Zhan Tianyou

In 1904, the Qing government planned to build the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway from Beijing to Zhangjiakou. Britain and Russia were competing for the right to build the building at the same time and were in a stalemate. The Qing government did not dare to offend either party, so it decided to build it independently. In 1905, when Zhan Tianyou was hired as chief engineering department (now called engineer), foreigners laughed and said: "Chinese engineers who can build this road have not yet been born." With his lofty sense of responsibility and perseverance, and our own strength, Zhan Tianyou overcame numerous obstacles and finally built my country's first truly self-built railway in 1909, which attracted worldwide attention. He opened a glorious page in China's railway history and greatly inspired the self-confidence of our people. Subsequently, in addition to accepting the invitation to build four railways, Zhan Tianyou also planned to build the Guangdong-Hankou Railway from Guangzhou to Hankou with great enthusiasm, so as to form a major trunk line connecting the Beijing-Hankou Railway and connecting the north and south of China. However, in 1911, the Qing government issued an order to nationalize commercial railways across the country, forcing Zhan Tianyou to hand over the Guangdong-Hankou Railway, which made Zhan Tianyou feel extremely desperate. In the same year, the Revolution of 1911 broke out and the Qing Dynasty was overthrown. In 1912, the Republic of China was established, and the new interim president Mr. Sun Yat-sen proposed "the construction of a national railway network...