The construction of Lu-Han Railway (Lu Gouqiao, Bejing to Wuhan) stimulated the expansion of railway industry. Businessmen from Provinces as Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong proposed to build the railroad from Guangzhou to Wuhan by their capital.

Zhang Zhidong agreed with idea to build the road, but he had doubt in their financial resources. His idea was that government supervised the construction of the railway while businessmen took the operation.

Train arrived in Wuhan for the first time since Yue-Han Road completed construction

In May, the 22nd Guangxu Year (1896), Zhang delivered an imperial edict for the construction of rail. But Sheng Huaxuan sold the construction right to American imperialist. After struggle with America, the railway started construction in 1898.

Zhang died later, failing to see its completion.

The railroad was completed in 1936 with a total length of 1096 kilometers.

Zhan Tianyou, a renowned Chinese engineer was in charge of building the road.

Zhan Tianyou and his collegues.