The old Jinan Railway Station, situated on the Jinpu Railway, was originally located in the northeast corner of the former commercial port in Tianqiao District, Jinan City, Shandong Province. Locals commonly referred to it as the "Old Train Station". Construction of the station began in 1908 and was completed in 1912. The architect behind the design was , and it features typical German Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) style. Together with the surrounding Jinan Railway Bureau and Railway Hospital, the station formed a grand German-style architectural complex. As an important symbol of Jinan's past, the station witnessed the changes of the commercial port and even the entire city.
In the midst of the protests by citizens of Jinan, the old train station was demolished by the government in July 1992 under the pretext of "eliminating colonial symbols". Afterwards, a new station was built on the site. Since the demolition of Jinan's old train station, it has been frequently mentioned as a negative example in academic conferences on Chinese cultural heritage preservation, and criticized for the shortsightedness of forgetting the historical influence of the great powers instead of facing and admitting it in order to revitalize the city. It is a manifestation of an ostrich mentality and narrow nationalism. The old train station, which served the purpose of transportation for the people, did not have strong colonial connotations. Instead, it helped carry the country towards self-reliance and participated in the century-long urban development and transformation of Jinan. Many people believed that local leaders blindly destroyed such an outstanding historical building, cultural heritage, and landmark. The design of the new building was also not well received, and it created the impression that "beautiful designs can only be built by Europeans", which was contrary to the original purpose. Afterwards, the people of Shandong realized their mistake and called for the reconstruction of the old train station. However, there were also doubts about how to recreate it authentically. The Taiwan-based newspaper, "Wangbao," also reprinted an evaluation by the official Chinese newspaper, "People's Daily," stating that it was regrettable that irreversible losses had already occurred, and it would be better to build a monument for the protection of the ruins at the original site. This hasty demolition event is a profound lesson, which shows that future generations should not make the same mistake again.
Architecture The old train station is located to the south of the railway, with its main entrance facing south and its back facing north. The building is divided into two floors, east and west, and a clock tower, organized according to its functional use.
The old station building is located south of the railway, with a north-facing entrance. The architect organized the space according to its functional use, dividing the building into two floors: the east and west wings, as well as a bell tower.
The east wing, which serves as the station building, is about 3–4 meters tall and features a pointed gable and a 13-meter circular arch with a double-sloped roof made of tiles. Above the door frame, there is a large arched glass window with colorful stained glass. The roof has several small skylights with alternating triangular and semi-circular shapes under the eaves, which increase the interior brightness and add to the beauty of the exterior.
The building's walls are made of brick and stone, while the floors and roofs use red pine assembled with mortise and tenon joints. The unevenly shaped granite blocks at the corners, the wide granite steps outside the door, the dark green cypress trees planted in front of the windows, and the brown fence all add to the station's elegance and weight.
To the east of the waiting room is a low, green dome roof that was originally the ticket office
The West building is a row of three-story auxiliary buildings, and the attic's gentle curved walls form a continuous undulating line, which echoes the dome and arch windows of the waiting hall, emitting an overall sense of stability and smoothness.
The clock tower is cylindrical in shape, located between the east and west buildings with one underground floor and eight aboveground floors, with a total height of 32 meters. The clock tower has a green-tiled dome and a mushroom stone wall; a small spiral staircase is installed inside the tower, and the facade is decorated with corresponding spiral long windows. According to workers who dismantled the old station building, the structure of the clock tower is very delicate and sturdy. There are German-style clocks on all four sides of the top of the tower, with a diameter of 1.3 meters; inside the clock machine room, there are slowly rising and falling iron chains, two 10-kilogram weights, and large and small gears that work together to drive the 4.5-kilogram hour hand and 6-kilogram minute hand to accurately tell the time for more than 80 years. Every 24 hours, the two weights placed on the tray will drop by the height of one floor. At 9:30 am every Saturday, the two weights will descend to the bottom of the clock tower, and then the maintenance personnel of the clock tower will lift the two weights to the top floor, then use the crank to "wind up" the weights by pulling the tray up and placing the weights on it. In this way, the clock tower completes the "winding" work and can continue to accurately tell the time. The clock tower's towering body reflects the religious beliefs of medieval Europe, and the four large clocks on the tower make it not only audible but also visible, providing convenience for travelers while satisfying visual enjoyment. Therefore, this clock tower has been a symbol of Jinan City for 80 years.
In addition to this old station building, the surrounding buildings such as the Jiaoji Railway Jinan Station (now a museum) and the Jinan Railway Hospital are all in German style, forming a German-style architectural complex together.
