Shanghai Railway Museum and the Old North Station: A Living Fossil of Chinese Railways
Basic information
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Shanghai Railway Museum |
| Address | 200 Tianmu East Road, Jing'an District, Shanghai |
| Predecessor | Shanghai North Railway Station (commonly called "the old North Station") |
| Opening hours | Tuesday to Sunday 9:00–16:30 (last entry 16:00); closed Mondays |
| How it came to be | The old North Station built in 1909 → closed on 28 December 1987 → the railway museum built in 2000 → opened to the public in August 2004 |
| Protection status | Shanghai North Railway Station site: a cultural relic protection unit (announced in August 2000) |
| Keywords | the station of China's first commercially operated railway, the British-style station building, the land gateway |
Why this place has a special standing
The Shanghai Railway Museum is built on the original station building fabric of the old North Station, and the old North Station's standing can be put in one sentence:
As the station of China's first commercially operated railway, the Shanghai North Railway Station site has witnessed the changes of Shanghai's history.
"China's first commercially operated railway" means the Wusong Railway (1876). From the Wusong Railway of 1876, to the Songhu Railway (Shanghai–Wusong) rebuilt in 1898, to the Shanghai–Nanjing Railway opened in 1908, to the old North Station completed in 1909 — the modern history of Zhabei is almost a part of the early history of China's railways.
The life of the old North Station
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 1876 | The Wusong Railway, built without permission by British merchants, opens; a Shanghai station is set up at what is today the corner of Henan North Road and Qipu Road (later bought up and dismantled by the Qing government) |
| 1898 | The rebuilt Songhu Railway opens, with the Shanghai station at the southern end of Baoshan Road |
| Late 1908 | The Shanghai–Nanjing Railway opens along its whole line; the Shanghai–Nanjing railway station is set up west of the Songhu Railway's Shanghai station |
| 1909 | The Shanghai Station of the Shanghai–Nanjing Railway (later the North Railway Station) is completed, a four-storey British-style office building |
| 1932 | In the January 28 Incident the four-storey office building of Shanghai North Station is destroyed in the fighting; some floors are repaired the following year |
| 1937–1945 | In the August 13 Incident it suffers sustained Japanese bombing and severe damage; during the occupation the Japanese rename it "Shanghai-eki" |
| Apr 1947 | Upgraded to Shanghai Railway Terminus |
| Mar 1950 | Its name reverts to Shanghai North Station; on 1 August it is formally renamed Shanghai Station, commonly known as the North Station, and designated a top-class station |
| 1960 | Most freight transfers to Shanghai East Station, and it becomes a top-class passenger station; in 1961 all freight business stops |
| 1984 | The Shanghai municipal government begins converting Shanghai East Station into the new Shanghai Station (the new passenger station) |
| 28 Dec 1987 | The new passenger station is completed and put into use; the old North Station formally closes and is converted into the Shanghai Railway Passenger Car Depot (the Baoshan Road depot), used mainly for preparing passenger trains |
| 2000 | The Shanghai Railway Museum is built on the fabric of the original station building |
| Aug 2004 | The railway museum opens to the public |
A building that was once "top of the charts"
In the 1970s and 1980s the old North Station was one of Shanghai's best-known landmarks:
The elegant Western-style building in front of the station was the signature structure of the station square, and once became a popular design printed on handbags and on packaging boxes for Shanghai-made food.
A station printed on handbags and food boxes — that was its place in people's minds back then.
The building itself
The railway museum's building has one particular feature: it is not the original building, but a reconstruction faithfully in the original style.
The Shanghai Railway Museum was likewise built on the original site, at 80% of the original scale, of the four-storey British-style office building of the former Shanghai–Nanjing Railway Bureau at Shanghai North Station.
So strictly speaking: the site is the original site, but the building is a replica rebuilt at 80% scale. You should know this before you go.
A few figures for the old North Station's original building (according to encyclopedia-type entries):
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total floor area of the station building | 1,695 m² |
| Ground-floor outer wall | Granite |
| Second floor and above | Marble colonnades and arched doors and windows |
| Rooms inside | 76 |
| Large single-storey rooms on the ground floor | 6 (forming the waiting area and the postal and ticket-service areas) |
Why it is "a place that spread red culture"
The Shanghai North Railway Station site has a little-mentioned identity:
The Shanghai North Railway Station site is an important source of democratic-revolutionary ideas, and still more a place where Shanghai's red culture spread and gathered; bound closely to modern Chinese history, it witnessed the important moments of the democratic revolution, and countless forebears of the democratic revolution — Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, Zhou Enlai, Chen Yun and others — all left their footprints here.
Think about it and it makes sense:
- on 20 March 1913, Song Jiaoren was assassinated at this station;
- in the May Fourth Movement and the May Thirtieth Movement, students and workers came and went through here;
- in the Third Armed Uprising of Shanghai Workers in 1927, the general assault on the North Station was the last hard battle;
- in the January 28 and August 13 incidents, the North Station was a focus of bombing and of attack and defence.
A railway station that was at once a transport hub, a revolutionary scene and a seat of historical judgment.
A piece of trivia: the station was renamed
During the occupation of Shanghai from 1937 to 1945, the Japanese renamed the North Station "Shanghai-eki" — the most uncomfortable place name in this book. It reminds us: the first thing an occupier changes is often the name.
What to see today
- the British-style station building's exterior: the four-storey office building rebuilt at 80% scale, the main subject of photographs;
- inside the station building: the railway museum's exhibitions, on the history of Chinese railways and Shanghai's railways;
- the old platform and locomotives: the outdoor display area has steam locomotives and other real objects;
- the address 200 Tianmu East Road itself: the Tianmu East Road it stands on was the northern boundary of the concession in those days (the "Boundary Road").
Getting there
- Metro Line 3 / Line 4, Baoshan Road Station;
- buses 13, 63 and 71, getting off at Tianmu East Road / Shanxi North Road.
Nearby, to see in the same trip
- the north bank of Suzhou Creek (the North Suzhou Road area): the old North Station is not far from Suzhou Creek, so you can walk a stretch on the way;
- Sihang Warehouse: walk south along Jinyuan Road and you reach it;
- the old shikumen district of Beizhan sub-district: the Anqing Road and Kangle Road area.
Sources: the station's institutional history follows the Baidu Baike entry "The Shanghai North Railway Station Site", the Shanghai Hotline feature Tales of Old Shanghai and relevant records in the Shanghai local gazetteers (grade C, cross-checked); the opening hours and protection status follow the Baidu Baike entry. The full bibliography is in Appendix 4.