Former Site of Tanggu Railway Station

Former Site of Tanggu Railway Station

The former site of Tanggu Railway Station is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The former site of Tanggu Railway Station is now known as "Tanggu South Station" and is under the jurisdiction of Tanggu Railway Station of the Beijing Railway Bureau. Built in the 14th year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty (1888), it was a station on the Beiyang Railway—the first railway independently constructed in China. After the Eight-Nation Alliance captured the Dagu Fort in 1900, they subsequently occupied this site and used the station to transport military supplies and personnel. In 1919, Mao Zedong and Luo Zhanglong, among others, saw off students bound for France and disembarked at this station in Tianjin, marking their first visit to the Dagu Fort. In May 1933, during negotiations over the Tanggu Truce between China and Japan, the delegation of the Nanjing government stayed at Tanggu Railway Station. In 1937, the Japanese army occupied the station and used it to transport war supplies. The former site of Tanggu Railway Station has witnessed numerous major historical events and social changes in modern China, and to this day, it retains well-preserved original main buildings and complete station facilities. It is still in use as a fourth-class station by the Tianjin Railway Branch.

The main structure of the former site is a brick-and-wood single-story European-style building complex, facing west and aligned parallel to the direction of the railway tracks. It stretches 130 meters from north to south and 18 meters from east to west. The roof was originally a double-sloped iron-ridge tile roof but has since been replaced with a gray tile roof. The highest point is 15 meters above the current ground level. The pointed gable roof design of the entire building highlights European architectural style. The walls are built with blue bricks and finished with white lime joints. The original European-style wooden doors and windows are well preserved. The central part of the building complex originally served as the passenger waiting room. To reach the platform from the east door of the waiting room, one must pass through a 60-meter-long and 3-meter-wide corridor. The corridor roof is supported by 17 square wooden pillars and 17 cast-iron brackets mounted on the corresponding walls, with cement square bases under the wooden pillars.

Only one room in the former site building, measuring just over 50 square meters, retains the original interior decorative style: wooden flooring, large wooden lattice-style wall panels, white-lime plastered walls and ceiling, and ceiling decorations featuring plaster moldings.

Apart from the replacement of the roof with gray tiles, all other components of the main building remain original, preserving its external appearance intact. The original layout included four waiting rooms, each approximately 200 square meters in size; six large rooms, each about 60 square meters; and over ten smaller rooms. These rooms included not only the waiting rooms but also offices, freight rooms, operation rooms, and a canteen.

Approximately 180 meters south of the main building complex of the former site (on the west side of the railway), there is a small two-story building with a brick-concrete structure, measuring 11 meters in length and 6 meters in width. The eastern side of the concrete ring beam between the upper and lower floors is inscribed with the station name “TANGKU” (Tanggu). The ground floor of this small building is a historic structure, originally built with blue brick walls and a cement flat roof. It was later modified and expanded to become the current two-story building.

The former site is located in the central area of Binhai New Area and remains relatively well preserved. If protected and restored as a railway-themed memorial museum, its historical and cultural value would far exceed its current function as a small train station.

In May 2013, the former site of Tanggu Railway Station was listed as part of the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Tianjin Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units