Hongqi Railway, a freight dedicated line that has been in operation for 60 years, was once an industrial "lifeline" connecting Hongqi Factory in the northern suburb of Xi ‘an and Xi ‘an East Station (now Chanba Station). With the shutdown in 2018, the surrounding environment of Hongqi Railway is incompatible with the pace of building an international metropolis in Xi ‘an, which has become a "scar" within the city.
Since 2020, the news that Hongqi Railway will be transformed into a cultural park has been constantly spread, but the progress has been slow. When the Hongqi Railway will be reborn has become the focus of attention of the surrounding citizens in recent years.
A few days ago, the land acquisition and demolition work was started along the Hongqi Railway in Weiyang area, and the long-awaited Hongqi Railway Park will soon meet the public.
Hongqi special railway line that has been out of service for 6 years.
The special line of Hongqi Railway has been out of service since 2018, and it has been 6 years since then. In 2020, the transformation plan of building the railway into a theme park was put forward, but it was delayed to be implemented. The reason why it is difficult to rebuild the area along the line is that the land ownership of this line belongs to Xi ‘an Aeroengine Group Co., Ltd. (formerly Xi ‘an Hongqi Machinery Factory).
In 1958, Hongqi Machinery Factory, located in the north of Xi ‘an, was completed, and a dedicated freight railway line, which started from Xi ‘an East Station (now Chanba Station) of the former Longhai Line and ended at Hongqi Factory, was also opened, namely the dedicated red flag railway line. This railway line, which runs through the new urban area, weiyang district and Qujiang Daming Palace ruins, and reaches the Hongqi Factory in Xujiawan, has a total length of about 13 kilometers. It is the longest dedicated line in the main urban area of Xi ‘an. At the peak, the Hongqi Railway was used by 18 units, not only serving enterprises, but also undertaking some transportation tasks of steel, grain, oil and other resources in Xi ‘an.
With the development of urban construction in Xi ‘an, the transformation of transportation mode and the transformation of factory management, the demand for railway freight in urban areas has decreased. In 2018, Hongqi Railway chose to stop operating.
In recent years, the negative impact of this special railway line on urban planning and economic and social development in Xi ‘an has become increasingly prominent, and the surrounding areas along the railway line have gradually developed into large residential areas. It is imperative to transform this abandoned railway.
Four years ago, the transformation idea of theme cultural park was put forward.
There have always been many imaginations about how to rebuild the Hongqi Railway.
Judging from the transformation cases of existing waste railways in Xi ‘an, the theme park of Textile City Railway and the passenger transformation of Xihu Railway are two possible transformation directions.
In 2020, Qujiang Daming Palace Site Protection and Reconstruction Office released the related contents about the leisure ecological corridor of Hongqi Line (Railway) Wenlv (development project of Hongqi Special Line), which started from Hanyuan Road and ended at Fengcheng Fifth Road, with a total length of about 5.5 kilometers. The construction contents include the use of existing railway tracks, surrounding plots and underground space to create multiple values such as industrial heritage protection, ecological environment restoration, road traffic dredging, improvement of living environment and comprehensive supporting improvement.
According to media reports at that time, the planning scheme was not finally determined by the municipal government, so it is still unknown whether the final scheme is feasible.
Although the transformation plan has not been determined, the transformation of Hongqi Railway Dedicated Line into a theme cultural park has gradually become the most mainstream idea.
According to the planning contents revealed in recent years, the nature of urban green space is basically determined along the Hongqi Railway. In particular, the Regulatory Detailed Planning of Weiyang tuanjie village Area in Xi ‘an, which was published in the second half of 2021, mentioned that it will learn from the international industrial heritage reconstruction case to build the Hongqi Line Railway Ecological and Cultural Park. In the Master Plan of weiyang district’s Land and Space (2021-2035), Hongqi Railway Park was put forward as one of the plates in Xujiawan area aimed at "strategic emerging industries gathering place".
Land expropriation along the line started this month.
Once the news that Hongqi Railway will be transformed into a cultural park was disclosed, it aroused widespread concern among the public. However, the silence after the planning has also attracted constant questioning from the public.
In October 2023, some citizens inquired about the progress of the construction of Hongqi Railway Park through the Internet. Relevant departments replied that the area of Hongqi Railway Line is planned as urban green space, but the land ownership of this line still belongs to Xihang Company, and related work will be gradually promoted according to the overall urban planning.
On April 16th this year, the Natural Resources and Planning Bureau of Xi ‘an once again replied to the construction of the cultural park along the Hongqi Railway in Xi ‘an through the People’s Daily Online Leadership Message Board: the land ownership of the Hongqi Railway belongs to China Hangfa Xi ‘an Aero Engine Co., Ltd. and has not been included in the government reserve. At present, the municipal government has arranged a thorough investigation on the original site of the railway line and the surrounding land, and later, according to the new overall planning of land space and the actual development of the city, the land resources will be revitalized as a whole.
Before May Day this year, the transformation of Hongqi Railway ushered in new progress. According to the column of "Calendar of District Chief" in official website of weiyang district Municipal Government, on April 30th, a special meeting on land expropriation and reserve of Hongqi Railway Special Line was held.
