Article 36 of the Common Program

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The layout of transportation networks correlates with population distribution, with urban areas being more densely populated in eastern China compared to the west. This distribution pattern is influenced by both natural factors and the demands of economic activities and people. The railway transport system consists of interconnected trunk lines, branch lines, connection lines, and railroad hubs, with Beijing serving as the central hub. The Beijing–Guangzhou Railway and Longhai Railway–Lanzhou–Xinjiang Railway (initiated in 1952) are the main trunk lines of this network. Fig. 36.1: Transport network 1949-1954

The transportation sector, especially motorized transportation, is almost completely under the control of the state. Fig. 36.2: Transportion enterprises 1949-1953

In the next parts, the emphasis lies on waterways, highways, and railways and their economic meaning. Zhang (2020) stresses the importance of how "The rapid, systematic development of national railway systems exemplifies the conjoining of socialist governance with technological infrastructure. The nationwide circulation of the newly produced films coincided with the construction of railroads that carried communications to the far corners of the country." The first movie produced after 1949 is the Bridge (See Chinese movies it shows a group of workers who attempt to repair a railway bridge over the Sungari River so that the Communist army can cross during the civil war in northeast China.

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The railway sector can be divided in a transportation sector (passenger and freight) and several non-transportation sectors (rolling stock, civil engineering, research, signal and communication, and electrification.) The focus lies on the non-transportation sector. The distibution of the railway network is geographically unbalanced, the main connections are to be found in east and northeast China. Fig. 36.3: Railway network 1948-1954

"In fact, in 1949 about 60 per cent of the total 21,800 kilometres of railways (...) of different gauges and types were concentrated in Northeast China and along the coast. More specifically, 53.85 per cent of the provincial capitals had no rail connections with Beijing.⁴" The lack of progress witnessed during the Republican era (1912 to 1948) in China can be attributed to three key factors. Firstly, the socio-political landscape of semi-colonial and semi-feudal Chinese society was characterized by persistent military conflicts. These destructive events had a paralyzing effect on the national system, resulting in the operational capacity of the railway network dwindling to approximately 10,000 km by late 1949.
Secondly, the issue of fragmentation posed a significant challenge for the Nationalist government. The construction of railways by foreign powers, including Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Belgium, and the US, was carried out according to their own technological standards and gauge specifications. This lack of standardization in railway infrastructure impeded efforts to integrate and expand the existing network efficiently.
Lastly, the absence of a centralized coordinating system within the Nationalist government hindered effective regulation and oversight of railway production. Regional railway bureaus wielded more influence and authority than the central government in Nanking, further exacerbating the lack of coordination. These three factors, namely persistent military conflicts, the problem of fragmentation caused by foreign powers, and the absence of a centralized coordinating system, collectively impeded progress throughout the Republican era. The limited expansion and modernization of the railway network, alongside broader economic and social development, were adversely affected. It was only with the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 that concerted efforts were undertaken to address these challenges and expedite progress in various sectors, including transportation infrastructure. Fig. 36.4: Railway network 1912-1957

Another contributing factor to the transportation network's condition was the extensive damage inflicted during the Civil War by both the GMD regime and Communist troops. In particular, nearly 4000 miles of railroad tracks were destroyed, with the Northeast region being heavily affected. The Nationalist government's efforts to repair the damage faced challenges due to swift counterattacks by Communist forces, limiting successful rehabilitation to areas south of the Yangzi River where there was no Communist military presence. Even by 1950, the Civil War had not entirely ceased, with the transport sector being a frequent target of sabotage. According to classified reports from the Ministry of Railways in Beijing, there were 813 recorded sabotage attempts in the first eight months of 1950, with 412 of them being successfully prevented. These acts of sabotage resulted in the destruction of numerous locomotives, railway carriages, and bridges, further straining China's already burdened railway network. After the founding of the PRC, the government starts with an ambitious plan to expand the railway network:

Chengdu–Chongqing railway or Chengyu railway opened in 1952 and was the first railway to be built after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

The Litang–Zhanjiang railway or Lizhan railway was built from 1954 to 1955.

Yingtan–Xiamen railway or Yingxia railway was built between 1954 and 1957. The railway was intended to serve the dual purposes of national defense (Taiwan is opposite of Fujian) and Regional development.

