The Chinese Eastern Railway or CER (, , or , ''Kitaysko-Vostochnaya Zheleznaya Doroga'' or ''KVZhD''), is the historical name for a railway system in

Northeast China Northeast China () is a geographical region of China, consisting officially of three provinces Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain, the largest plain in China with an area of over . The regi ...

(also known as

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

). The

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

constructed the line from 1897 to 1902. The Railway was a concession to Russia, and later the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, granted by the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

government of

Imperial China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

. The system linked Chita with

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

in the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

and with Port Arthur, then an Imperial Russian leased ice-free port. The T-shaped line consisted of three branches: * the western branch, now the Harbin–Manzhouli Railway * the eastern branch, now the Harbin–Suifenhe Railway * the southern branch, now part of the Beijing–Harbin Railway which intersected in

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

. Saint Petersburg administered the railway and the concession, known as the Chinese Eastern Railway Zone, from the city of Harbin, which grew into a major rail-hub. The southern branch of the CER, known as the Japanese

South Manchuria Railway The South Manchuria Railway (; ), officially , Mantetsu () or Mantie () for short, was a large of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operation of railways on the Dalian– Fengtian (Mukden)–Changchun (called Xinjing from ...

from 1906, became a locus and partial ''

casus belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one bou ...

'' for the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

of 1904–1905, the 1929 Sino-Soviet Conflict, and the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

of 1937–1945. The Soviet Union sold the railway to the Japanese puppet state of

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

in 1935; later in 1945 the Soviets regained co-ownership of the railway by treaty. The

returned the Chinese Eastern Railway to the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in 1952.

Name

The official Chinese name of this railway was Great Qing Eastern Provinces Railway (), also known as Eastern Qing Railway () or Eastern Provinces Railway(). After the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...

, the northern branches was renamed to Chinese Eastern Provinces Railway () in 1915, shortened form as (). The southern branch was renamed to

(Japanese kyujitai/) after Japanese took over from Russians in 1905. It is also known in English as the Chinese Far East Railway, Trans-Manchurian Railway and North Manchuria Railway.

History

The Chinese Eastern Railway, a single-track line, provided a shortcut for the world's longest railroad, the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...

, from near the

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

n city of Chita, across northern

via

to the Russian port of

. This route drastically reduced the travel distance required along the originally proposed main northern route to Vladivostok, which lay completely on Russian soil but was not completed until a decade after the Manchurian "shortcut". In 1896

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

granted a construction concession through northern Manchuria under the supervision of Vice Minister of Public Works Xu Jingcheng. Work on the CER began in July 1897 along the line Tarskaya (east of Chita) — Hailar —

— Nikolsk-Ussuriski, and accelerated drastically after Russia concluded a 25-year lease of

Liaodong The Liaodong or Liaotung Peninsula ( zh, s=辽东半岛, t=遼東半島, p=Liáodōng Bàndǎo) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located ...

from China in 1898. Officially, traffic on the line started in November 1901, but regular passenger traffic from St. Petersburg to

across the

Trans-Siberian railway The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...

did not commence until July 1903. In 1898, construction of a 550-mile (880 km) spur line, most of which later formed the

, began at Harbin, leading southwards through Eastern Manchuria, along the Liaodong Peninsula, to the ice-free deep-water port at Lüshun, which Russia was fortifying and developing into a first-class strategic naval base and marine coaling station for its Far East Fleet and Merchant Marine. This town was known in the west as Port Arthur, and the

(1904–1905) was fought largely over who would possess this region and its excellent harbor, as well as whether it would remain open to traders of all nations ( Open Door Policy). The Chinese Eastern Railway was essentially completed in 1902, a few years earlier than the stretch around Lake Baikal. Until the Circumbaikal portion was completed (1904–1905; double-tracked, 1914), goods carried on the Trans-Siberian Railway had to be trans-shipped by

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

almost a hundred kilometers across the lake (from Port Baikal to Mysovaya). The Chinese Eastern Railway became important in international relations. After the

first Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

of 1894–1895, Russia gained the right to build the Chinese Eastern Railway in Manchuria. They had a large army and occupied Northern Manchuria, which was of some concern to the Japanese. Russia wanted the railway badly. It loaned money to China and promised to use the proposed railway to help defend China against Japan, in the secret Li–Lobanov Treaty of 1896. Construction started in 1898 and was completed in 1903. In 1900 during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

– which was suppressed by the

Eight Nation Alliance The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion, with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, which were being besieged by the popular Boxer ...

including Russia – Russia also launched a separate invasion of Manchuria sending 100,000 troops to protect their interests in the railroad. During the

, Russia lost both the

Liaodong Peninsula The Liaodong or Liaotung Peninsula ( zh, s=辽东半岛, t=遼東半島, p=Liáodōng Bàndǎo) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located ...

and much of the South Manchurian branch to Japan. The rail line from

Changchun Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin, Jilin Province, China, on the Songliao Plain. Changchun is administered as a , comprising seven districts, one county and three county-level cities. At the 2020 census of China, Changchun ha ...