On May 6th, Wang Xiaoyu, the mayor of weiyang district, investigated the land expropriation and reserve work of the special line of Hongqi Railway. That night, weiyang district released the tweet "The Land Requisition and Relocation of Hongqi Park and Its Surrounding Areas Began", introducing the work of Tanjia Street in promoting the land requisition and relocation of Hongqi Railway Park and its surrounding areas (Hongqi East Road-Yongtai Road Section). It was mentioned that as of the morning of May 6, the street had mobilized more than 120 merchants and enterprises, moved out of 15 households and vacated 800 square meters of land.
On May 6-7, official website, weiyang district Municipal Government issued three tender notices for ground demolition, building (structure) demolition and garbage removal of Hongqi Railway Park and its surrounding comprehensive reconstruction projects, involving Daming Palace Street, Tanjia Street and Xujiawan Street.
Xi ‘an Natural Resources and Planning Bureau: Planning scheme is being prepared.
The start of the demolition and reconstruction along the Hongqi Railway sends a new signal, which means that the Hongqi Railway Park will meet the public soon. On May 7th, a reporter from the China Business Daily came to the area where Hongqi Railway is located in Tanjia Street, weiyang district for a field visit.
It can be seen that the notice of Tanjia Sub-district Office has been posted at all intersections along Hongqi Railway, informing all units along Hongqi Railway that the land along Hongqi Railway is planned to be expropriated and utilized according to the work arrangement of the urban government, and all units and individuals located within the scope of expropriation and demolition along the railway are required to dismantle and move their belongings, vehicles, facilities and equipment, temporary houses, etc. from the site on May 8, 2024.
I also saw that a waste recycling station near Yongtai Road along the Hongqi Railway was being cleaned up and demolished. The owner said that a few days ago, the government uniformly informed them to build a park here, leaving a week for demolition, because it used to be a color steel house and a simple scaffolding, which was dismantled quickly, and where it will be moved later has not yet been determined. Across a wall on the south side of the waste recycling station, an engineering vehicle is demolishing the pavement masonry.
On the south side of Yonglong Road, the part along the Hongqi Railway used to be a living market. On the afternoon of May 7, the colored steel houses in the market were being demolished. Two elderly people who live nearby stood at the market gate and watched. They told reporters that there are more and more residential areas nearby. If a park can be built, it will be a great thing for the surrounding residents.
The part of Hongqi Railway on the north side of Yonglong Road was transformed into a parking lot before, and several excavators and engineering vehicles were parked in the courtyard. Cars keep leaving the parking lot. Security guards reminded pedestrians: "The parking lot will be closed in these two days. If there is your car in it, drive away as soon as possible, and then it will be transformed into a square."
At the northeast corner of the intersection of Hongqi Railway and Yonglong Road, there is a railway requisition and demolition headquarters of Hongqi Railway Park in Tanjia Street. The headquarters has posted a map of the current situation of the area along Hongqi Railway and a schematic diagram of the land acquisition and storage tasks of Hongqi Railway. From the publicity point of view, the leading group for the comprehensive transformation of Hongqi Railway Park and its surrounding areas has been established.
On May 8, the reporter from the China Business Daily learned from the Xi ‘an Natural Resources and Planning Bureau that the planning scheme of Hongqi Railway Park is currently under preparation.
There are typical cases of activation and utilization of railway dedicated lines.
Transforming cultural parks with abandoned railways is nothing new.
Looking at the whole country, Baixi Park in Shanghai is a successful example of the transformation of abandoned railways. Similar to the special line of Xi ‘an Hongqi Railway, the location of Shanghai Baixi Park was originally a freight railway branch line (Zhenru Line). In December, 1998, Zhenru Freight Railway Branch Line withdrew from the historical stage. It was used as Cao Yang Railway Farmers’ Market and Cao Yang Railway Comprehensive Market for 20 years, and it was closed in June, 2019 because of urban development.
Just two years later, in 2021, Baixi Park reappeared with a new attitude after urban renewal and met the public. Spatially, the park is divided into three layers, namely, a semi-underground floor, a ground floor and an aerial floor, which includes multiple functions such as sports, leisure and art exhibition, and is equipped with a large number of greening and public art installations.
The perspective turns to Xi ‘an, and the Textile City Railway Theme Park is also a very typical transformation case. The upgrading and reconstruction project of the railway theme park in Textile City is to activate and utilize the special railway line for freight transportation of textile enterprises in 1950s, reinforce and maintain six original warehouse buildings of textile enterprises on both sides of the railway, transform the pipe network, add landscape greening, etc., and introduce a variety of business economies to create a block park integrating historical humanities and leisure and entertainment consumption. At present, the first-phase motorcycle park and the second-phase railway theme park have been completed and put into use, making them a choice for Xi ‘an citizens to relax and punch in.
We also expect that the Hongqi Railway can be transformed into a cultural park as soon as possible to meet the citizens and glow with new vitality and vitality. Huashang Daily gale news reporter Bai Zhongxia
Source: Huashang. com-Huashang Daily
