China Railway Museum 中国铁道博物馆
酒仙桥北路1号
Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng’s coverage of Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond
A vast shed with eight exhibition tracks houses an expanding collection, with currently around 60 assorted locomotives and carriages. They range from the miniature engines of French-built metre-gauge lines in Yúnnán, to vast black Japanese monsters from the pre-World War Two occupation of Manchuria, their Chinese successors, and one earlier generation ‘Harmony’ high-speed train limited to 270kph.
Vast once-hissing monsters carry portraits of political monsters on their fronts, including Máo Zédōng and Red Army founder Zhū Dé (朱德), the latter engine taken out of commission only in 1977. Steam itself was still in use in the Northeast well into the 21st century, although it’s gone now.
The museum claims to house the oldest still-existing steam locomotive in China, all kinds of imported foreign-built locomotives from before 1949, including British engines, passenger coaches, and special trains for leaders. Once, ladders could be scaled to many a rusty driving compartment, but there’s finally been some consideration of safety, and a few may now be entered via proper stairways.
There’s still that unmistakeable smell of coal-and-steam-powered machinery, and half a plastic bottle, placed to catch an oil drip beneath one engine, suggests that some might still be capable of running. There’s fairly decent English signage except on most of the imports. Draw your own conclusions from that.
The museum claims the first Chinese railway line was to Běijīng from the rice-storing terminus of the Grand Canal at Tōngzhōu. It was drawn by a British-built locomotive of 1881 called Class 0 with a maximum speed of only 20kph, and the one on display is claimed to be the oldest preserved railway engine in China. In fact the first 14.5km-long commercial line was built by the Jardine and Matheson trading company without permission, to run from the port to the American concession in Shanghai in 1876 (and at least one other demonstration line before that, see East through the Xīqìng Mén, then north, in The Palace Museum or ‘Forbidden City’). This was purchased and torn up by Qīng authorities the following year, but that narrative doesn’t fit into a proud account of the enthusiastic development of railways by the Chinese themselves.
There are also small displays of old railway maps, timetables, insignia, certificates, and licences of various kinds and assorted bits of railway kit, as well as a shop with a limited selection of railway-related souvenirs, models, and Thomas the Tank Engine sets of dubious authenticity.
It’s a perfect half-day out for little boys of any age.
▶ Zhōngguó Tiědào Bówùguǎn, Jiǔxiān Qiáo Běi Lù 1, just outside NE Fifth Ring Rd, gps 39º59’68.2N, 116º30’61.5”E, t 6438 1517, www.china-rail.org, 9am–3.30pm, Tue–Sun. ¥20. b to 环行铁道: 403 (from Sān Yuán Qiáo), 516 (from 798 Art District), 629; then walk E 1.3km.
Taxis are familiar with the Dà Shānzi 798 Art District but rarely with this nearby but not well-signposted museum. Head north from the western main entrances to 798 and turn east down Jiǔxiān Qiáo Běi Lù (酒仙桥北路), at the end of which is the terminus for the buses listed. Beyond this cross a railway line and then the Fifth Ring Road, swing left, then soon fork right at a rather shy sign. Turn left immediately before the next level crossing.
See also the museum’s Zhèngyáng Mén Branch at Qián Mén, and further railway material at the Zhān Tiānyòu Museum at Bā Dá Lǐng Great Wall. The China Film Museum, 2km away, is visible from the Railway Museum. Return to the main road, turn left over the level crossing, pass another, lesser-known art district, the Huántiě Yìshù Chéng, and turn left at the T-junction. The Cǎochǎngdì Art District is just west of there.
Next in Museums and Other Sights: China Film Museum
Previously: Introduction to Museums and Other Sights
Main Index of A Better Guide to Beijing.
For discussion of China travel, see The Oriental-List.
