Another feature compels attention. Just before reaching Shan-Hai-Kuan, the line strikes across a valley about a mile in width. Here there is a bridge having an opening of some 1000 feet, through which a narrow stream makes its way. Originally the track was carried about 10 feet above the floor of the valley, but the very next wet season caused the small stream to swell into a wide, foaming torrent, rising to 16 feet above high watermark, and it swept over the embankment like a mill-race. When the waters subsided, the engineers, instead of overhauling their earthworks, lowered the track to the bottom of the valley, so that no obstruction should be offered to future floods, while the road-bed was protected by a paving extending for 50 feet on either side, with bushes planted on the superimposed earth. This expedient was found to meet the situation completely and to protect the track from destruction by the flood-waters, which fall quickly after attaining their highest level.
In the early days the trains constituted a source of infinite amusement. They were what are known as “mixed” trains; i. e. they carried both passengers and freight. The passenger coaches were of varying classes, the Chinese travelling in long, open trucks, with tarpaulins to protect them from inclement weather. The natives appeared to enjoy this experience highly, especially when the train attained its maximum speed of about 25 miles an hour, which they admitted was quicker travelling than by an animal-drawn cart. The whole 100 miles were covered in about 5½ hours, including stops, some of which, at intermediate points, were of long duration. At these points, however, the time was whiled away by watching the antics of the Chinese travellers, who were sorely perturbed lest the steam horse might start before its scheduled time. This initial trunk line played an important educational part in the railway expansion of China, and the cost of travelling was cut down to the lowest figure. The first-class fare for the whole distance was 5s. 5d., or $1.30 for 100 miles, which, in comparison with the scale prevailing in other parts of the world for similar accommodation, was absurdly cheap. The Chinese at first regarded the railway with childish delight, those who could afford the expense travelling to and fro for the mere pleasure of travelling.
Consequently, it is not surprising that the railway soon established itself in popular favour. Indeed, resentment from the earliest days had proceeded only from the upper classes; the peasants hailed it with unfeigned pleasure. Accordingly, as railway expansion set in, any opposition that was encountered was fostered by ignorant, affected, wealthy interests. After Li-Hung-Chang became a staunch friend of the new means of travel, he established his own ways of dealing with opposition, which were peculiarly Chinese. On one railway which he supported, traffic was interrupted frequently by displaced rails and sleepers. When he, in his official capacity, sought to ascertain the reason for such disturbance, he was informed that it was due to the spirits, who resented its intrusion. He made no reply to this ingenuous reply, but hinted that if he caught the spirits interfering with the line, it would go hard with them. Needless to say, no further trouble was experienced on that line in regard to breaks in the track.
Within the past few years several momentous railway undertakings have been carried to successful conclusion, and to-day there is feverish activity in covering the empire with the iron thread on every hand. Foremost among these enterprises are the Shanghai-Nanking, the Pekin-Kalgan, and the Canton-Kowloon lines. Railways, indeed, are being driven through the country by various interests and nations, including British, United States, Belgian, French, Portuguese and German. In fact, there is spirited competition among the various powers to bring about the complete conquest of the Celestial Kingdom by the iron road.
Although the initial venture in regard to introducing the railway into China had been so disastrous, Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Company were by no means deterred. They waited a favourable opportunity before repeating their experiment. It came twenty-three years after their first ill-starred adventure, for in 1898 they received permission to connect Pekin with Nanking by rail, a distance of some 200 miles, together with other enterprises of a similar character. This railway was undertaken by a group of financiers known as the British & Chinese Corporation, and they carried the first part of the scheme through to success. The arrangement was drawn up that this line should coincide in every particular with a typical first-class European railway, and this has been secured to the strict letter of the agreement. Indeed, it stands as the finest-built line in China. It proved an expensive undertaking, due in a great measure to the solidity of the constructional work, but the policy has been well repaid. The railway serves a wealthy district, where the possibilities of expansion are extensive, for the territory is rich in all resources.
Curiously enough, this line includes the stretch of 12 miles between Shanghai and Woosung which it was attempted to connect by the iron road in 1875, and which the natives tore up and destroyed in an unceremonious manner. The promoters of that enterprise may be said to have achieved a sweet revenge, especially as “Fung Shui” does not appear to have been perturbed by the second attempt to set the Tiger and Dragon at variance.
This line is what is known as a “fast road”; that is, owing to its comparatively easy alignment, there being several stretches of straight road, while the track is well ballasted, it is favourable to high speeds. Indeed, on the opening day, the special train which travelled over the line with privileged guests covered the 193 miles in 5½ hours, notwithstanding that on the last 25 miles the speed had to be dropped to a maximum of 25 miles per hour, as the road had not been ballasted thoroughly. On some portions of the line the train notched a speed of 57 miles an hour, and apparently was appreciated greatly by the Chinese guests.
CHAPTER XXV
THE INVASION OF THE FAR EAST II.—Modern Developments in China and Japan
The Chinese, once they were awakened to the possibilities of the railway, were not content to permit their country to be covered with foreign-built lines. They decided to become active participators in the movement—in other words, they acquired all the knowledge they could, and then undertook constructional engineering. Their aptitude for this work finds an excellent expression in the Pekin-Kalgan railway, 125 miles in length. This road was built throughout by Chinese effort, the engineer-in-chief being His Excellency Chang-Tien-Yow, who is to-day the foremost Chinese engineer in this field in China. He was educated in the United States, where he acquired valuable knowledge concerning this branch of engineering, and completed his training under Mr. Kinder, the builder of the oldest railway in the Celestial Kingdom.