The Lancun−Yantai railway or Lanyan railway was built from 1953 to 1956.

The Xiaoshan–Ningbo railway or Xiaoyong railway was dismantled in 1938, rebuilt partly in 1953, and finished in 1959.

The Baoji–Chengdu railway or Baocheng railway was built from 1952 to 1954, but was opened in 1958.

The Lanzhou−Xinjiang railway or Lanxin railway started in 1952, completed in 1962, and opened in 1966.

Like in other sectors of the economy, the GMD and the CCP governments used Japanese engineers and technicians to rebuild and to expand the railroad network. In the first 5-year plan, 2500 miles of new railways are planned. To consolidate the central state power, and to integrate the interior and/or remote Regions with new railroads was a main goal. Some of these plans were already made during the GMD administration because they were considered of strategic and economic importance. Most of these new lines were built with the involvement of SU advisors and former GMD technicians and engineers. By the end of 1952, the SU had sent over 1,300 specialists to work on China’s trunk lines and received and trained over 40,000 Chinese railway engineers and technicians and CCP cadres. "Learning from the SU" became a focal point in managing the railway and ministry structure.
Many of the GMD employees were denounced as “counterrevolutionaries” in April 1951. To avoid discontinuity, the railroad administration became heavily connected and integrated in the military defense, and political indoctrination increased. The PLA retained control over railway planning, construction, and repair, exerting significant influence in these areas. Railway production was centralized, with repairs and maintenance largely guided by the PLA's military strategies. The development of the railway sector was specifically geared towards facilitating logistical support for national unity efforts and the Korean War. Many demobilized PLA soldiers found work in the construction of railroads. In 1953, a special railroad army corps was founded to work in remote areas. Kroll (2019) states: "The “outsourcing” of railroad construction to the PLA in many ways was a brilliant move because it allowed a riskier approach for the construction of new lines, while also providing the benefits of the disciplined work ethic of railroad soldiers and the mobility of the military. At the same time, the experiences of former tiedaobing on construction sites also demonstrated that certain issues related to railroad construction, such as negotiating land acquisitions, hiring local labor, and interacting with the local population, were not fundamentally different from the practices employed during the Republican period." Railways

Most of the newly undertaken constructions had to be operated in inhospitable and dangerous conditions and environments. "...in order to speed up the building of the railway system, the railway authorities “arbitrarily increased the intensity of labor” but paid little attention to improving working conditions and work safety. As well as doing serious damage to the health of many workers, this led to numerous accidents and injuries. However, consolation money for the families of victims and injury compensation were much lower than the amounts stipulated by the central government." Therefore, the railroad workers earned several privileges, like free train tickets, free primary and middle school for their children, and higher wages. The lack of appropriate capital investments (In the 5-year plan transport, postal services, and telecommunications received only 19 percent of the investment funds, of which railways received 69% of this total funding) was compensated by focusing on the mass mobilization of workers. Traincrew were mostly men, but on October 1, 1951 Li Shi, the first female engine driver graduated. Except Xinjiang and Tibet, a unified time standard is introduced. This made freight and passenger transport much easier than the five different times zones which existed before October 1949. There were a huge variety of different locomotive types from the former foreign powers (France, UK, US, Japan and SU) usually in small quantities that had little in common. There was also a large fleet of standardised and very capable engines left by the Japanese. It was only natural that the latter were selected for continued production. Russian engineers gave technical assistance for the construction of locomotives based on SU models. "China made a conscious decision to continue with steam production long after the rest of the world’s locomotive builders had switched to diesel and electric traction. The reason was entirely practical. Traffic was increasing so rapidly that it wouldn’t have been possible to build diesels fast enough given the skills available in the Chinese workforce at the time. Steam locomotives were relatively low-tech and simple, they could be built in large quantities and ran on cheap and readily available coal." In 1950, locomotives based on US model (Mikado), now renamed as “Jiefang” (JF) were produced with materials that remained on hand after the war. In 1952, the locomotives were built with new parts and mass production began. Thus, it became the major model of freight steam locomotive for main line railways in China in the 1950s. The volume of freight carried by railroads increases, however "Despite the increase of trackage, the railway system still was not able to cope with the increase of volume of industrial equipment and machinery, and construction materials to be transported from the coastal Regions or the northeast to the new industrial bases in the inland areas." Fig. 36.5: Volume of freight 1949-1954

