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93-622: From the 1890s to 1905, nearly all railways in China were planned, financed, built and operated by foreign powers pursuant to concessions from the Qing government. To help local economies develop and retain earnings from railways, the Qing government granted the provinces the right to organize their own railway construction ventures. In 1905, Sichuan Province established the Sichuan-Hankou Railway Company. To raise funds for

186-576: A queue in the Manchu style. It was blamed for suppressing Chinese science, causing China to be transformed from the world's premiere power to a poor, backwards nation. The people of the Eight Banners lived off government pensions unlike the general Han civilian population. The rallying slogan of anti-Qing activists was "Fǎn Qīng fù Míng" (simplified Chinese: 反清复明; traditional Chinese: 反清復明; literally: "Oppose Qing and restore Ming "), related to

279-620: A 10 million pound loan, to be repaid by custom duties and salt taxes. The Guangdong-Hankou Railway was a locally backed venture in Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong Province . The nationalization order drew strong opposition across southern China, especially Sichuan, which had the largest public shareholding in the Sichuan-Hankou Railway venture. Investors were unhappy that they would only be partially compensated with government bonds, rather than silver. The amount offered to Sichuan

372-701: A difficult job due to the mountainous terrain. The chief engineer of this railway was Zhan Tianyou , who is known as the Father of China's Railway. During the Republic of China era from 1912 until 1949, the development of the railway network in China slowed due to repeated civil wars and the invasion of Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War . One of the few exceptions was in Northeastern China ( Manchuria ). The Russian Empire opened

465-452: A dilemma when both Nurhaci and the Ming requested support. Gwanghaegun of Joseon tried to maintain neutrality, but most of his officials opposed him for not supporting the Ming, a longstanding ally. In 1623 King Gwanghaegun was deposed and replaced by King Injo (r. 1623–1649), who banished Gwanghaegun's supporters. Reversing his predecessor's foreign policy, the new king decided to support

558-399: A mix of passenger and freight. High-speed trains on passenger dedicated lines can generally reach 300–350 km/h (190–220 mph). On mixed-use HSR lines, passenger train service can attain peak speeds of 200–250 km/h (120–160 mph). This ambitious national grid project was planned to be built by 2020, but the government's stimulus has expedited time-tables considerably for many of

651-514: A mutiny by the New Army. On November 14, Zhao Erfeng released Pu Dianjun from prison and negotiated an agreement to hand over power to a newly established Great Han Military Government of Sichuan. On November 27, Pu Dianjun declared Sichuan's independence from the Qing dynasty. Zhao Erfeng was subsequently accused of fomenting a coup that briefly swept Chengdu in December and was executed by

744-556: A number of high-speed intercity railways have been opened since 2005, and many more are under construction; they may attract an increasing share of short-distance trips. Passenger trains are identified by their class of service (usually indicated by letter prefix for faster trains) followed by three to four numerals indicating the bureau and region of operation. The syllables in bold will be used in broadcasting in train stations, for example, C1234 will be pronounced as cheng -1234. Trains starting with G, C, D are run by CRH EMUs and form

837-483: A population of over 200,000 by rail, and all with a population of over 500,000 by high-speed rail before 2035. As of July 2020, 95% of cities over 1 million have been connected by high-speed rail. Railways in China are defined into three main legal categories: national railways, local railways and designated railways. National railways are managed by the State Council of the national government and account for

930-915: A puppet state called " Manchukuo ", private railways were nationalized and merged to form the Manchukuo National Railway (MNR). In 1935, the Japanese bought the northern portion of the Chinese Eastern Railway from the Soviet Union and merged it into the MNR. In addition to the MNR and SMR, several other railway companies were established in the Japanese-occupied parts of China, including the North China Transportation Company ,

1023-603: A railway along the original Sichuan-Hankou Railway route were eventually brought to fruition a century later as the Shanghai–Wuhan–Chengdu Passenger Dedicated Line , the last section of which opened on July 1, 2012. As late as 1983, over 300 American investors tried, unsuccessfully, to force the government of China to redeem the worthless Hukuang bonds. Rail transport in the People%27s Republic of China Rail transport

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1116-588: A rally against the proposal in Chengdu and organized a series of strikes and boycotts by students and merchants. On September 1, the Sichuan-Hankou Railway Company adopted a shareholders' resolution calling on the Sichuan public to withhold the payment of grain taxes to the Qing government. On September 7, the Governor-General of Sichuan, Zhao Erfeng had Pu Dianjun and other leaders arrested and closed

