The Shanghai–Hangzhou railway, also known as the Huhang railway (), is a

double-track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most li ...

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

between

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

and

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

Zhejiang Province Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiangs ...

. Its name in Chinese, the Huhang Line, is named after the railway's two terminal cities: Shanghai, whose Chinese character abbreviation is ''hu'', and Hangzhou. The line is long and was built from 1906 to 1909. Cities along the route include Shanghai,

Jiaxing Jiaxing (), alternately romanized as Kashing, is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province, China. Lying on the Grand Canal of China, Jiaxing borders Hangzhou to the southwest, Huzhou to the west, Shanghai to the northeast, and the ...

and Hangzhou. The line now forms part of the

Shanghai–Kunming railway The Shanghai–Kunming Railway or Hukun Railway (), also known as the Hukun Line, is a major arterial railroad across eastern, south central and southwest China. It connects Shanghai, whose shorthand name is ''Hu'', and Kunming. The line has a t ...

Line history

In 1898, the

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

government of China granted to Britain a concession to build a railway between Shanghai and Hangzhou. This concession drew strong domestic opposition against foreign ownership of railways. In 1905, the Qing government's railway construction policy shifted in favor of local provincial governments. Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces received approval to build the Shanghai–Hangzhou railway and raised 4.84 and 3.88 million silver dollars, respectively, for the project through chartered companies. Construction began in September 1906 on the western (Hangzhou–

Fengjing Fengjing () is a town in Jinshan District, Shanghai. An ancient water town, it also has a new town with a Canadian theme and an industrial zone. It is a centre for Jinshan peasant painting. Fengjing has an area of , and had a registered populatio ...

) section and in February 1907 on the eastern (Fengjing–Shanghai) section. The western section entered into operation in April 1909, the two sections were joined together in June and through-train operation began in July. The line was in length. After the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a d ...

, the national government purchased the railway from the two province-chartered companies, and in 1915, the line was extended in Shanghai to join with the

Shanghai–Nanjing railway The Shanghai–Nanjing or Huning Railway Chinese: t , s , p ''Hù–Níng Tiělù''. is a railway in China running from Shanghai to Nanjing. The railway is about long. The Huning line is one of the busiest in China. The Shanghai–Nanjing i ...

at the Shanghai North railway station. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the line was bombed and rebuilt by the Japanese occupying forces. In the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

, Nationalist forces destroyed 16 bridges on the line to stall the Communist advance on Shanghai in the spring of 1949. Service was restored on August 1, 1949, and the bridges were fully rebuilt in 1950. The line was electrified from 2004 to 2006. In 2007, during the Sixth Railway Speed-Up Campaign, the line was organized into the

Rail connections

Beijing–Shanghai railway The Beijing–Shanghai railway or Jinghu railway () is a railway line between Beijing and Shanghai. The line has a total length of and connects the municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, as well as the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, ...

Xiaoshan–Ningbo railway The Xiaoshan–Ningbo railway or Xiaoyong railway (), is a double-track railroad in eastern China between Hangzhou and Ningbo in Zhejiang Province. Its name in Chinese, the Xiaoyong Line, is named after the railway's two terminal stations, Xiaos ...

, Xuancheng–Hangzhou railway, Zhejiang–Jiangxi railway

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway Railway lines in China Rail transport in Zhejiang Rail transport in Shanghai Railway lines opened in 1909

Line history

Rail connections

See also

References