The earliest Beijing Railway Station
Majiapu was once a famous village in southern Beijing in history, and is now an administrative village in Nanyuan Township. Majiapu is the earliest railway station in Beijing and the first place with trams.
Majiapu was originally called Majiapu. "Pu" connected with "Fort". It was originally a post station. Majiapu was established around the late Ming and early Qing dynasties and is a large village. Located in the south of Beijing, it was close to the Nanyuan Royal Garden Wall in the Qing Dynasty. Majiabao was in the northwest of the wall. There were 13 corner gates in Nanyuan. The former site of Majiabao Corner Gate was at the west entrance of Majiabao South Street. The Jiaomen of Nanyuan no longer exists, leaving only the place name of Majiapu Jiaomen (now simply Jiaomen).
The construction of the railway in the late Qing Dynasty went through a long debate and was fiercely opposed by the conservatives headed by Cixi. In the 21st year of Guangxu (1895), the Jinlu (Tianjin to Marco Polo Bridge) railway was built and completed in 1898. The Lu-Han (Lugou Bridge to Hankou) railway was built in 1896 and opened to traffic in 1906. In 1895, the railway was built to Fengtai and Fengtai Railway Station was built. In 1897, it was connected from Fengtai to Majiapu, and Majiapu Railway Station was built. Majiapu Station was built under the supervision of the British and has a Western architectural style. Majiapu Railway Station is connected to the Tianjin-Luzhou Railway and the Lu-Han Railway, becoming the starting point to Hankou and Shenyang. Majiapu Railway Station is the earliest departure and terminal station of the railway station in Beijing, and is also the main train station of Beijing.
Why was Majiapu chosen as the terminal point of the Beijing Railway? At that time, we were afraid that the railway's entry into the city would destroy the feng shui of Beijing, so we stopped moving forward after we reached this point. Majiabao has a suitable geographical location. It is 2 kilometers away from the city wall in a straight line and 3 kilometers away from Yongding Gate. Majiapu was an important transportation route into Beijing in ancient times. Nancheng is a focal point for residents, businesses, and guild halls. It has a lot of passenger flow and logistics, and it is convenient to get on and off the bus. Majiapu has a good natural environment, flat terrain and a large population.
Why is Majiapu said to be the earliest railway station in Beijing? Although the British built railway stations outside Xuanwumen in 1865 and later in Beihai and Nanhai, earlier than Majiapu Railway Station, the function of these small railway stations was advertising and entertainment for a small group of people, and they were not considered to be of real significance. on the train station. The Majiabao Railway Station is built for both passenger and cargo use. It connects to the Beijing-Hankong and Beijing-Shenyang Railways and is truly the earliest railway station in Beijing.
In April and May of 1900, the Boxer Movement developed rapidly. Because the railway was a "foreign thing" built by "foreigners", it was destroyed by the Boxers. Changxindian, Gaobeidian, Huangcun and other railway stations were burned down. On June 12, the Majiapu Railway Station and the small Western-style building for British residents were burned down. The locals called it the "Burning Western-style Building" incident.
When the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing in 1900, Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu fled to Xi'an. When they returned to Beijing in 1902, the Lu-Han Railway was not yet open to traffic, so they took a special train in Baoding at 10:00 on October 28. When the train got off at Majiapu Station at 12 o'clock, officials built a colorful archway at the station to welcome the Queen Mother. After they got off the train, they took eight sedans back to the palace.
The picture shows the colorful archway made by the Majiapu Railway Station for the Empress Dowager Cixi. After the Eight-Power Allied Forces occupied Beijing, the Temple of Heaven became a barracks for foreign troops. In order to transport military supplies, holes were opened in the city wall east of Yongding Gate. , build the railway to the Temple of Heaven. In the 32nd year of Guangxu (1906), the railway was built from Majiapu through Yongdingmen to the east side of Qianmen in Beijing, named Qianmen Railway Station. Because there is a freight train station on the west side of Qianmen, Qianmen Station is also called Qianmen Passenger Station or Qianmen East Station. After the Majiabao Railway Station was abolished in about 1902 (and demolished in 1959), it was moved 1 kilometer north, and a temporary Majiabao parking station was built next to the newly built Beijing-Hankong and Beijing-Shenyang broad-gauge railways.