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Between 1897 and 1902, the Russian Empire built a railway line from Chita to Vladivostok and to Port Arthur (Dalian), then a leased ice-free port in China. In August 1945, the SU and GMD administration agreed to a joint control over the southern branch, this was now called the Changchun Railway. During the visit of Mao Zedong to Stalin, the issue over control was regulated in a treaty. On 1 May 1950, the CCR was formally reestablished under joint USSR-PRC management. An important goal of the joint managment was for the Chinese side to learn Soviet systems for railway management and operations. It emphasized division of labour, specialization, and centralized responsibility. One person at each level of the organization took ultimate responsibility for the completion of its assigned tasks.(the one-leader system) During Zhou Enlai’s visit to Stalin, in September 1952, there was announcement issued regarding the return of the Changchun Railway before December 31, 1952. It took another two and a half years before the takeover was completed "...the value of the fixed and liquid assets transferred without compensation was 2.28 billion yuan or US$600 million. A partial list of the CCR’s assets includes the following: 3,282.7 km of railroad lines, including the trunk lines from Manzhouli to Suifenhe and from Manzhouli to Dalian and Lushunkou; 880 locomotives, 10,200 trucks; repair facilities, power plants, telegraph offices, signaling and communications equipment; administrative buildings; and subsidiary enterprises, such as coal mines, tree farms and lumber yards. Associated facilities included 1.85 million square meters of housing; 121 hospitals, clinics, and epidemic prevention stations; 69 schools, 25 cultural centers and clubs, 322 “Red Corners” (entertainment rooms); as well as shops and other commercial enterprises.³²"
Commencing in 1953, the inaugural year of the PRC's First Five-Year Plan (FFYP), there was an initiative within the railway system to "study and promote the CCR experience" (学习与推广中长铁路经验). Key personnel in leadership roles within the CCR and CCR Management Bureau were tasked with summarizing and disseminating their insights. These leaders compiled a document condensing their experiences into twelve lessons (12 条经验) intended for the PRCs railway system.
The Changchun Railway played an important role in the development of Northeast China and as supply line during the Korean War. Manzhouli was the first railway station on the Chinese side of the border. It was a small station, by November 1950, after the intervention of the CPV, eight to fifteen trains arrived daily from the Soviet Union, mostly loaded with guns and ammunition, the amount of materiel arriving quickly overwhelmed the existing infrastructure, creating a serious bottleneck. On December 9, 1950, Zhou Enlai placed the entire railway system and local administration of Manzhouli under military command, formally establishing a special-administrative area that remained in effect for the duration of the war until April 1953. "Due to a lack of cranes and other equipment, all of the materiel, even thirty-two ton T-34 tanks, had to be offloaded using manual labor, made even more arduous by the unforgiving Manchurian winter.¹⁵⁹" "In order to meet the influx of Soviet aid (15,298 train cars during four months from late 1950 to early 1951), an enlarged station, two new platforms, a new depot, and other infrastructure was hastily built.¹⁷² Better infrastructure was combined with a new customs system dubbed “One pass, non-stop travel (一票直達).”" "By 1953, more than 5.6 million tons of materiel had transited through Manzhouli according to official Chinese statistics showing that challenges notwithstanding, Manzhouli played a huge role in the modernization and arming of China’s forces in Korea.¹⁸¹"

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Comtois remarks there were "...80,768 kilometres of highways at the time of liberation in all of China. Moreover, the highway system was characterized by roads with little or no surfacing and by bridges and ferries of low capacity.⁵ Clearly, they were planned not to compete with the railways but to supplement them." Maintenance, repair and building had no priority, local authorities had to mobilize workers and raise funds. Fig. 36.5: Highway network 1949-1954

Most of the highways are located in the eastern coastal provinces. The highway network in Xinjiang was oriented towards the SU. Most roads are intended to provide short-haul connections with railroads and water networks, however, most of them are of poor quality. Many of them are not suitable for modern vehicles and can not be used all year around. The expansion of the highway network has economic and strategic objectives. Between 1950- 1958, the number of civilian trucks has increased from 40.000 to 96.000 trucks. Partly domestic produced and partly imported from the SU. Most transport are making use of traditional or primitive means of transport, like carts, animals, and porters. These labour-intensive transport is slow and inefficient, however, over short distances and mountainous Regions, it is sufficient.

