Controversy Erupts Over Demolition of 88-Year-Old Water Tower at Beijing North Station

Photo: The Xizhimen Water Tower Under Demolition

On September 3, amidst lingering autumn rain, the 88-year-old water tower at Beijing North Station was about to bid farewell to the world amid the "rumbling" sounds of drilling rigs. Recently, the demolition of this "non-cultural relic protection unit" has sparked heated discussions among netizens.

Yesterday morning, beside a train locomotive in the turnaround section of Beijing North Station, four or five workers were standing on the water tower carrying out demolition work. Inside and outside the tower were scattered stones. The arched gate of the water tower had not yet been demolished, and it was inscribed with "Built in July of the [missing character] year of the Republic of China."

"Railway enthusiast" Wang Wei recalled this water tower, saying that it was not very tall, and the old wooden doors and windows appeared very classical. Stepping inside the water tower, looking up one could see the mottled leaks in the water tank. Below the tank on both sides were two main water pipes leading to the water cranes on either side of the tower, and wasps' nests could still be seen inside the dilapidated water tower. The windows inside were very classical, clearly from the period when the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway was built. Scattered on the ground were some remnants of sheet iron.

"This was specially used to supply water to steam locomotives. It completed its mission after we started using diesel locomotives here in the late 1980s," said an old railway worker from the turnaround section. This water tower was built in 1918, and the plates were joined with rivets instead of welds, reflecting a relatively high level of construction. "The old Xizhimen Station is a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit, but this old fellow isn't."

Shi Wenyi, deputy curator of the Ministry of Railways' Zhan Tianyou Memorial Museum, stated that the station site, platforms, overpass, and canopy of Xizhimen Railway Station have all been designated as Beijing Municipal Cultural Relic Protection Units, but for structures not within the scope of municipal cultural relics protection, there are currently no corresponding protection conditions.

"I think it is quite appropriate not to count it as a cultural relic," a netizen on a railway forum believed. Aside from some vicissitudes of time, leaving the water tower there had no practical significance. "For Beijing North Station, keeping the old station building and the old overpass is already enough."

On the other hand, another netizen expressed the opposite view, arguing that history should be a complete package: "Only when these railway station yards, tracks, sleepers, and relics are completely preserved and commemorated can this northern station be made even more historically valuable." It is understood that the demolition of the water tower began last week, though staff members did not disclose the reason for the demolition.