1932 Peping-Liaoning Railway Annual Report | Chinese National Railways | Manchuria | Bilingual Railway Report

Documenting one of the most turbulent periods in modern Chinese history, this original 1932 Peping-Liaoning Railway Annual Report records the operation of the Chinese National Railways during the first full year following the Japanese occupation of Manchuria. Issued in both English and Chinese, it provides a remarkable contemporary account of railway finances, infrastructure and administration while reflecting the political and economic uncertainty that reshaped northern China during the early 1930s.

An original 1932 Annual Report of the Peping-Liaoning Railway, issued by the Chinese National Railways, documenting one of the most important railway systems in northern China during a period of extraordinary political and economic change. Printed in both English and Chinese, the report provides detailed statistics, financial statements and operational information for the railway during the year following the Japanese occupation of Manchuria.

The Peping-Liaoning Railway (formerly the Imperial Railways of North China) was one of China's principal railway networks, linking Peking (Beijing), Tientsin (Tianjin), Tangshan and the northeastern provinces. This report records passenger and freight revenues, operating expenses, rolling stock, capital expenditures, railway loans, equipment inventories and the continuing expansion of the system. It also includes a concise history of the railway from its origins in the 1870s through the early twentieth century.

Of particular historical interest is the report's repeated reference to the political instability affecting railway operations following the events of 1931. The financial statements discuss the effects of the "continued unsettled political condition of the Outside Wall section," while several sections describe obligations, government guarantees and the impact on railway finances during this turbulent period. As such, the volume is not simply an administrative report but an important contemporary document relating to transportation and infrastructure in pre-war China.

The report is printed in parallel English and Chinese sections, making it useful both as a historical reference and as an attractive piece of railway ephemera.

Measurements

Report

• 10 inches x 13 inches
• 55 pages plus front cover (back cover absent)

Condition

The report remains complete internally but is in fair condition overall. The front cover and first text page are detached. The back cover is missing. The cover and several pages have heavy edge wear, tears, chips, creasing and age toning, particularly around the margins. Despite the deterioration to the edges, the printed text remains legible throughout, and the report is otherwise intact internally.

A scarce surviving document of Chinese railway history from one of the most significant periods in the development of modern China, offering valuable primary-source material for collectors of railways, transportation, Manchurian history, Chinese history and pre-Second World War ephemera.