Dazhimen Railway Station

Dazhimen Railway Station is an old French-built brick station in central Hankou, completed in 1903 as the terminus of the Beijing-Hankou railway. It is no longer used for passengers — the function moved to the modern Hankou Station decades ago — but the original station building survives, brick-faced with green-tiled roofs and a French-colonial clock tower at its centre.

The building is now a small railway museum. Around it, the historic depot area is gradually being redeveloped as a culture-and-design district, with cafes opening in old goods sheds. Worth a stop for anyone with an interest in railway history or in industrial reuse projects.

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A story
When Dazhimen opened in 1903 it was the southern terminus of the Beijing-Hankou railway, then the longest railway in China. The cornerstone was laid by Empress Dowager Cixi's nephew, and Sun Yat-sen used the station to make his entry into Hankou in 1912.

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