Back in the day, there was a building in China called “the most stylish railway station in the Far East”. It was a typical example of German Jugendstil. The terminal was located in Jinan, the capital of Shandong province. Unfortunately, the local government demolished it in 1992. Who built it, and why it was destroyed?

Historical context

By the end of the 19th century, the German Empire was desperate for colonies. For this reason, in 1898,  Germany signed the Sino-German lease treaty (胶澳租借条约). According to the treaty, Germany accepted a leasehold of the Jiaozhou bay for 99 years, with the administrative center at Qingdao. Moreover, the treaty included rights for the construction of railway lines and mining of local coal deposits. Many parts of Shandong outside of the German leased territory came under German economic influence, including Jinan, the provincial capital.

In 1904, the Germans have constructed the first railway in Shandong. It was called the Jiaoji railway (胶济铁路), and it that connected Qingdao and Jinan. The original station building still stands, and nowadays it’s a museum.

At the time, the British wanted to connect North and South China by the railway, but it had to be through Shandong, the German sphere of influence. Germans were against the project and only agreed when the British let them participate in it. After some arguments, in 1908 the Chinese government borrowed about 5 million pounds from Britain and Germany to construct the Tianjin-Pukou railway (津浦铁路).

They constructed the road in 1912 and connected Tianjin to Nanjing. The original railway line included 85 stations, of which 31 were in Shandong province. Soon the WWI started. It was the beginning of the Chinese diaspora in Europe. But the German forces forever left Shandong. It was the end of the German military, political and economical domination here.

Who designed the most stylish Far East railway station

The man who designed the most stylish railway station in the Far East was Hermann Fischer. He was a young architect from Germany. At the time he was a new graduate 24-year old. Jinan railway station became Fischer’s first big project. In his work, he certainly referred to the Finnish architect, Eliel Saarinen, who designed Helsinki Railway Station in Russian Empire.

The station building was a reflection of contemporary trends in architecture. It became one of the best examples of Jugendstil, in other words, the German Art Nouveau style.

The dome roof and the semicircular arch had the feeling of medieval cathedrals. The tall tower building and its long spiral windows reminded people of old Germany. In addition, the building included four large round clocks decorating the station walls, with the melodious sound of the bells at the end of each hour.

Renovations

At the time the old station was the most iconic building in Jinan. The local government renovated the station building three times. It remained in service till the beginning of the 1990s.

• In 1937, the Japanese renovated and expanded the original station to support its military and logistical needs.
• In 1958, the Railway Department of China partially reconstructed the old railway station . They expanded a two-floor waiting room in order to increase the capacity, and Also they built three platform sky bridges in the west of the station.
• In 1972 the Prince Sihanouk of Cambodia visited Jinan. To welcome him, the local authorities added an exit from the platform straight to the square. People called it the Welcome Gate.

Demolition

1992 is a tragic year in the history of Jinan indeed. There were two official reasons behind the demolition of the old railway station. Firstly, the station was too small for the rapidly growing city. Secondly, in the eyes of the bureaucrats it was a symbol of Western imperialism. For instance, according to local official Xue Yutang, “it reminded him of the suppression Chinese people had suffered in history. The lofty green dome looked like the helmets of Hitler’s army.” In March 1992, the local government officially started the demolition. The building was tough and well-built. So it took them about half a year to destroy the architectural masterpiece.

In the same spot, local authorities have built a new modern railway station. Unfortunately, it looked ugly from the beginning. In addition, the locals soon realized that even this new station wasn’t enough for the fast-growing city.

Therefore, after a few decades, the government will demolish the new building too.

New hope for the most stylish Far East railway station?

Nowadays, there is a public consensus that the station’s demolition of 1992 was a tragic mistake.  In 2013, the government of Jinan announced that they want to consider the rebuilding of the station. But many experts are still skeptical about it. According to the local urban planner, “it was a stupid decision to demolish it, and then the government made another stupid decision to rebuild it, in order to boost tourism or something”. Unfortunately, no blueprints of the original building exist.

However, sometimes there are some successful attempts when local governments recreate once demolished buildings. For example, for example, the Russian-style houses in Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia. So let’s hope that in the future “the most stylish railway station in the Far East” will be back in Jinan.