1209-474: A thousand. The New Army forces were equipped with repeating weapons and artillery. They pushed back the rebel siege of Chengdu. Continued fighting over the next two months required Qing leaders to divert troops from central China to Sichuan. The Qing court also ordered the Governor-General of Hubei and Hunan , Duanfang , to reinforce Sichuan with troops from Hubei. The situation in Hubei and Hunan

1302-664: Is a ministerial-level state company under the State Council. The last railway minister, Sheng Guangzu , became the general manager of the China Railway Corp. He outranks Lu Dongfu, the chief of the National Administration of Railways, who had previously been a deputy railway minister. The China Railway Corporation assumed most of the assets of the Ministry of Railways and continues to manage

1395-513: Is an important mode of long-distance transportation in China . As of 2024, the country had more than 159,000 km (98,798 mi) of railways, the second longest network in the world. By the end of 2023, China had more than 45,000 kilometres (27,962 miles) of high-speed rail (HSR) , the longest HSR network in the world . The railway sector in China is essentially operated by the central government. Almost all rail operations are handled by

1488-548: Is made with the AC 25 kV 50 Hz system. China had the second longest railway network in the world and the longest high-speed rail network , and all provinces and regions are connected by high-speed rail except for Tibet due to its extreme terrain and sparse population. In 2011, the network length was about 91,000 kilometres (56,545 miles), including 41.1% double tracked (37,000 km (22,991 mi)) and 46.6% electrified (42,000 km (26,098 mi)). As of 2014 50.8% of

1581-415: Is primarily used for long-distance trips. This contrasts greatly with countries such as Germany, where the average rail trip is only about 40 km (25 mi) long. The difference may be explained by the near-absence of traditional commuter rail systems (low cost, frequent service, frequent stops) in China; the incipient Beijing Suburban Railway may perhaps be their only specimen in the country. However,

1674-590: Is the world's highest railway bridge . Its bridge deck is 275 metres (902 feet) above the Beipan River in a deep gorge. As of 2008, there were 47,524 railway bridges in use in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan), including 872 major bridges over 500 metres (1,600 feet) in length. As of 2008, there were 6,102 railway tunnels in use in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan), including 183 over 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) and seven over 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) in length. The first railroad tunnel

1767-774: The Bohai Bay . These two ferries began operating, respectively, in 2003 and 2007. A river ferry carries trains on the Xinyi–Changxing railway across the Yangtze River at Jingjiang , halfway between Nanjing and Shanghai. In the first half of the 20th century, all trains traversing the Yangtze River required ferries. Since the completion of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge in 1953, at least fifteen railway bridges and two subway tunnels now span

1860-722: The Boxer Rebellion slogan "Revive the Qing and destroy the foreigners" ("扶清滅洋 fú Qīng miè yáng"). In the broadest sense, an anti-Qing activist was anyone who engaged in anti-Manchu direct action . This included people from many mainstream political movements and uprisings, such as Taiping Rebellion , the Xinhai Revolution , the Revolt of the Three Feudatories , the Revive China Society ,

1953-738: The Central China Railway , and the East Manchuria Railway . In 1945, just after the Second Sino-Japanese War, there were 27,000 km (16,777 mi) of rail, of which nearly half – 13,000 km (8,078 mi) – was located in Manchuria. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the new government under Mao Zedong invested heavily in the railway network. From the 1950s to

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2046-887: The China State Railway Group Company, Limited , a state-owned company created in March 2013 (as China Railway Corporation) after the dissolution of the Ministry of Railways . It was converted into a joint-stock company and placed under the control of the Ministry of Finance in June 2019. China's railways are the busiest in the world . In 2019, railways in China delivered 3.660 billion passenger trips, generating 1,470.66 billion passenger-kilometres and carried 4.389 billion tonnes of freight, generating 3,018 billion cargo tonne-kilometres. Freight traffic turnover has increased more than fivefold over

2139-649: The Chinese Eastern Railway in 1901; after the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), the Japanese gained control of the portion of the Chinese Eastern Railway south of Changchun , using it to create the South Manchuria Railway Company (SMR) in 1906; this company was often referred to as "Japan's East India Company in China" due to its extensive influence in the political and economic situation of Manchuria. During

2232-545: The Dongfeng , was introduced in 1958 and their first production model diesel, the DF4 , was introduced in 1969. However, the early dieselization efforts were slowed by problems with the early DF4s and steam locomotive production continued into the late 1980s. During the 1980s and 90s, diesel and electric locomotives replaced the steam engines on main lines. However, steam locomotives didn't retire from some provincial railways until

2325-657: The Ministry of Railways of the People's Republic of China . In March 2013, the State Council broke up the Railway Ministry into the National Railway Administration to oversee railway regulation and the China Railway Corporation , a state-owned company, to operate the national railways. The National Railway Administration is a sub-ministerial bureau assigned to the Ministry of Transport . The China Railway Corporation