History
Early stage of construction
Jinan Station is located at the intersection of the Jingu and Biji Railways, in the central section where the two lines meet. As early as 1904, when the construction of the Jingu Railway was underway and the Biji Railway was nearing completion, the German-owned Shandong Railway Company and the Shandong Governor Zhou Fu agreed to use the Jinan Station of the Biji Railway as a shared hub for both the lines, designating it as the central station of Jinan city. However, the management of the Jingu Railway insisted on not allowing the German side to interfere with the rights of the Jingu Railway, and eventually chose to build a new station north of the original Biji Railway station. Thus, the situation of setting up two stations for two railways in one city is rare in other Chinese cities. The area around the train station quickly became a bustling area with a dense flow of people, becoming the gateway for outsiders to enter the commercial port.
Jiaozhi (Jinan-Qingdao) Railway Linkage On April 9, 1911, the management of Jiaozhi Railway and Jinpu Railway reached an agreement on the use of railway facilities. Two connecting lines were built between the two Jinan stations, as well as pedestrian overpasses and underground passages for carts and pedestrians to pass through.
Merge After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937, Jinan was in danger and many citizens flocked to the two Jinan stations, hoping to escape by railway. On November 15 of that year, Lao She also fled from this station to Xuzhou. After the Japanese occupation of Jinan at the end of 1937, in order to cooperate with the zonal management, the two stations were renovated and expanded. In the following year, the station yard of Jiaozhi Railway Jinan Station was closed, and its business was integrated into the Jinpu Railway Jinan Station. In 1939, the two railways were connected, and Jiaozhi Railway was rerouted to connect to Jinpu Railway Jinan Station at 391.07 kilometers. Jinpu Railway Jinan Station became a large station used jointly by the two main railway lines, while Jiaozhi Railway Jinan Station was converted into the headquarters of Jinan Railway Bureau.
Reconstruction In 1958, partial reconstruction was carried out on the railway station, and a two-story waiting room that could accommodate 4,000 people was built on the west side to increase capacity. During the Cultural Revolution, the clock tower was protected by the clock tower management personnel, who put two locks on the clock machine room and painted the pendulum black to avoid the danger of being attacked. In 1972, a "welcoming gate" was built to welcome Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia who visited Jinan. The gate was an exit that led directly from the platform to the station square in front of the station.
By 1985, the area of the old station building was a total of 8,528 square meters
Demolition
Discussion Due to the increasing passenger flow that the old station could not accommodate and the need to integrate railway construction and urban development in Jinan, in 1989, there was a heated debate among decision-makers and experts over whether to renovate the old station or to demolish it completely and build a new one. Many people suggested preserving it as a museum, but the Jinan Municipal Committee persisted in the opinion of demolition. The then-mayor of Jinan, Xie Yutang, cited "it as a symbol of colonialism, reminding people of the years when the Chinese people were oppressed" and "the green dome of the clock tower is like a Nazi helmet, which is not beautiful" as the reasons for the demolition.
In January 1990, Zhang Tongsheng, the then director of Jinan Railway Bureau, proposed a plan to rebuild the station building when accompanying the Minister of Railways Li Senmao on an inspection tour, and immediately received the reply "you can rebuild it." Subsequently, the Jinan Railway Bureau consulted both the Shandong Province and Jinan City governments on the issue of whether to keep or demolish the clock tower. Both sides expressed their agreement to demolish it. In April 1991, the Ministry of Railways also approved the plan to demolish the old station building.
Before the demolition began, the People's Congress and Political Consultative Conference of Jinan city raised questions, but after seeing official documents from multiple departments, they no longer opposed it.
Start dismantling In March 1992, the demolition plan was finally confirmed. On July 1, the demolition of the train station began; at 8:05 am that day, the clock of the bell tower stopped running. At 8:20, the demolition work officially began. The demolition was carried out manually, starting from the roof by removing tiles, doors, and windows. At the beginning of the demolition, many citizens gathered to watch, and some students challenged the necessity of the demolition to the project's commanders. After the construction site was fenced off, it became difficult for passers-by to see the situation of the building.
Due to the station's proximity to the railway, large machinery could not be used, so the demolition work had to be done manually. And due to the sturdy materials used in the old station building, it took about six months for the building to be completely demolished.
After the demolition of the old railway station, the building materials that were removed are of unknown whereabouts. Only the large clock on the bell tower is still preserved in the warehouse of the Jinan Railway Bureau. On June 8, 1995, the new station built on the site of the old station was put into use, but it was called "neither Chinese nor Western with no characteristics" by some people in Jinan.
Influence