to Lüshun — transferred to Japanese control — became the

. During the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

(1917–1924) the Russian part of the CER came under the administration of the White Army. From the 1919 Karakhan Manifesto to 1927, diplomats of the Soviet Union would promise to revoke concessions in China, but the Soviets secretly kept tsarist concessions such as the Chinese Eastern Railway, as well as

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

s, barracks, and Orthodox churches. This led Chiang Kai-Shek — who pushed foreign powers such as Britain to return some of their concessions from 1925 to 1927 — to turn against his former Soviet ally in 1927, seizing Soviet

legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...

s. The Soviets would later fight an armed conflict to keep control over the northern CER in the Sino-Soviet conflict of 1929. while Japan maintained control of the southern spur line. After the establishment of

it was known as the North Manchuria Railway until 23 March 1935, when the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

sold its rights to the railway to the Manchukuo government; it was then merged into the Manchukuo National Railway and converted to standard gauge in four hours on 31 August. From August 1945, the CER again came under the joint control of the

and

. After World War II the Soviet government insisted on occupying the

but allowed joint control over the Southern branch with China; all this together received the name of the "Chinese Changchun Railway" (). In 1952, the Soviet Union transferred (free of charge) all of its rights to the Chinese Changchun Railway to the

. File:Title- Manchuria (14238160432).jpg, Railway in Manzhouli File:Ag1987 0662x 40 opt.jpg, Chinese Eastern Railway Workmen at Meal, ca. 1903–1919 File:Sungari.jpg,

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

s guard the CER bridge over the Sungari River in

during the Russo-Japanese War (1905) File:Lushunzhan.jpg, The Lüshun train station, built during the period of Russian control File:China-Russian Railway Postcard.jpg, A 1900 postcard depicting a train on the Chinese Eastern Railway File:The Official Saloon Car of the Chinese Eastern Railway Russian Railway Museum.jpg, A CER executive car at the

Russian Railway Museum The Russian Railway Museum is situated next to Baltiysky railway station in Saint Petersburg. The museum was established in 1978, its current site and exhibition opened to public on 1 November 2017. The museum utilizes the nineteenth century ...

File:Chinese Eastern Railway- Exterior Views of Locomotives and Freight Cars (14240411225).jpg, Locomotives and rolling stock of the CER

Flags

The flag of the Chinese Eastern Railway is a combination of Chinese and Russian flags. It changed several times with the political changes of both owners. The first CER flag (1897–1915) was a combination of the triangular version of the

flag of the Qing dynasty The flag of the Qing dynasty was an emblem adopted in the late 19th century (1889) featuring the Azure Dragon on a plain yellow field with the red flaming pearl in the upper left corner. It became the first national flag of China and is usually re ...

and the

flag of Russia The national flag of the Russia, Russian Federation (, ) is a tricolour of three equal horizontal bands: white on the top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. The design was first introduced by Tsar Peter the Great in 1693, and in 1705 ...

, with ''East Provinces Railway of Great Qing'' () in Chinese. The 1915–1925 flag replaced the flag of the Qing dynasty with a triangular version of the five-colored flag, with ''East Provinces Railway Company of China'' () in Chinese. The flag was changed again in 1925 and 1932, with the

flag of the Soviet Union The State Flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also simply known as the Soviet flag or the Red Banner, was a Red flag (politics), red flag with two Communist symbolism, communist symbols displayed in the Canton (flag), canton: a gold ...

and the

flag of Manchukuo The flag of the Empire of Manchuria had a yellow field with four horizontal stripes of different colors in the upper left corner. The colors of the flag were based on the colors on the Five Races Under One Union flags used by the Beiyang gover ...

added.

Fleet

The only train that covers the entire route is the train #19/20 "Vostok" (translated as "East") Moscow — Beijing. The trip from Moscow to Beijing takes 146 hours (6 days, 2 hours). The journey in the opposite direction lasts 143 hours (5 days, 23 hours). There is also a train #653/654 Zabaikalsk — Manzhouli which one can use to cross the Russian-Chinese border. The trip takes 25 minutes.

References

External links

Archival collections

Guide to the Photograph Album of the Chinese Eastern Railway.
Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
Views of the Chinese Eastern Railway
This album contains 42 photographic prints depicting depots, railroad shops and yards, rolling stock, car interiors, tracks, health resorts, and other views along the line. Captions for the photographs are in Russian, Mandarin, and English.

Other

Hong Kong Railway Society web pages: under “English, Members Corner, Feature Articles”. Retrieved January 2009 {{Authority control * History of Manchuria Rail transport in Siberia Defunct railway companies of China Concessions in China China–Russia relations China–Soviet Union relations 1520 mm gauge railways in Russia Standard-gauge railways in China Standard-gauge railways in Russia 1520 mm gauge railways in China Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Heilongjiang History of Harbin Railway companies of Russia