2418-515: The Revolt of the Three Feudatories , with 3,000 Chahar Mongol followers joining in on the revolt. The Qing then crushed the rebels in a battle on April 20, 1675, killing Abunai and all his followers. Their title was abolished, all Chahar Mongol royal males were executed even if they were born to Manchu Qing princesses, and all Chahar Mongol royal females were sold into slavery except the Manchu Qing princesses. The Chahar Mongols were then put under

2511-782: The Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan high-speed railway in northern China. Several longer tunnels are under construction. The most notable train ferries in China are the Guangdong–Hainan Ferry , across the Qiongzhou Strait between the Leizhou Peninsula on the south coast of Guangdong and the island of Hainan , and the Bohai Train Ferry , connecting the Liaodong and Shandong Peninsulas across

2604-699: The Tongmenghui , the Panthay Rebellion , White Lotus Rebellion , and others. Hui Muslim Ming loyalists under Mi Layin and Ding Guodong fought against the Qing to restore a Ming prince to the throne from 1646 to 1650. When the Qing dynasty conquered the capital of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) in 1644, Muslim Ming loyalists in Gansu led by Muslim leaders Milayin and Ding Guodong led a revolt in 1646 against

2697-605: The United States , agreed with the Qing government to finance the construction of railways in central China . On May 9, Sheng Xuanhuai , Minister of Posts and Communications, ordered the nationalization of all locally controlled railway projects and on May 20, signed a loan agreement with the China Consortium pledging the rights to operate the Sichuan-Hankou and Hankou-Guangdong Railway in exchange for

2790-654: The Wuchang Uprising , when the victorious Wuchang revolutionaries telegraphed the other provinces asking them to declare their independence, and 15 provinces in Southern China and Central China did so. Xinhai revolutionaries launched mass massacres against the Manchus across Chinese cities. These notorious massacres of Manchus include which happened in Wuhan where some 10,000 Manchus were slaughtered and

2883-708: The Yellow River in T'sang-chou and massacred about 10,000 Manchus. In Shaoxing 2,000 Manchus were also killed. When news reached their ears that the Taipings succeeded in conquered Nanjing, the anti-Manchu Cantonese in the Pearl River Delta saw this as an opportunity and possibility of overthrowing the Manchus to restore Han rule over China, and began the Red Turban Rebellion (1854–1856) . These rebels were called 'Red Turbans' because of

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2976-718: The Yongzheng Emperor but were crushed and defeated. The Oirat Mongol Dzungars in the Dzungar Khanate offered outright resistance and war against the Qing for decades until the Qing annihilated the Dzungars in the Dzungar genocide . Khalkha Mongol rebels under Prince Chingünjav had plotted with the Dzungar leader Amursana and led a rebellion against the Qing at the same time as the Dzungars. The Qing crushed

3069-599: The karst landscape between Wuhan and Chongqing , has 159 tunnels and 253 bridges, which account for 74% of the railway's total length. High-speed rail lines are often built on elevated tracks to reduce the need to acquire land and involve very long bridges. The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway has three of the longest railroad bridges in the world with lengths of 164.8 kilometres (102.4 miles), 113.7 kilometres (70.6 miles) and 48.15 kilometres (29.92 miles). The Beipan River Shuibai Railway Bridge built in 2003 in Guizhou

3162-531: The 1,238 km railway from Chengdu to Wuhan , the company sold shares to the public and the provincial government levied a special 3% tax on harvests paid by land owners, who were also given share certificates. In one way or another, much of the Sichuan gentry and merchant class became shareholders of the railway venture. By 1911, the company had raised 11,983,305 taels of silver of which 9,288,428 or 77.5% came from tax levies, 2,458,147 taels from public investments and 236,730 taels from government. The company

3255-405: The 12th Five-Year Plan period, respectively. Driven by need to increase freight capacity, the railway network has expanded with the country budgeting $ 130.4 billion for railway investment in 2014, and has a long-term plan to expand the network to 274,000 km (170,000 mi) by 2050. China built 9,000 km of new railway in 2015. The first recorded railway track to be laid in China

3348-564: The 21st century. In December 2005, the world's last regular revenue mainline steam train finished its journey on the Jitong railway , marking the end of the steam era. Nevertheless, there are still some steam locomotives used in the industrial railways in China. Rail in China expanded greatly beginning in 1965 with the Third Front campaign to develop basic industry and national defense industry in China's rugged interior in case of invasion by

