Jinan West Station. Photo: Weibo
Jinan West Station. Photo: Weibo

After China took credit for operating the world’s most extensive high-speed rail network that bullet trains traverse at speeds of 200km/h and higher, the nation has shown continued momentum to level mountains and bridge rivers to extend that network to more far-flung regions, a point of genuine national pride for Chinese engineers and travelers alike.

But with the 25,000 kilometers of high-speed railways that China has established in a decade of after Beijing embarked on the construction spree back in 2008, it appears that the designers of the thousands of train stations along these lines have failed to keep pace.

Many new stations have received criticism and ridicule since their completion. And though design, style and appreciation are usually matters of personal taste, Chinese travelers have reached a consensus on listing the nation’s ugliest stations, as seen in social-media posts that lamented the declining taste of cadres at the China Railway Corporation as well as the designers they hired.

Here, we take a quick trip to some of the undisputed eyesores.

p44315307
From top: Lingbao West, Jinan West and Jinan North. Photos: Weibo
5fd2db71c0624b8286ab07f331b7f2ee_th
The main entrance to the Jinan West Station in eastern China’s Shandong province. Photo: Weibo
u=1849225543,2067405880&fm=27&gp=0
Shijiazhuang Station in northern China’s Hebei province. Photo: Weibo
u=3035498161,3811707693&fm=26&gp=0
Wuhu Station in Anhui province. Photo: Weibo
u=2044538617,3754723182&fm=26&gp=0
Qiqihar South Station in Inner Mongolia. Photo: Weibo
160048r16gx806axgdewyw
155029qe4scj9tpy5y59uy
Photos: Weibo
Ningbo Station (above) and Hangzhou East Station in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. Photos: Weibo

6 replies on “China’s ugliest train stations: eyesores sprout at full speed”

Comments are closed.