Laying the rails for fast development of railroads

In 1865, a British merchant built a narrow gauge railroad, 600 meters in length, outside the Xuanwu Gate in Beijing to demonstrate the technology to the imperial court of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). But the court found it "exceedingly special and strange in the utmost" and promptly had the railway dismantled soon after the display.

It was not until 11 years later, in 1876, that the first railroad to operate commercially in China opened in Shanghai. Built by a British trading firm, the railway, known as the Woosung Road, connected the then American Concession in the present-day Zhabei district of Shanghai to Woosung in the present-day Baoshan district.

The early development of railway transportation in China was quite slow in the late 19th century, while extensive railway networks were already in place in Europe, North America, India and Japan. Despite this, the country started embracing railways and saw their fast development in the early and late 20th century. Moreover, China also saw a remarkable development of high-speed railways in the early 21st century.