3441-536: The 70s, lines, especially those in western China, were expanded. One example is the 1,900 km (1,181 mi) railway from Lanzhou to Ürümqi , which was built between 1952 and 1962. In Southwestern China, where difficult terrain prevails, several mountain railways were constructed, such as the Baoji–Chengdu railway , built in the 1950s, and the Chengkun railway , built in the 1970s. The railway to Tibet , one of

3534-681: The Inner Mongols, the Outer Khalkha Mongols , and the Eastern Oirat Mongols . The Inner Mongolian Chahar Khan Ligdan Khan , a descendant of Genghis Khan, opposed and fought against the Qing until he died of smallpox in 1634. Thereafter, the Inner Mongols under his son Ejei Khan surrendered to the Qing in 1636 and was given the title of Prince (Qin Wang, 親王), and Inner Mongolian nobility became closely tied to

3627-535: The Ming and instead to become a tributary of the Manchus. However, popular opposition to the Manchus remained in Korea. Joseon continued to use the Ming calendar rather than the Qing calendar, and Koreans continued to wear Ming-style clothing and hairstyles, rather than the Manchu queue . After the fall of the Ming dynasty, Joseon Koreans saw themselves as continuing the traditions of Neo-Confucianism . The Mongols under Qing rule were divided into three primary groups –

3720-421: The Ming openly, but a rebellion led by military commander Yi Gwal erupted in 1624 and wrecked Joseon's military defenses in the north. Even after the rebellion had been suppressed, King Injo had to devote military forces to ensure the stability of the capital, leaving fewer soldiers to defend the northern borders. The Manchus invaded Korea twice, in 1627 and 1636, eventually forcing Joseon to sever its ties with

3813-440: The Qing and prepared to attack the anti-Qing revolutionaries of Xi'an city. Only a few wealthy Manchus were held for ransom and some Manchu females survived. Wealthy Han Chinese seized Manchu girls to become their slaves and poor Han Chinese troops seized young Manchu women to be their wives. Young Manchu girls were also seized by Hui Muslims of Xi'an during the massacre and brought up as Muslims. On 29 December 1911, Sun Yat-Sen

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3906-484: The Qing and were given ranks as members of the Qing military. When other Ming loyalists in southern China made a resurgence and the Qing were forced to withdraw their forces from Gansu to fight them, Milayan and Ding once again took up arms and rebelled against the Qing. The Muslim Ming loyalists were then crushed by the Qing with 100,000 of them, including Milayin, Ding Guodong, and Turumtay killed in battle. The Confucian Hui Muslim scholar Ma Zhu (1640–1710) served with

3999-472: The Qing during the Milayin rebellion in order to drive the Qing out and restore the Ming Prince of Yanchang Zhu Shichuan to the throne as the emperor. The Muslim Ming loyalists were supported by Hami's Sultan Sa'id Baba and his son Prince Turumtay. The Muslim Ming loyalists were joined by Tibetans and Han Chinese in the revolt. After fierce fighting, and negotiations, a peace agreement was agreed on in 1649, and Milayan and Ding nominally pledged allegiance to

4092-502: The Qing government removed Zhao Erfeng from the governorship and offered full compensation to investors. But armed groups numbering as many as over a hundred thousand were overwhelming government authorities in Sichuan. Gelaohui militants were the majority of armed combatants against Qing soldiers and Sichuan government militias. In one of Xinhai Revolution 's first major battles, Zhao's modernized New Army soldiers opened fire from Chengdu's gates onto Gelaohui fighters, killing more than

4185-399: The Qing royal family and intermarried with them extensively. Ejei Khan died in 1661 and was succeeded by his brother Abunai. After Abunai showed disaffection with Manchu Qing rule, he was placed under house arrested in 1669 in Shenyang and the Kangxi Emperor gave his title to his son Borni. Abunai then bid his time and then he and his brother Lubuzung revolted against the Qing in 1675 during

4278-416: The Qing, calling for Han to join the Hui to overthrow the Manchu Qing after 200 years of their rule. Du invited the fellow Hui Muslim leader Ma Rulong to join him in driving the Manchu Qing out and "recover China". For his war against Manchu "oppression", Du "became a Muslim hero", while Ma Rulong defected to the Qing. On multiple occasions Kunming was attacked and sacked by Du Wenxiu's forces. His capital

4371-487: The Sichuan people. In all places, friends, arise, save and protect your land! Bloodshed further inflamed the protests. Underground anti-Qing groups including the Tongmenghui and Gelaohui initiated armed clashes with Qing troops in and around Chengdu. On September 15, Wang Tianjie, head of the Gelaohui in Rong County south of Chengdu organized the Comrades' Army and led 800 followers to march on Chengdu, vowing to topple Zhao Erfeng. As tensions escalated in Sichuan,

