed that Chinese engineers would never be able to take on such an arduous task, because they would have to dig mountains, cut rocks, and build extremely long tunnels!

But I tried my best and have already completed one stage of practice. I am attaching a newspaper clipping to let you know that a Chinese child who was under your supervision in New Haven has now completed and will continue to complete the tasks in the future. His early education was entirely indebted to you!

......

Your most loyal Zhan Tianyou

On September 30, 1906, the first section of the project was opened to traffic, and the second section of the project started at the same time. Herein lies the rub. First, four tunnels, namely Juyongguan, Wuguitou, Shifosi and Badaling, must be opened. The longest Badaling tunnel is 1,092 meters. This requires not only precise calculations and correct command, but also new types of mountain diggers, ventilators and water pumps. The former was no problem for Zhan Tianyou, while the latter was not available in China at the time and could only rely on the hands of workers.

This story is well known to everyone: Zhan Tianyou used both the north and south ends to dig into the middle point of the tunnel at the same time. However, the tunnel is too long, and two vertical shafts are dug in the middle, which can be dug in opposite directions, so that there are six working faces at the same time. He used the principle of "Zigzag Line" to build a "zigzag" route to reduce the climbing gradient, and used pull carts at both ends to cross. At the beginning of the construction of the railway, there were car derailments. Zhan Tianyou thought of a way: add the automatic hook invented by American Jenny to each carriage to combine it into a solid whole to ensure safety when climbing hills.

On December 11, 1906, during the most stressful days of the project, Zhan Tianyou wrote in a letter to Nosoub’s son and his boyhood friend Willie:

Currently, China is in an extremely unstable situation. It is conducting very costly experiments and striving for innovation. But no one can predict what will happen in the future. My current railway requires me to only use Chinese people to build it. If I have the right. I would be happy to introduce you to a job. Unfortunately, I am now ordered not to hire foreign employees.

Building railways near the capital often requires unexpected "prices". The railway passes through the graveyard of a former Taoist priest. He is a relative of the royal family and has influence in both the government and the public. This person led the crowd to cause trouble, stopped the project, and privately offered heavy bribes to demand a diversion. However, the north, south, and west are all the cemeteries of the powerful. It would be a huge waste to change the routes. Zhan Tianyou endured the humiliation and spent a lot of time dealing with the powerful, and finally allowed the railway to pass outside the tomb wall. However, in order to maintain the "feng shui", they agreed to build another river and send officials to burn incense and offer sacrifices. After the road was completed, a monument would be erected to commemorate it. The engineering staff were indignant, but Zhan Tianyou said that as long as the railway could be repaired, other minor issues could be tolerated.

The difficulty of the third section of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway is second only to Guangou. The first thing we encountered was the Huailai Bridge, which is the longest bridge on Beijing-Zhangjiakou Road. It is built with seven 30.48-meter-long steel beams. Thanks to Zhan Tianyou's correct command, the bridge was successfully completed.

The Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway was originally planned to be completed in six years. With the efforts of Zhan Tianyou, the entire line was opened to traffic on August 11, 1909, two years ahead of schedule. Not only did the project not exceed the budget, it also saved 280,000 taels of silver.

The photos that Zhan Tianyou left for posterity seem to have been stern since he was a child. He is a rigorous engineer, pragmatic and meticulous. But occasionally, he also reveals the interest that studying abroad has brought him.

The Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway is a railway connecting Beijing and Zhangjiakou that was presided over and successfully built by Zhan Tianyou. It is a railway entirely funded, surveyed, designed, and constructed by China itself, with a total length of more than 200 kilometers. This road is "separated by high mountains, has the most stonework, and has more than 7,000 feet of bridges. The road is dangerous and difficult like nowhere else." After the news that China had built the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, foreigners sarcastically said that the people who built this railway I am afraid that Chinese engineers have not yet been born. Zhan Tianyou bravely took on the arduous task of chief engineer and encouraged the engineering staff to win glory for the country. Together with the railway employees, he overcame difficulties such as insufficient funds, machine shortages, and weak technical strength, and successfully completed the two difficult tunnel projects in Juyongguan and Badaling. , designing a herringbone track. Construction of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway started in September 1905 and was completed in August 1909, two years ahead of schedule, with a budget balance of 280,000 taels of silver. The total cost was only one-fifth of the price charged by foreign contractors. It can be said that it cost less and has good quality. , completed quickly. The Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway is the first main railway line designed and constructed by the Chinese themselves. It is a glory for the Chinese people and the Chinese engineering and technical circles, and a victory for the Chinese people's anti-imperialist struggle in modern Chinese history.

Although the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway was built by the Chinese themselves, which was a sad victory under the special historical background at that time, Zhan Tianyou and the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, as well as the national spirit contained in it, have become the eternal pride of the Chinese people

The important geographical location of Zhangjiakou has always been a must for military strategists, so the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway has important economic and political value. When news came out that the Qing government was going to build the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, Britain, which had been entrenched in China for many years, was determined to win. Tsarist Russia, which was watching covetously, vowed not to give in. The weak Qing government did not dare to offend anyone, so it had no choice but to use China's own engineers to build the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway. Zhang Railway.

