This Map depicts North ChaoYang District focusing on the 2008 Olympic Green (or Olympic Park) in the recently transformed North section of ChaoYang District. Included in the map are large parts of Haidian District in the West (Left), a small part of Changping District in the North, and minor parts of Dongcheng District and Xicheng District in the South.
Browse the Map and follow the Links to more information and Photos!
As can be gained from the available information guide posts, the multitude of parked trains is subdivided by functions and by era and age of the train. On the far end of the hall stand the oldest and most monumental trains. In front and on the opposite side of the Hall stand the more modern diesel, diesel-electric and fully electric trains.
The section G1 and G2 contain the oldest rolling stock of the modern Chinese Railways as they were established after the Revolution in 1949 AD. In addition to a flock of old steam locomotives these sections also inlcude other items of rolling stock on display. Most noteably these are the railway carriages of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and some 1950's railway Minister. Other items include freight cars, flat cars and braking cars.
None of the most modern train equipment in use today is on display in the China Railway Museum of Chaoyang District, however for more information on these one can refer to the China Railway Museum exhibition at Qianmen (Old) Station, which is situated in the center of the city at the south end of Tiananmen Square.
The Class Dongfeng (East Wind) Diesel Locomotive has also become known as the Mao Zedong Train type 2, as models of this series also were in use by Mao Zedong during the later stages of his life as a leader of the Peoples Republic of China. A later type Electric Train locomotive became the so far third and last Mao Zedong Train type.
The steam locomotives of the trains of Mao Zedong and General Zhu De are the star items of the entire exhibition. They are parked in the G1 section of the exhibition hall.
The now seemingly absurdly small Class Zero type steam engine was originally made in Britain in the year 1881 AD and so was an imported technology. The train measures only 4.75 meters in length, yet weighs a solid 18 tons. It's axle settings are 0-2-0.
The Class Zero steam engine was used at the first ever constructed Chinese railroad, which
was the Taishan to Xugezhuang Railway. Although now long forgotten and certainly not a line of importance today, this was a historic feat and an important step in the modernization and industrialization of what was then a throughly agricultural society.
The locomotive was designed to go at a speed of around 20 kilomters an hour and was in use in the mining industries near the city of Tangshan in nearby east Hebei Province until the end of the Mao Zedong Era when it was crushed in the 1976 Tangshan Earthquake which preceeded Mao's death by only weeks. As a historic relic, it was later rescued by workers of the cultural section of the Chinese Railways and was taken into the collection of the China Railway Museum in the year 1979. It has been in the collection of the museum since and it is the oldest steam train in China today.
Other early model steam trains stand nearby the Model Zero.
The Class 0 (zero) steam engine became the first ever steam locomotive to be operational in China. Built in Britain in 1881 AD and transported across the oceans it served on the first ever railway line in China, and industrial line near Tangshan.
The Class Gongjian Steam Engine No.1019 is a type of steam engine that was constructed at the steam locomotive works in Taiyuan, the Capital of neighboring Shanxi Province. This specific train was constructed in the year 1959 AD in Taiyuan during the hopeful years of the ∢Great Leap Forward∢.
The Gongjian steam engine's measure 9.73 meters in length, with an axle arrangement of 0-3-0. The design speed is around about 35 kilometers and the engine can generate some 14thousand plus kilograms in traction (pulling) power. As with most original trains in China, the engine was mostly is use for industrial purposes, hauling freights at factories and mining operations or shunting freights around.
Over the history of its production until discontinuation in the frightful year 1961, when a massive famine had cast its shadow over China and the economy had run into the ground, a total of 122 units of the Gongjian steam engine were delivered.
The no. 1019 engine was in service in the coal mining city of Datong in the far north of neighboring Shanxi Province from where it was collected in the year 1993 when the Datong mines abandoned the operation of steam engines altogether. Ever since it has been part of the collection of the China Railway Museum.
The Class Jiefang steam engine is also known under the Japanese name Mikado. The No. 1191 locomotive here on display was originally constructed in Japan in 1941 AD. From there it was imported to serve in on the railroads in China.