4464-410: The Soviet Union or the United States. The primary achievement of railroad construction during the Third Front construction was the building of ten new interprovincial lines. Building the Chengdu-Kunming and the Guiyang-Kunming lines linked all southwest provincial capitals using rail for the first time. The Xiangfan-Chongqing and Hunan-Guizhou connected the central and western provinces by rail for

4557-446: The Taiping launched a massive genocide campaign against the Manchus to exterminate their entire race. In every area they captured, the Taiping immediately rushed into the Manchu fort in order to kill all the Manchus. One Qing loyalist observed in the province of Hunan of the genocidal massacres committed by Taiping forces against the Manchus and wrote of the "pitiful Manchus", the Manchu men, women and children who were exterminated by

4650-433: The Taiping with their swords. Once Hefei capitulated, the Taiping forces rushed into the Manchu quarter shouting "Kill the demons (Manchus)!" while exterminating all the Manchus living there. Nanking's entire Manchu population was also annihilated. After conquering Nanjing, Taiping forces stormed the Manchu fort, killing some 40,000 Manchus, which was the city's entire population of Manchus. On 27 October 1853 they crossed

4743-448: The Yangtze . High-speed rail in China refers to any train service (generally passenger only) with average train speeds above 200 kilometres per hour (120 mph). High-speed service on China Railway High-speed (CRH) train sets was officially introduced in 2007. These trains run on upgraded conventional lines as well as passenger dedicated high-speed track that can permit speeds of up to 350 kilometres per hour (220 mph). China has

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4836-403: The adoption of conventional tracks for high-speed rail, planning authorities also experimented with maglev technology . The Shanghai maglev train built in 2004 remains the fastest train in the country with peak speeds of 431 kilometres per hour (268 mph). The train makes the 30.5 kilometres (19.0 mi) trip from the Pudong Airport to the city in less than 7.5 minutes. Rail is one of

4929-411: The army units sympathetic to the revolutionaries. Nonetheless, the diversion of Qing troops from central China to fight in Sichuan was a major reason why the Wuchang Uprising , which began on October 10, 1911, was successful. After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, uprisings and clashes in Sichuan between loyalists and revolutionaries continued into November. Duanfang was killed by Liu Yifeng after

5022-449: The arterial railways. In March 2013, the Ministry of Railways was dissolved and its safety and regulation duties were taken up by the Ministry of Transport , inspection duties by the State Railway Administration and construction and management by the China Railway Corporation (CR). In 2020, China Railway announced plans to expand the railway network by 33% or about 95,000 kilometres (59,030 mi), aiming to connect all cities with

5115-452: The bulk of railways in China. Local railways, which are operated by provincial or municipal governments, totaled a mere 40,000 km (24,855 mi) in 2013, less than 4% of the national total. Designated railways are operated by enterprises such as mines and steel mills. Since the 1980s, the national and local governments have jointly funded railway construction, sometimes using private capital. Joint stock railways constituted about 32% of

5208-436: The capital Beijing. By 1911, there were about 9,000 km (5,592 mi) of railroads in China, mostly designed, built, owned and operated by foreign companies. This was still well behind the industrialized world, the United States had roughly 380,000 km (236,121 mi) of rail at the time. The first indigenous-designed and -constructed railway by Chinese was the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway built from 1905 to 1909,

5301-523: The company. Enraged protesters then marched on the Governor-General's office in Chengdu demanding Pu's release. In what became known as the Bloody Chengdu Incident, Zhao ordered troops to open fire and dozens of protesters were killed. In Chengdu there were 32 deaths. Authorities closed the Chengdu city gates and had them heavily guarded. Protestors created "water telegrams" by carving a message on to oiled boards, which were smuggled out and floated downriver: Butcher Zhao arrested Pu and Luo, Then massacred

5394-405: The direct control of the Qing Emperor unlike the other Inner Mongol leagues which maintained their autonomy. The Khalkha Mongols were more reluctant to come under Qing rule, only submitting to the Kangxi Emperor after they came under an invasion from the Dzungar Khanate under its leader Galdan . While the Oirat Khoshut Upper Mongols in Qinghai rebelled against the Qing during the reign of

5487-454: The end of 2004, railways in operation reached 74,200 km (46,106 mi), including 24,100 km (14,975 mi) of multiple track and 18,900 km (11,744 mi) of electrified railways. Since 1997, train speed has been raised significantly six times. The top speed of express trains increased from 120 to 200 km/h (75 to 124 mph), and passenger trains can reach maximum speed of 350 km/h (220 mph) on some sections of

