Chapter 35 Section 3 Chaoshan Railway and Zhangxia Railway

Overseas Chinese were also very active in raising capital for railway construction in China.In the late Qing Dynasty, three railways were privately run, all of which were invested by overseas Chinese.There are two Nanyang investment and construction. One is the Chaoshan Railway.This railway runs from Shantou City to Chaoan County, plus branch lines, with a total length of 42 kilometers.It started construction in 1903 and was completed and opened to traffic in 1906.The founders are Zhang Rongxuan brothers. Zhang Rongxuan (1851-1911 AD), also known as Yunan, and Zhang Yaoxuan (1861-1921 AD), also known as Hongnan.A native of Meixian, Guangdong.When he came to Indonesia in his early years, he worked as an employee in Zhang Zhenxun's enterprise, and gradually became rich.Under Zhang Zhenxun's persuasion and instigation, the Zhang brothers returned to China to participate in the construction of the Chaoshan Railway.A total investment of 3 million taels was invested in this not-so-long railway, and the Zhang brothers accounted for 2/3 of the shares.The Chaoshan Railway is the earliest overseas Chinese-funded railway in China. It has been in operation for more than 30 years until 1938 when it was severely damaged by the Japanese army and stopped running.The completion of the Chaoshan Railway has played a beneficial role in the social and economic development of the Chaoshan area.

The second is the Zhangxia Railway.The Zhangxia Railway Company was established in 1905 with a capital of about 3 million yuan, and most of the investors were overseas Chinese from Indonesia. Opened to traffic in 1910, the total length is only 28 kilometers. In fact, only a part of it was built, and it is not connected with other transportation lines, but it has a certain effect on the transportation of passengers and goods in the hometown of overseas Chinese.