The steam engines have a length of 21.9 meters, an axle arrangement of 1-4-1 and a traction capacity of 24 thousand kilo's.
After 1946 AD, when the Communist Revolution targeted the north eastern provinces of Manchuria, this steam engine was located in the city of Harbin (Haerbin), now the Capital of Heilongjiang Province. The accompanying explanation tells that when Chairman Mao's call came "to liberate the whole of China" from oppression by the Kuomintang nationalists, the industrial workers in Harbin set to work on the repair of abandoned steam engines, reservicing them and liberating them for the service of the workers and the Communist Party of China. Thus, the train was repaired and not much later on October 30th of that year, the No. 1191 locomotive was renamed "Zhu De" in honor of the Great General who had largely been responsible for leading the liberation of Manchuria (or so it was said). The Zhu De Class steam engines were all taken out of service in the year 1977 when they were replaced by a new class of diesel engine. The 1191 engine was collected from the Harbin Railway Depot under the responsibility of the Harbin Railway Bureau in the year 1986 and transfered to the collection of the China Railway Museum.
The Class Gongjian Steam Engine No.1019 is a type of steam engine that was constructed at the steam locomotive works in Taiyuan, the Capital of neighboring Shanxi Province. This specific train was constructed in the year 1959 AD in Taiyuan during the hopeful years of the "Great Leap Forward".
The Gongjian steam engine's measure 9.73 meters in length, with an axle arrangement of 0-3-0. The design speed is around about 35 kilometers and the engine can generate some 14thousand plus kilograms in traction (pulling) power. As with most original trains in China, the engine was mostly is use for industrial purposes, hauling freights at factories and mining operations or shunting freights around.
Over the history of its production until discontinuation in the frightful year 1961, when a massive famine had cast its shadow over China and the economy had run into the ground, a total of 122 units of the Gongjian steam engine were delivered.
The no. 1019 engine was in service in the coal mining city of Datong in the far north of neighboring Shanxi Province from where it was collected in the year 1993 when the Datong mines abandoned the operation of steam engines altogether. Ever since it has been part of the collection of the China Railway Museum.
The Shengli Class Steam Engine No.601 is another Chinese built locomotive produced in the Sifang locomotive and rolling stock works based in Qingdao in nearby Shandong Province. This famous train builder in China started their business in the year 1900 AD when the city was still under the control of German Colonial Forces. As such, it is one of the oldest such factories in China. Today it is this factory that in cooperation with Bombardier of Canada is the producer of the trains and high quality coaches that are part of the high speed railway system now stretching across China.
The engine seen on display at the museum, No. 601 was produced in the year 1956 and became the first and most generally used steam locomotive in passenger transport around the Peoples Republic of China.
The locomotive is 22.62 meters long, with a designed speed of around 110 kilometers per hour and an axle arrangement 2-3-1. It can generate 16 thousand 880 kilograms in traction.
In total a 151 steam locomotives of the Shengli Class were delivered to the China Railways before production was seized in 1959. This particular train, the No. 601 came from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region were it was in depot in the capital of Hohhot. It became part of the collection of the China Railway Museum in 1988.
The Mao Zedong Train is pulled by a Class Dongfeng ...
The Shengli Class Steam Engine No.601 is a Chinese built steam engine. Built in the Sifang locomotive and rolling stock works of Qingdao in the year 1952 it was reversed engineered and based upon earlier steam engines among which a few Japanese and British engines.
The Jiefang engine has special significance for the elder generation of Chinese as it was the first main steam locomotive in use on the main freight lines which were being built around the nation at that time.
The steam engine measures 21.90 meters in length, with a designed speed of around 80 kilomters per hour, an axle setting of 1-4-1. It can generate 24 thousand and 30 kilo's of traction. This particular engine was collected from the Zhangjiakou Railway Depot, at Zhangjiakou, the Capital of Hebei Province due south west of Beijing.
