Latest Updates on Railway Cultural Heritage Protection:
“Boundary Stone of Men-Zhai Railway Discovered by Beijing Resident Included in Fourth National Cultural Relic Census New Discoveries”
Jul 8
Recently, Mentougou District announced 129 newly discovered immovable cultural relics identified during the Fourth National Cultural Relic Census (referred to as the "Fourth Census"), including the "Boundary Stone of the Men-Zhai Railway," an important site of modern historical significance. The recognition of this weathered stone tablet as a cultural relic is the result of persistent efforts by local heritage preservation volunteers over the past five years.
Notably, to protect the architectural heritage of the Men-Zhai Railway, Wang Wei submitted an "Application for Determination of Immovable Cultural Relics" to the local cultural heritage department via the Mentougou District Government Service Center on February 1, 2019, seeking to promote the full-line protection of the railway. Although he did not receive a timely response to his application, the recently published List of Newly Discovered Unrated Immovable Cultural Relics in Mentougou District's Fourth National Cultural Relic Census officially includes the "Former Site of Yexi Station," "Former Site of Seshufen Station," "Former Site of Datai Station," and "Qingshuijian Water Tower and Ancillary Buildings," alongside the "Boundary Stone of the Men-Zhai Railway." With this announcement, five sites of the Men-Zhai Railway heritage have officially gained legal cultural relic status through the Fourth National Cultural Relic Census.
Website Updates: Railway History Research | 1895-1928 | Built with Britain Participation | Track
TrainsChaser is an independent photographic and documentary archive dedicated to rescuing, recording, and showcasing global railway heritage.
The founder, Wang Wei, born in 1990, is an independent railway researcher. Since his youth, he has walked this path alone for 24 years, focusing on railway photography and historical research. He has consistently adhered to activist documentary photography and independent field research, conducting comprehensive, carpet-style surveys of China's pre-1949 historical railways. To date, he has traveled over 200,000 kilometers, visited more than 30 countries, field-inspected over 3,000 historic stations, and successfully pushed for 30 railway heritage sites to be included in official cultural relics protection. His research and photographic achievements have been featured by top international media outlets, including the BBC, CNN, and National Geographic China.
Railways have never been cold historical coordinates; they are the vivid tracks left by civilization across the wilderness. When you measure them with your feet and gaze at them through a lens, those forgotten station buildings and steel rails cease to be mere history—they become a breathing epic of civilization.