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The main objectives of the PRC in 1949 were centering on the initial steps toward collectivization and the introduction of a planned economy. This was likewise the case in the maritime economy. Priority lies in marine fishery (see Article 34), the nationalization of coastal salt manufacture, coastal land reclamation (see Article 34), marine transportation (See below), building of cargo ships (see Below) , reconstruction of harbours in Tianjin and Guangdong (see Below), and founding of fisheries colleges at universities. Hydropower and the struggle against floods were also priority objectives. (see Article 34) The founding of the Navy is described in Article 22)

The oldest sections of the Grand Canal were completed in the early 5th century BC. The Grand Canal is of limited use as navigable waterway because of considerable silting and very low water during winter and spring when it is frozen for 5 to 6 months. It is used primarily to transport vast amounts of bulk goods such as bricks, gravel, sand, diesel, and coal. In 1957, only 144101 kilometres length of navigable inland waterways were available.

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All the major rivers -the Changjiang, the Huang He, the Heilung, the Zhujiang (Pearl) and the Haiho - flow from west to east and empty into the Pacific. The Yalutsangpo and Nukiang rivers in southwest China stream south into the Indian Ocean. The Irtysh River which flows through Sinkiang eventually finds its way to the Arctic Ocean.

The rivers in the northern part of China, north of the Huai River and the Chinling Mountains, have a large flow in the summer and a small flow in the winter. They freeze in the winter and are therefore not navigable the year round. Most of these rivers silt up, strong dykes have to contain these rivers otherwise they flood over and shift their course.

The rivers south of this northern part are navigable, they have more or less the same water volume and they don’t freeze in the winter. The Changjiang and its several major tributaries have a navigable length of more than 70,000 kilometres which makes the Changjiang the most important water route in China. "The importance of the Changjiang arises from three major considerations: (1) to move grain from Sichuan province, (2) to increase the exchange of goods between the Southwest and other parts of China, and (3) to transport coal and other important commodities on the middle and lower reaches of the river."

The rivers in the southwest are not navigable, because they rush down between towering mountains and narrow gorges. (Nukiang and the Lantsang) Rivers in the northwest flow at irregular intervals and frequently dry up. (the Tarim, the Tsaidam and the Shuleh.) Fig. 36.6: Large rivers and canal

Many rivers were still in their natural states with a depth of less than one metre.

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There are 3 main harbours situated at the mouth of rivers, Tianjin (Haiho river), Shanghai (Changjiang) and Guangzhou (Zhujiang). These 3 harbours are connected with the hinterland by rivers, railways and airlines. Tianjin serves north China, Inner Mongolia and northwest China and is the main maritime gateway to Beijing. During the Civil War the harbour was damaged and left it unusable by the time of its capture in 1949. On 17 October 1952, it reopened for traffic.
The traffic loss of the Tianjin harbour has been less severe than in Shanghai. The proximity to Beijing and northeast China is the main reason. During the first five-year plan, the Northeast is the spearhead of the development of heavy industry. The port is more specialized in bulk products (coal and minerals). Shanghai serves valleys of Changjiang and Huai river and the southeast coastel provinces. After 1949, the limited international trade hampered the harbour, but river shipping remained busy. The development of river ports along the Yangtze (Chongqing, 60 per cent of Sichuan Province’s export grain was transferred via Chongqing port, Wuhan, and Nanjing are of great significance as river hub ports) was important for national transport. Guangzhou serves south China and becomes China’s main maritime hub for international trade. There are bay harbours in Dalian on the Liaodong Peninsula, Qingdao on the Shandong Peninsula and Zhanjiang on the Leizhou Peninsula. Rail connections link them to the hinterland.