The Shengli, the first and foremost passenger train steam locomotive in early revolutionary China. It was replaced in 1959 by better, more powerful engines.
A last section of the exhibition is reserved for photos of the Jingshi Railway taken in the year 1917 AD and now famous and rare.
Jingshi is the old name for Beijing before it became the Capital of China in the year 1420 AD of the Yongle Reign of the Ming Dynasty. Thus, the first Beijing Railway was named Jingshi Railway. This was a loop line built on the wasteland found between the (outdated) city walls and the surrounding moat which so encircled the old walled city of Beijing.
Construction of this historic railway began in June of the year 1915 AD and became operational the next year in Januari 1916 AD. The entire work was completed by August 1916.
The opening of the first railway line to surround the city and connect the gates was a giant improvement of the passenger transportation options in and around the city and so became the first basis of the almost Province wide train and subway network that covers the city and city Province of Beijing today. In addition it greatly helped facilitate transportation of freight between the coast and the inland capital, as well as the cities and regions in the hinterland beyond.
The original Jingshi Railway, the Beijing Loop Line, had a length of but 12.6 kilometers and had stations at every city gate found along its length. Starting at Xizhimen, today the
The row of high class railway carriages on display in the main hall of the China Railway Museum in Chaoyang. The yellow carriage SY 97334 used to be the one made available to the railway minister, the other two carriages designated GW 97336 and XXXX which otherwise look fairly ordinary on the outside (Photo: December 2013).
In more modern times the old steam engine of the Mao Zedong Train was replaced by a Class Dongfeng 2 Diesel engine. Yet later these were replaced by the Dongfeng (or Mao Zedong) 3 diesel electric trains. Of both of these an example can be seen on display.
Photo wall commemorating the Jingshi Railway of Beijing, the first circular railroad to service the city built in th years 1915/1916 AD.
location of Beijing North Station and transpirtation hub, the line led eastward and clockwise around the city to pass outside of Deshengmen Gate, Andingmen Gate and so on. Turning south from Dongzhimen, as does the subway-metro system under the ground does today, it led down to Chaoyangmen, Jianguomen and then the Dongbianmen or south-east corner watchtower near the connection with the Grand Canal. Several kilometers due west of the Dongbianmen, on the south side of the city, the line interconnected with the so called Beijing-Fengtian Railway at the Shenyangmen East Station (also known as Qianmen Station) or Front Gate which was then the southern and central point of the city. Today this trajectory corresponds to the route followed by the 2nd ring road and the subway system underneath it.
Apart from servicing all gates for passnger transport, this simple system also effectively connected the three important existing stations that were built on the edges of the old city. These were the station of the Beijing-Suiyuan Railway, the connection station with the Beijing-Hankou Railway and of course the already mention Shenyangmen East Station of the Beijing-Fengtian Railway.
In addition to the circular line there was an additional parallel line of some 4 kilometers length found on the south side of the city between Xibianmen and Guang Anmen gates. It was built in order to facilitate and park the freight traffic coming in through the Beijing-Fengtian Line and the Beijing-Hankou railway line.
In july 1954 AD, the Deshengmen, Andingmen, Dongzhimen and Chaoyangmen Stations of the Jingshi Line were closed as a first step in a larger plan to decomission it and replace it with an ambitious 2nd ring road to encircle the city. Naturally, this meant that the Jingshi railway as well as the City Walls of the Ming Era had to go. In 1958 AD the part of the Loop Line between Xizihimen and Chaoyangmen, ie.e. about half of the track, was dismantled to allow for the beginning of construction of the gaint Beijing Railway Station on the south east side of the city. After the completion of the Beijing Railway Station in the year 1959 in time for the celebrations of the 10th year of the Revolution. Succesively the track between Chaoyangmen and Dongbianmen was removed. The rest of the originally circular railway line remianed in use for some time more and was was decommissioned in 1971.
The first circular line of the Beijing subway system started operations in the year 1969 AD a much hailed feat of the Cultural Revolution Era.