5580-467: The existing railway network. This grid is composed of eight high-speed rail corridors, four verticals and four horizontals with a total length of 12,000 km (7,456 mi). Most of the new lines follow the routes of existing trunk lines and are designated for passenger travel only. Several sections of the national grid, especially along the southeast coastal corridor, were built to link cities that had no previous rail connections. Those sections will carry

5673-420: The first time. The additional rail built during this period greatly decreased travel time in the country's interior. From 1990 to 2001, on average some 1,092 km (679 mi) of new railways, 837 km (520 mi) of multiple-track, and 962 km (598 mi) of electrified railways were opened to traffic annually, 2.4-fold, 1.7-fold and 1.8-fold increases respectively over the previous 10 years. At

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5766-508: The front or end of the train. The following types of cars are found on traditional, non-high-speed trains: Anti-Qing sentiment Anti-Qing sentiment ( Chinese : 反清 ; pinyin : fǎn Qīng ) refers to a sentiment principally held in China against the rule of the Manchu -led Qing dynasty (1644–1912), which was criticized by opponents as being "barbaric". The Qing was accused of destroying traditional Han culture by enforcing policies such as forcing Han to wear their hair in

5859-528: The high-/higher-speed network in China, while other trains are locomotive-hauled conventional trains. Regular services stopping at all stations remain mostly limited to remote areas lacking high-speed services, including many ethnic minority regions, and are heavily subsidized. The newer high-speed train service (Classes G, C and D) that use electrical multiple units have the following types of cars: Most high-speed trains have dining cars (CA). Some have sight-seeing cars (ZYG, ZEG, SWG) that are attached to

5952-414: The highest in the world, was finally completed and opened to the public in 2006. Today, every province-level entity of China, with the exception of Macau , is connected to the railway network. Not only has the Chinese railway network expanded in size since 1949, but it has also seen great technological advances. Before the 1980s, most of the railways were powered by steam. China's first diesel locomotive ,

6045-403: The lines were still unbuilt. At that time, the existing mainlines accounted 43% of the railroads in the country but carried 80% of the passengers. The last of the vertical mainlines was completed in 2009 and the last horizontal line opened in 2010. Eight Verticals Eight Horizontals In the past decade, China has been building an extensive high-speed rail grid that is overlaid onto

6138-1167: The lines.   Completed lines   Partially completed lines. Railway stations in China are classified into six classes: special, first, second, third, fourth and fifth. A special class station can handle at least 60,000 passengers and 20,000 pieces of baggage, load at least 750 freight carriages or assign at least 6,500 carriages per day. A first class station can handle at least 15,000 passengers and 1,500 pieces of baggage, load 350 carriages or assign 3,000 carriages per day. A second class station can handle at least 5,000 passengers and 500 pieces of baggage, load 200 carriages or assign 1,500 carriages per day. In 2008, there were 5,470 train stations, including 50 special class stations, 236 first-class stations, 362 second-class stations and 936 third-class stations. The rail network across China's diverse topography makes extensive use of bridges and tunnels. In recent years, advances in bridge-building and tunneling techniques have enabled Chinese railroad builders to reduce overall track length and increase train speeds on rail lines through rugged terrain. The Yichang–Wanzhou railway , built from 2003 to 2010 across

6231-493: The massacre of some 20,000 Manchus in Xi'an . The Hui Muslim community was divided in its support for the 1911 Xinhai Revolution . The Hui Muslims of Shaanxi supported the revolutionaries and the Hui Muslims of Gansu supported the Qing. The native Hui Muslims (Mohammedans) of Xi'an (Shaanxi province) joined the Han Chinese revolutionaries in slaughtering the entire 20,000 Manchu population of Xi'an. The native Hui Muslims of Gansu province led by general Ma Anliang sided with

6324-462: The national network in 2013. The Luoding Railway in Guangdong, built as a joint-stock railway with investments from the local and national governments in 2001, was gradually privatized and is one of the few privately owned passenger railways. China's railway sector is essentially operated by the central government. For over fifty years, except for a brief interlude during the Cultural Revolution , all national railways were operated and regulated by

6417-502: The period 1980–2013 and passenger traffic turnover has increased more than sevenfold over the same period. During the five years 2016–2020, China's railway network handled 14.9 billion passenger trips, 9 billion of which were completed by bullet trains, the remaining 5.9 billion by conventional rail. The three figures surged 41 percent (from 10.6 to 14.9 billion), 152 percent (from 3.6 to 9 billion) and decreased 16 percent (from 7 to 5.9 billion) from those during