Zhan Tianyou, an engineer who is full of creative spirit and has the courage to overcome difficulties, has truly stepped onto the historical stage of realizing his own values ??and ambitions. Faced with the scorn and ridicule of foreigners that "Chinese engineers who built railways were not born yet", Zhan Tianyou was also under great pressure at the time. After all, the project was so difficult that even those who had greedily grabbed the right to build roads and built railways on the land of China Foreign invaders on multiple railroads were also unsure.

"If I fail, it will not only be my personal misfortune, but it will be the misfortune of all Chinese engineers and even all Chinese people! In order to prove the wisdom and ambition of the Chinese people, I have no choice "It is this heroic spirit that, after four years of hard work, the "Herringbone" track and the 1,091-meter Badaling Tunnel of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway were unveiled to the world in 1909, which made the Chinese feel proud and made foreigners who were ready to laugh. Embarrassing tongue. As our city's mayor Gao Jinhao said, what Mr. Zhan Tianyou left us is not just a railway, but more importantly, the national spirit, national will and national strength he passed on to us.

What also excites the Chinese people is that this project is two years ahead of schedule, and the cost has saved 280,000 taels of silver compared to the budget.

"In today's world, no country can be founded without railways. China has a vast land and abundant resources...but it has inconvenient transportation, poor operation, and it is difficult to revitalize its business." With the ambition of "willing to build a 200,000-mile railway as an opponent" Mr. Sun Yat-sen came to Zhangjiakou by train on September 6, 1912.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the revolutionary storm was raging. In October 1911, the gunshots of the Wuchang Uprising reached Zhangyuan, and the revolutionaries outside the Great Wall also rose up to respond. However, due to the enemy's counterattack, the uprising failed. In order to continue the struggle against the enemy, the rebel leader recommended Zhang Lisheng and Zhang Ziguang (both from Shangyi County) as representatives of the rebel army and drove to Nanjing to ask Mr. Sun Yat-sen for future instructions. After listening to their reports, Sun Yat-sen expressed his appreciation and comfort for the comrades in Chahar, Yanbei, and Suiyuan outside the Great Wall for holding armed uprisings under unfavorable circumstances, and encouraged them: We are not afraid of failure in the revolution, and we must learn from failure. Lessons learned, keep up the good work, and keep fighting. After the two returned to Zhangjiakou, according to Mr. Sun Yat-sen's instructions, they secretly organized the people to launch a struggle against Yuan Shikai.

On April 1, 1912, under pressure, Sun Yat-sen officially resigned as interim president and began a long-term inspection in the country, lobbying for people's livelihood principles and advocating railway construction. After being appointed as "National Railway Supervisor" by Yuan Shikai, Sun Yat-sen announced that he would "not interfere in politics for ten years" and was willing to build a 200,000-mile railway as an opponent. On September 6, 1912, the ambitious Sun Yat-sen took a train from Beijing to Zhangjiakou for inspection. When inspecting Zhangjiakou Railway Station, Sun Yat-sen delivered a speech, highly praised Zhan Tianyou's amazing work that brought glory to the nation, and took photos with the crowd. After attending the welcome meeting held at Fuqing Theater, Sun Yat-sen summoned several local party leaders Zhang Lisheng and Zhang Ziguang. After asking about the local situation, he encouraged comrades to work hard and not to relax because of the founding of the Republic of China.

After inspecting Zhangjiakou, Sun Yat-sen returned to Beijing by train on the morning of September 8. At that time, farewell people crowded both sides of the street.

In May and June 1922, He Mengxiong, the founder of the Zhangjiakou Party Organization, developed the first batch of Communist Party members among the activists who emerged from the Beijing-Suiyuan Railway workers' movement in Zhangjiakou, and The city's first party group was established, giving the northern railway workers' movement a real leadership core

With the construction and opening of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, Zhangjiakou's modern industrial worker team subsequently emerged.

“Workers are hard, workers are hard, and workers’ trousers are torn and no one can mend them.”

“The big belly who doesn’t work bullies us, get up, get up, and form a group! The last Victory is ours!"

After the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway was built, under the rule of the decadent Qing government and the Beiyang warlord government, the railway workers in Zhangjiakou, like railway workers across the country, suffered from cruel exploitation. and oppression. The working hours are long, the labor intensity is high, the living conditions are poor, there are no holidays, and there is no democratic power in politics. All freedoms of speech, assembly, association, and strike are completely deprived. They live in a work shed with more than 100 people crowded together. It is paved with torn sacks, covered with sack sheets, and their heads are resting on half bricks. It smells bad in the summer, and the wind is biting in the winter. Bedbugs, lice, flies, and mosquitoes are everywhere. All... Due to long-term deprivation of vegetables, many workers suffered from night blindness. In this way, the inhumane foreman continued to beat and scold them.

