Friday, October 17, 2008

Hangzhou Railway Station

Hangzhou Railway Station is located in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. It is affiliated to Shanghai Railway Bureau, and is also the terminal of Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway. The station is ranked first-class.

History




The station was built in 1906 as a stop along Jiang-Shu railway, and then was called "Qing Tai Men Station". It was openned on 23 August 1907 as the railway was put into use. Because the station was hundreds of meters away from Hangzhou City at that time, the residents inside the city felt very inconvenient. Thus, Ma Yifu, a scholar returning from America, suggested the station move into the city. The building of the in-town station started in 1909 and completed in 1910. In 1937, Sino-Japanese War began. The station were bombarded twice in October by Japanese, and Hangzhou was occupied on 24 December. During Japanese occupation in Hangzhou, the station was rebuilt from 26 March 1941 to 21 March 1942, and its appearance resembled the style in Japan's Nara period.

As the passenger load continuously grew, the station's capacity could hardly cope with the future demands. Therefore, the old station was pulled down in 1997, and the new station was erected in 1999, and put into use on 28 December.

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