6510-479: The principal means of passenger transport in China. In 2014, railways delivered 2.357 billion passenger trips and generated 1,160.48 billion passenger-km, compared to 1.456 billion trips and 772.8 billion passenger-km in 2008. The sharp increase in the number of train trips taken is driven by the rapid growth of high-speed rail service. Average trip distance declined slightly from 530 to 503 km (329 to 313 mi), which shows that train travel

6603-422: The public mood in both provinces began to radicalize: "[T]he general belief that the Manchu dynasty was coming to an end ... was slowly transformed into a wish that the dynasty would fall." In turn, the mobilization of New Army troops from Hubei forced underground revolutionary groups there to expedite their planned uprising. The diversion of New Army troops weakened defenses in Wuhan but also took away some of

6696-520: The railroad was double-tracked (57,000 kilometres (35,418 miles)) and 58.3% was electrified (65,000 kilometres (40,389 miles)). The railway network's density was 116.48 km per 10,000 km . Sixteen major rail corridors consisting of eight running north–south, called verticals , eight running east–west, called horizontals , connect 81 major cities. The 16 mainlines were designated in January 2001, when some 3,980 kilometres (2,470 mi) of

6789-646: The railways at three levels—the national level, the bureau or subsidiary company level, and the station level. Below are the 18 rail bureaus of the China Rail Corporation and the number of passenger stations each bureau managed in 2013. The National Railway Administration has seven oversight bureaus, based in Shenyang, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Xi'an and Lanzhou, to oversee these China Railway bureaus. In 2013, railway transport generated ¥605 billion in revenues, an increase of 14.1% from

6882-526: The railways consumed 16.526 million tonnes of coal equivalent of energy, a decrease of 4.6% or 801,000 tonnes from 2013. It took 4.51 tonnes of coal equivalent to transport one million tonne-km of freight. As of 2019, the length of railways in China totaled 139,000 km (86,371 mi), including 59% double tracked (83,000 km (51,574 mi)) and 71.9% electrified (100,000 km (62,137 mi)), and 35,000 kilometres (21,748 miles) of high-speed rail (HSR) network. Railway electrification

6975-916: The rebellion and executed Chingünjav and his entire family. During the Xinhai Revolution, the Outer Khalkha Mongols staged an uprising against the Qing and expelled the Manchu Ambans . Hong Xiuquan (洪秀全, Hóng Xiùquán) was a Hakka Chinese who was the leader of the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864) against the Qing dynasty. He proclaimed himself to be the Heavenly King , established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and called Jesus Christ his brother. Driven by their fierce hatred of Manchus,

7068-528: The red headscarves they wore. The Red Turban Rebellion was initially quite successful as the rebels gained control of a considerable amount of territory. In July 1854, Foshan was occupied by the rebel. In a desperate attempt to the eradicate any facilities which may support the Red Turbans, the Qing forces burnt the northern suburbs in Guangzhou to prevent it from sheltering the rebels. The rebellion

7161-636: The reign of the Fengtian warlords from 1912 till 1931, numerous privately owned railway companies were formed. Some of the railway investment in the late 1930s was financed by the China Development Finance Corporation associated with businessman and statesman T. V. Soong . After the Japanese staged the Mukden Incident on 18 September 1931 as a pretext for invading Manchuria and the subsequent establishment of

7254-612: The revolutionaries on December 28. Ironically, the Sichuan–Hankou Railway, the underlying cause of all this trouble, remained unbuilt for decades due to political turmoil, warfare, inadequate funding, and extremely difficult terrain. The Chengdu–Chongqing Railway , built in 1955, and the Xiangyang–Chongqing Railway , completed in 1979, eventually connected Chengdu and Wuhan, but the journey takes an indirect path through Shaanxi Province . The long-dormant plans for

7347-475: The rights to those ventures to foreigners, the government could raise money to pay debts owed to Great Britain , Germany, France and the United States . In early May 1911, lenders of the so-called China Consortium including Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) of Britain , Deutsch-Asiatische Bank of Germany , Banque de l'Indochine of France , and J.P. Morgan & Co. , Kuhn, Loeb & Co. and First National City Bank of New York (CitiBank) of

7440-479: The route of the planned railway and only about 10 miles of track had been laid by 1911. Meanwhile, the Qing government, impatient with the progress of locally funded railway projects, returned to foreign lenders. At the time, the Qing authorities were under the financial pressure of having to pay back huge debts under the terms of the Boxer Protocol . By nationalizing the local rail ventures and then selling

7533-549: The southern Ming loyalists against the Qing. The Ming loyalist general Zheng Chenggong , better known by his title Koxinga, led a military movement to oppose the Qing dynasty from 1646 to 1662. He established the Kingdom of Tungning on the island of Taiwan . Joseon Korea operated within the Ming tributary system and had a strong alliance with the Ming during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98) . This put Joseon in

