Highlights of ancient architecture in Tai'an (2)

5. Bell Tower of Tai'an Railway Station

The six-story bell tower of Tai'an Railway Station is some 25 meters high and was built with stones in German style in 1909. The architecture is a result of the Jin-Pu (Tianjin-Pukou) railway which had initially been constructed in 1908 (the 34th year of the Guangxu Reign of the Qing Dynasty) and completed in 1912.

The architecture is the oldest existing and largest station building along the Jin-Pu railway, and is of great importance and significance to the study of the history and development of Chinese transportation in modern times.

The building was renovated and expanded in 1933 funded by the famous strategist and statesman Feng Yuxiang (1882-1948). Due to more and more tourists coming to Tai'an after the reform and opening up in 1978, the old railway station could not handle the increasingly larger volume of passenger traffic. A new railway station was built to the west of the old one and renamed as Taishan Railway Station in 2000.

The old railway station, because of its characteristic building and historical value, is well preserved and was selected as a Shandong provincial cultural relic protection unit in 2013.

Location: Longtan Road, Taishan district, Tai'an, Shandong

Bell Tower of Tai'an Railway Station. [Photo/WeChat account: SDTXTA]