Trains are the most important mechanical means of transportation in human history. They were called steam locomotives in the early days. They were officially used for transportation in Germany in 1894. They first appeared in China in the late Qing Dynasty. However, the Qing government was corrupt, conservative, and authoritarian. They only follow the rules of their ancestors and are unwilling to accept new things. They regard the construction of railways and the use of steam locomotives as "wonderful skills" and believe that building railways will "lose our dangers, harm our fields and houses, and hinder our feng shui", so they stubbornly refuse to build railways.
On July 3, 1876, the Qing government demolished the only "ordinary road" from Wusong to Shanghai at that time in three times. In 1879, a section from Tangshan to Xugezhuang was built, and a canal was dug from Xugezhuang to Lutai, connecting Ji Canal to Beitang Haikou. In order to prevent the locomotive from shaking the mausoleum, it was decided to use mules and horses to pull the vehicles.
Construction started on September 4, 1905. Zhan Tianyou led the construction of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway. It was certainly the most massive project in history and was completed in 1909.
After the reform and opening up, China’s railways have entered an era of rapid development.
The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the greatest project of mankind today, started construction on June 29, 2001, with an investment of 33.5 billion yuan. It runs from Xining City, Qinghai Province to Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, with a total length of 1,956 kilometers. It was completed on July 1, 2006. The entire line will be open to traffic at 9:00 on the same day.
China should build a railway with a statue of Zhan Tianyou.