Beijing–Harbin Railway

The Beijing–Harbin or Jingha Railway (simplified Chinese: 京哈铁路; traditional Chinese: 京哈鐵路; pinyin: Jīnghā Tiělù) is the railway that connects Beijing with Harbin in Heilongjiang Province. It spans 1,249 km (776 mi). It is a very prominent route in the Manchurian Provinces of northeastern China.

History

Construction of the section between Tangshan and Tianjin began in 1881 as the Kaiping Tramway. This section is the second-oldest railway in China and the oldest still in use. (The oldest railway in China was the Woosung Railway in Shanghai, built in 1876 but dismantled and removed to Taiwan the next year.) Later this section was extended west to Beijing and east to Shanhaiguan. It was further extended to the east and reached Mukden (modern Shenyang) in Fengtian province (modern Liaoning) by 1912.

The railroad operated under or was known by several names, including:

• the Imperial Railroad of North China,
• the Guanneiwai Tielu (lit. "Shanhaiguan Inner & Outer Railway"),
• the Peking–Mukden or Peiping–Mukden Railway,
• the Jingfeng Tielu (from Beijing & Fengtian), and
• the Beining Tielu (from Beiping & Liaoning).

Under the late Qing and during the early Republic, it was administered by and provided much of the revenue for the Ministry of Posts and Communications. It is now administered by the Ministry of Railways for the People's Republic of China.

The section from Shenyang to Harbin used to be a part of the South Manchuria branch of the Chinese Eastern Railway built by the Russian Empire from 1898 to 1902. Later, the section from Changchun to Shenyang became part of the Japanese South Manchuria Railway. There used to be no linking line between the Jingfeng Railway and the South Manchuria Railway. A bridge was built for the South Manchuria Railway to cross the Jingfeng Railway. The Huanggutun Incident took place on June 4, 1928 right at this bridge, several kilometers east of the Huanggutun railway station on Jingfeng railway. During the Japanese occupation of Manchuria (1931–1945), the Jingfeng railway and the south Manchuria railway was connected together. After 1949, the Jingfeng Railway and the Shenyang to Harbin section of the south Manchuria railway were altogether named as Jingha Railway.

Before 2007, the Beijing–Harbin Railway shared the route with the Beijing-Shanghai Railway from Beijing to Tianjin, and then to Qinhuangdao.

Current status

As of December 31, 2006, it uses the Beijing-Qinhuangdao Railway, the Qinhuangdao-Shenyang Passenger Railway, and the Shenyang-Harbin portion of the Harbin-Dalian Railway.

Important cities en route

• Beijing
• Hebei Province：Qinhuangdao
• Liaoning Province：Huludao, Jinzhou, Shenyang, Tieling
• Jilin Province：Siping, Changchun
• Heilongjiang Province：Harbin

Mileage

See also

• Rail transport in the People's Republic of China
• List of railways in China

External links

• Photo of Permit to travel on the Chinese Railways between Harbin and Shanghai, 1920s

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