Majiabao Railway Station, as Beijing’s railway terminus, has existed for about 7 years. Although it has not existed for a long time, it has played an important role in driving commerce, municipal administration, transportation in the surrounding areas and promoting the development of China’s railways. It played an important role. At that time, it was a very prosperous place with busy traffic and gathering of merchants.
In 1898, in order to facilitate people to take trains, the British built a cement structure bridge on the Liangshui River 1 km north of Majiapu Railway Station, replacing the original earth bridge. The local people called it "Foreign Bridge" (the original bridge was demolished in 1990 A new reinforced concrete structure bridge was built on the bridge, which is still called Yangqiao. In 1990, an overpass was built on the Third Ring Road to the south of the bridge, also called Yangqiao). Later, a natural village was formed south of the bridge, so it was named Yangqiao Village. Now Yangqiao has become a regional name. After the railway station was built in Majiapu, in order to facilitate people from the capital to get on and off the train, Siemens Corporation undertook the construction of the tram line from Yongdingmen to Majiapu in 1899. It is more than 20 years earlier than the tram in Beijing. It is the earliest tram in Beijing and the first tram line in China. In the early years of the Republic of China, when trams were to be built in Beijing, Qunqiang Daily reported to the citizens on September 1, 1918 that the trams in question "were installed from Yongdingmen to Majiapu before Gengzi (1900)" Tram. This type of tram is laid on rails on the street. Iron pillars are erected next to them. Cross beams are installed on the pillars. Wires are hung on the beams. The tram runs on the rails and borrows the power from the wires above to run as needed. Just stay, go fast if you want, go slow if you want." "1000 Interesting Facts about Beijing" compiled by Wang Weijie records: "Beijing Tramway Company is a government-run and commercial institution founded in June 1921. A driving ceremony was held on December 17, 1924, and it was officially opened to traffic on the 18th. The first route opened to traffic was Qianmen to Xizhimen. "Beijing's first tram company was established by the Beiyang government. The company's headquarters was located in West Headquarters Hutong, the rails were ordered from France, and the start-up ceremony was held at Zhengyangmen.
The former site of Majiapu Railway Station is in the north of Majiapu Village and north of Macao River. The railway runs in the east-west direction. In the early 1960s, there was still an abandoned section of old railway and station ruins. The railway was narrow gauge. The station platform is on the north side of the railway. It is made of cement and is about 30 meters long and 6 meters wide. There was originally a small Western-style building for British people to live on the platform, so this place was originally called Western-style Building Terrace. Later, the small foreign-style building was burned down by the Boxers, and the local villagers renamed it Canghuitai. From the perspective of Majiapu, there are Dongyang Huitai and Beiyang Huitai. In 1963, the Fifth Production Team of Majiapu dried medicinal materials on Beiyang Huitai (the site of today’s Opera School). Dongyang Huitai is located in the northeast corner of the village, west of the north gate of the original Beijing Small Power Machinery Factory. Residential houses have been built on Dongyang Huitai, and the cement terrace has become the foundation of the house. This place still has a high terrain.
The Fengtai area is a railway transportation hub. It connects the Beijing-Hankong, Beijing-Guangzhou, Beijing-Shenyang, Fengsha and other railways. Before the founding of New China, there were Fengtai, Changxindian, Marco Polo Bridge, Majiapu, etc. TRAIN STATION. After the founding of New China, Fengtai West, Shijingshan South, Dahongmen, Dahuichang, Beijing West and other railway stations were built.
(Excerpted from Beijing Youth Daily)