7626-459: The world's longest high-speed railway. In the decade prior to the introduction of high-speed rail, the travel speed of conventional trains was raised on most of the mainlines. By 2007, the top speed for passenger trains reached 200 kilometres per hour (120 mph) on main lines such as the Jinghu railway , Jingha railway , and Jingguang railway . Heavy-haul freight transportation speed limit

7719-444: The year before. To meet growing demand for rail service, the state is making large investments in rolling stock and infrastructure. In 2013, investments in rail totaled ¥808.8 billion, of which ¥662.3 billion on rail infrastructure, and ¥146.5 billion on rolling stock . The railways employed 2,184,400 workers in 2013, an increase of 139,000 from the year before. Worker output averaged ¥482,600 per person. In 2014,

7812-525: Was sworn in as the first president of China. The Republic of China was proclaimed on 1 January 1912, and on 12 February 1912, the emperor of China, 6-year-old Puyi , and Empress Dowager Longyu signed an edict of abdication, ending 268 years of Qing rule and almost 2,000 years of dynastic rule in China. Incentives for Manchu nobles were discontinued by the government in 1924. Texts which contained anti-Manchu content were banned by President Yuan Shikai during Republican rule. However, anti-Manchu sentiment

7905-400: Was Dali. The revolt ended in 1873. Du Wenxiu is regarded as a hero by the present day government of China. Tibetan Buddhist Lamas rebelled against the Qing at Batang during the 1905 Tibetan Rebellion , assassinating the Manchu leader Fengquan, and also killing French Catholic missionaries and Tibetan converts to Catholicism. The Xinhai Revolution of 1911 was catalysed by the triumph of

7998-554: Was a 600-metre (1,969 ft)-long miniature gauge demonstration line that a British merchant assembled outside the Xuanwumen city gate at Beijing in 1865 to demonstrate rail technology. The Qing government was uninterested and had the line dismantled. The first railroad to enter commercial service was the Woosung railway , a 14.5 km railway from Shanghai to Woosung (modern Shanghai's Baoshan District ) which opened in 1876. It

8091-534: Was also boosted to 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph). This speed enhancement was expected to boost passenger and cargo capacity by 18 percent and 12 percent, respectively. Some of the newly built high-speed passenger dedicated lines such as the Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway and Wuhan–Guangzhou high-speed railway had top speeds of 350 kilometres per hour (220 mph). Top train speeds were lowered to 300 kilometres per hour (190 mph) in 2011. Prior to

8184-554: Was beset by corruption and mismanagement by government-appointed administrators, and construction efforts made little progress. In 1907, the company management was replaced by a board of trustees consisting of gentry, merchants and retired officials. In 1909, Zhan Tianyou , the Yale -educated builder of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway , was hired as chief engineer. But the board remained divided by squabbles over

8277-519: Was built in 1888 by the Qing dynasty in Taiwan . The Shi-chiu-lin Tunnel near Keelung, 261 metres (856 feet) long, is now a historical landmark. The oldest rail tunnel on the mainland is the 3,077.2 metres (10,096 feet) Greater Khingan Rail Ridge built in 1904 on the Chinese Eastern Railway in modern-day Inner Mongolia. The longest tunnel in China is the 27,848 metres (91,365 feet) Taihangshan Tunnel on

8370-526: Was built with investment from Jardine Matheson . In October 1876, the Qing bought the railway and demolished it the next year for a number of reasons (including that there had been a fatality on the track). Until the defeat of China in the First Sino-Japanese War , the government remained hostile toward railway construction. Beginning in 1895, the government began to grant rail concessions to foreigners, and permitted direct connection to

8463-564: Was much lower than all other provinces. Pu Dianjun and other influential members of the Sichuan Provincial Assembly organized the Railway Protection League on June 17, and made public speeches against the plan, which was widely regarded as a seizure of valuable economic assets by the Manchu court and conversion of local property to foreign control. On August 11–13, more than 10,000 protesters held

8556-420: Was slightly different; elites in those provinces were not as outraged as elites in Sichuan over the nationalization of the provincial railways. The press together with radical students in both provinces reproached local elites for their perceived passivity and servility, and compared them unfavorably to the protesters in Sichuan. As Joseph Esherick has explained, it was in this atmosphere of heated rhetoric that

8649-404: Was ultimately defeated in 1856, which was followed by the mass execution of suspected sympathisers and participants of the rebellion. The Panthay Rebellion leader Du Wenxiu declared his intention of overthrowing the Qing and driving the Manchus out of China. The rebellion started after massacres of Hui perpetrated by the Manchu authorities. Du used anti-Manchu rhetoric in his rebellion against

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