Beijing–Hankou railway

In 1897, a Belgian consortium agreed to lend £4.5 million sterling for the construction of a railway between Beijing and Hankou.

[2] In 1901 the line was extended through the section between Xinyang and Hankou in the hilly land between the Yellow and Yangtze rivers.

It was recognized as a major (and profitable) achievement, and the responsible engineer Jean Jadot gained great credit.

In the meantime, the Belgians had purchased a controlling stake in the American company that held the concession for the Guangdong–Hankou railway.

Most of the shares in the Belgian company were owned by Édouard Empain, and this move threatened to place the entire route between Beijing and Guangzhou under foreign control.

[1] In 1907, Liang Shiyi proposed the formation of a Bank of Communications to redeem the Beijing–Hankou railway from its Belgian owners.

[1]: 223  The railway was placed under Chinese control on January 1, 1909, and the successful redemption enhanced the prestige of Liang's Communications Clique.

The Federation protested, and decided on a major strike on February 4, 1923, and relocated its office to Jiang'an, in the city of Hankou.

The old Dazhimen railway station , the original Hankou terminus of the Jinghan railway. Constructed in 1900–1903, it was closed in 1991, after the opening of the present Hankou railway station
South section of the bridge over the Yellow River, since demolished
The piers of the 1905 bridge still remain today (in the foreground)