Two Century-Old Railway Stations in Fangshan Not Recognized as Cultural Relics by Authorities Due to Incomplete Historical Data

Old Station Building of Doudian Station on the Luhan Railway

Reply from the Fangshan District Bureau of Culture and Tourism on July 19, 2019

Reply from the Fangshan District Bureau of Culture and Tourism on July 19, 2019, declining the recognition of Doudian Station building and Zhoukoudian Station remnants

July 27, 2019, Beijing Youth Daily

Doudian Station and Zhoukoudian Station are two century-old railway stations in Fangshan District. On February 1 of this year, railway culture scholar Wang Wei submitted two Applications for Immovable Cultural Property Recognition to local cultural relics departments, hoping to secure cultural property status for the surviving old station buildings. On July 26, Wang Wei received an official "non-recognition" response, with the primary reason being incomplete historical data.

The Gazetteer of Place Names in Fangshan District, Beijing records that Doudian Station is located at kilometer 29, meter 440 of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, built in 1899 as a fourth-class station; Zhoukoudian Station is located to the southeast of the Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site, serving as the terminal station of the Zhoukoudian branch line of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, built in 1897 and put into operation the following year, primarily handling the transport of coal produced by the Changgouyu Coal Mine and nearby areas.

Railway culture scholar Wang Wei's field visits revealed that after more than a century, both Doudian and Zhoukoudian railway stations have ceased passenger operations, though the railway lines still exist. The old station building of Doudian Station currently serves as an office and is relatively well-preserved; partial remnants of the old station structures at Zhoukoudian Station still survive.

"These surviving old buildings are precious historical carriers, witnessing the development process of China's railways!" However, what worries Wang Wei is that the two old buildings have not obtained cultural property status, are not protected by the Cultural Relics Protection Law, and face the risk of demolition at any time.

At the beginning of this year, targeting the old station buildings of Doudian and Zhoukoudian railway stations, Wang Wei drafted two Applications for Immovable Cultural Property Recognition, which were submitted to the Fangshan District Bureau of Culture and Tourism (formerly the Culture Commission) on February 1, hoping to win cultural property status for the old station buildings.

On July 26, more than five months after submitting the application, Wang Wei received the "non-recognition" response from the Fangshan District Bureau of Culture and Tourism.

The reporter saw in the Opinion of the Fangshan District Bureau of Culture and Tourism on the Cultural Relics Recognition of the Old Station Buildings of Doudian and Zhoukoudian Railway Stations: In accordance with the law, the Bureau of Culture and Tourism organized a panel of cultural relics recognition experts to conduct on-site visits, listened to the opinions of relevant personnel, and followed Article 7 of the Interim Measures for the Administration of Cultural Relics Recognition, Article 4, Paragraph 3, and Article 6 of the guiding opinions on implementing the Interim Measures for the Administration of Cultural Relics Recognition. Combining the concluding opinions of the expert group, the recognition of the old station buildings of the two railway stations is determined as follows: Based on the incomplete architectural historical materials of the two old station buildings submitted by the applicant, which fail to meet the evaluation conditions for architectural cultural relics complexes, recognition is not granted. If dissatisfied with this cultural relics recognition, one may legally apply for administrative reconsideration to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Heritage or the People's Government of Fangshan District within 60 days from the date of knowing about the specific administrative action.

As understood by the reporter, "incomplete architectural historical materials and documentary data" became the primary reason for non-recognition. In addition, the cultural relics department also pointed out that "the current preservation status of the old station building at Zhoukoudian Station is poor, and the original architectural layout of the station is incomplete."

Wang Wei told Beijing Youth Daily reporters that although the application failed, he still wants to thank the cultural relics department for their work. He will refer to the issues pointed out by the cultural relics department, conduct further in-depth research, improve the relevant historical materials, and prepare for the upcoming administrative reconsideration.

Text / Beijing Youth Daily Reporter Cui Yifei

Editor / Zhang Peng