Track to the future

How Beijing 2022's new high-speed rail link takes us on a journey through China's Olympic past

The high-speed rail line connecting 2022 Winter Olympic co-host cities Beijing and Zhangjiakou officially began operation on Dec 30 last year, marking another important step in the build-up to the Games.

However, more than just transporting spectators, the line also journeys back in time through history, linking major moments in the development of modern China and its Olympic odyssey.

Pioneers and provenance

In 1908, Zhang Boling, an educationalist and forerunner in China's engagement with the Olympic movement, published an article in the Tianjin Youth magazine, posing three questions: When can China send an athlete to participate in the Olympic Games? When can China send a team to participate in the Olympic Games? When can China host an Olympic Games?

In the same year, Zhan Tianyou, known as the "Father of China's railways", completed the construction of a rail line connecting Beijing and Kalgan (now known as Zhangjiakou), with a winding track negotiating the steep gradient in the mountainous area near the Great Wall.

The train would move its locomotive from the front to the back to change direction at Qinglongqiao Station, where Yang Cunxin and his father worked for a combined total of 68 years.

A 19-year-old Yang became station master after his father retired in 1981, but, by his own admission, it wasn't exactly his dream job.

"Simple, repetitive and boring, that's what working at a railway station is like," recalled the 58-year-old candidly.

Yang had reason enough to complain. He sometimes worked 24-hour shifts and was responsible for over 20 trains. Only once in his 38 years at the station was he able to get time off to celebrate Chinese New Year with his family.

Later in life, though, Yang became fascinated by the rich history of the line, designed and built exclusively by Chinese labor. After frequently being asked about the railway's origins by travelers, he began to read articles and books on the station and visited Zhan Tianyou's family.

"I feel extremely honored and proud to devote all my life to this historical station," Yang told Xinhua.