In fact, from the first day when the working class in Zhangjiakou was born, they have been constantly fighting against the oppressors. Although they are all spontaneous, the purpose is only to improve their living conditions. One night in the winter of 1918, young worker Wang Erlang stabbed to death Zhang Degui, a foreman who was gambling with the wages of many workers, after repeatedly asking for wages but failed. After that, incidents of workers punishing bully foremans often occurred at various stations along the Zhangjiakou Railway. event. In May 1921, Zhangjiakou railway workers launched the first strike in the history of the Beijing-Suiyuan Railway. Immediately afterwards, the workers of two large railway factories (locomotive and rolling stock repair plants) in Zhangjiakou and Nankou also launched a struggle against the two railway bullies, Senior Officials Division and Nankou Inspector Mao Youde, and achieved victory.

In September 1921, He Mengxiong came to Zhangjiakou and along the Beijing-Suiyuan Railway for inspection. He went deep into the railway workers' work sheds and dormitories, had heart-to-heart conversations with the workers, and investigated their working and living conditions. During this period, he promoted Marxism-Leninism among the workers, inspired their ideological consciousness, and called on everyone to quickly unite and establish organizational groups. He became the first person to combine Marxism-Leninism with the Zhangjiakou workers' movement. In May and June 1922, He Mengxiong developed the first batch of Communist Party members among the activists who emerged from the Beijing-Suiyuan Railway workers' movement in Zhangjiakou. Among them, three from Zhangjiakou are Li Ze, Li Liansheng and Zhou Zhensheng. They are all workers at the Zhangjiakou Railway Depot. A few days later, the first group meeting was held in Old Man Xing’s dormitory in Pinganli Railway Workers’ Dormitory, Qiaodong. He Mengxiong presided over the meeting and officially announced the establishment of the first party group of Beijing-Suiyuan Railway Workers. This was the earliest organization established by the Communist Party of China at that time in the Chahar and Suiyuan areas north of the Great Wall. In the subsequent struggle, the Communist Party's prestige among workers increased.

The special truck that rescued Zhang Jingsheng, a child from Huai'an, on the night of December 22, 1971, is a microcosm of that era. The People's Daily reported this under the title "Lifeline", and many magazines published the "Lifeline" comic book accordingly, making this story of the friendship between the working class and the peasant class quickly spread throughout the country

1971 On the night of December 22, 2019, after the service staff of Class C of Zhangjiakou South Station took over, a young couple holding a child came to the passenger service station for help. It turned out that they were lower-middle peasant members of the Huai'an City Commune. Their little son, who was just fourteen months old, had a corn bean stuck in his trachea. Since the local hospital lacked a sophisticated medical instrument, he could not be treated and needed to be transferred to the Beijing Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Hospital. Hospital for treatment.

Seeing the child's purple lips, rapid breathing, and blood spots oozing from the capillaries on his face, Liu Yurong, the passenger duty monitor at the time, and the comrades in the team were extremely anxious. At this time, it was 9 o'clock in the evening, and the earliest bus to Beijing was two hours away. What to do, what to do? The anxious Liu Yurong immediately asked the Beijing Railway Dispatching Center for instructions from the party branch. At this time, even if they were allowed to take the 906 train that was parked at the South Station, they would still have to wait for more than 40 minutes, but all 11 trains on the railway line would have to give way to him. What made Liu Yurong excited was that soon instructions came from the Beijing Railway Dispatching Center to start the train immediately to rescue the child. At the same time, Beijing was coordinating the work along the railway while looking for a pick-up vehicle for the child.

When everyone was preparing to put the children and parents on the bus, Liu Yurong and several colleagues knew that they did not have much money, so they took out all the money they had...

At 21:17, Special Cargo 096 headed towards the capital carrying the deep feelings of the working class. Liu Yurong contacted the stations along the line 7 times.

After 3 hours and 40 minutes, this special freight train Driving from outside the Great Wall to the capital, a military vehicle picked them up and quickly drove into the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Hospital.

A week later, the child was successfully discharged from the hospital after rescue and treatment. The child's father went to the commune and the brigade to speak with gratitude... When he came to the station again, he told everyone that the child's name had been changed to Zhang Jingsheng, which meant that the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway had given him a second life.

Afterwards, the People's Daily reported this story as "Lifeline", and many magazines published the "Lifeline" comic strip. This story of the friendship between the working class and the peasant class quickly spread throughout the land beyond the Great Wall, throughout the railway system, and throughout the country. All over the country.

In the process of Zhan Tianyou building the entire Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, the idea of ??frugality ran throughout. Construction of the entire railway took less than four years, two years less than originally planned. In addition, after the entire railway was repaired, it cost 6.935 million taels of silver, saving 288,000 taels compared to the budget. After the railway was completed, just as Zhan Tianyou thought, commerce and trade flourished, which played an important role in the development of China's railway construction.