Century-old witness to Harbin's history

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09:49

Harbin in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province has always been an important part of China's enormous railway system.

The hub is the country's earliest cross-border railway and remains an important channel in Sino-Russian railway transportation. All of this can be traced back to the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway.

Built by Imperial Russia, the Chinese Eastern Railway was once the most advanced transport route on the planet, turning the city from an unknown fishing village on the banks of the Songhua River into an international metropolis.

The Songhua River Railway Bridge is the the first cross-river bridge in Harbin. /VCG Photo

The T-shaped line connecting northeast China and Siberia consisted of three branches which intersected at Harbin. As the western branch of the Chinese Eastern Railway, the Songhua River Railway Bridge, or Binzhou (Harbin–Manzhouli) Railway Bridge, has left a long-standing memory in the city.

It is the oldest railway bridge on the Songhua River, Harbin and the first cross-river bridge in the city. The 934.8km-long Binzhou Railway Bridge used to be a major rail transport corridor across northeast China, traversing Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang.

The Songhua River Railway Bridge opens to public as a "bridge museum." /VCG Photo

As the new bridge was erected in 2014, the Songhua River Railway Bridge has ended its 113-year service, resting as a tourist attraction. It will always be there telling future generations what it witnessed in history.