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Fig. 36.7: Ocean-going merchant fleet 1949-1954

PRC does not possess a substantial merchant fleet, so overseas trade is carried on in foreign ships. Mostly provided by SU and Poland. China-Polish Joint Shipping Company was established in Tianjin in 1951, with the Chinese and Polish governments sharing equally the costs. Poland acquired several ships from Britain, Denmark, and Sweden to establish a new line with China. Since 1949, China's shipbuilding industry was initially nurtured by the government with the aim of achieving self-sufficiency in naval and commercial ship construction. Shipbuilding was considered a strategic sector essential for enhancing China's military strength, propelling economic advancement, and stimulating the growth of its iron and steel industries. Shipbuilding industry started in Dalian. The Russian empire started a shipyard on leased territory. In 1905, after the Japan-Russian war, the Japanese expanded the ship yard. In 1945, at the end of the Second World War, the SU and China jointly operated the shipyard. On December 31, 1954, the SU handed the ship yard over to China. The shipyard in Shanghai has been founded during the last decades of the Qing empire. During the war, Japanese took control of the shipyard. In 1953, the shipyard was named Jiangnan Shipbuilding Factory. In 1954, the Guangzhou shipyard is founded.

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On November 2, 1949 the Politbureau of the CCP decided to establish a Civil Aviation Bureau under the People's Revolutionary Military Commission to manage civil avaiation. On November 9, 1949, pilots of the China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC), one of the two major Nationalist civil airlines defected to the PRC with 9 civil transport planes. 71 planes of the CNAC and the Central Air Transport Corporation are flown to Hong Kong. "On February 23, 1950, the Hong Kong Supreme Court ruled that the aircraft rightfully belonged to the People's Republic of China, thereby denying the rights of CAT while providing PRC with all the airplanes that were needed to start civil aviation operations on the mainland. The Communists were quick to send their crews to Hong Kong and repainted the airplanes with flag markings of the PRC. However, they never really received the aircraft. In July 1952, the ruling was reversed, and the decision was that the aircraft belonged to the Americans." After a 3-year court battle about 40 aircraft are handed over to Chennault's Civil Air Transport and shipped to the US. Besides the 9 airplanes, there were a few other planes. During the Civil War, most ground facilities and aircrafts were destroyed or damaged. Maintenance facilities and fuel stocks were almost not existing and there was a shortage of trained personnel. The Civil Aviation Bureau started recruiting former airline personnel. Most pilots and technicians were trained in the SU, or by the PLAAF, or in the College of Aviation set up in Beijing in 1952. In the First Five Year Plan the major portion of the investments went to building and expanding airports and other facilities. In the first years of the PRC, civil traffic was nearly non-existent. Most traffic was done by the PLAAF with the assistance of SU personnel.The primary factor contributing to the relatively sluggish development of air transportation during this era was the exorbitant price of gasoline, particularly in western China. In many inland areas, gasoline had to be transported over long distances by caravan or truck, resulting in costs that could be up to ten times higher than those at ports along the east coast. In 1950, two airlines were founded, a Chinese owned China Civil Aviation Corporation which could use about 25 US-built aircraft. About 12 could operate services in Eastern and Southern China, most of its flights were nonscheduled operations in support of the military. The second airline is a joint corporation with the SU named SKOGA, in fact this was a continuation of the joint venture established in 1939 between the GMD and SU. After negotiations a ten-year "Agreement for the Establishment of a Joint Stock Sino-Soviet Civil Aviation Company" was signed in Moscow on March 27, 1950. It had a fixed share capital of 42 million rubles, each of which accounted for 50%. SKOGA was not a commercial success, very few people could afford the luxury of traveling by air. In 1954, the SU handed over all facilities and equipment to the PRC. December 30, 1954, an agreement was signed between Moscow and Beijing for opening opening three air routes: (1) Peking-Moscow, (2) Urumchi-Alma Ata, and (3) Peking-Chita by civil aircraft In 1954, both companies were dissolved and brought together in the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
In 1950, the Chinese Air Force transferred a significant portion of its commercial aviation transport duties to the CAAC. While the demarcation between civilian air travel and military activities was relatively straightforward, the PLAAF continues to maintain operational authority over the majority of Chinese airspace, with only a minor portion being under civilian control. The civil air corridors are quite narrow (eight kilometers).

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The postal system of the People’s Republic of China was established in Beijing in 1949 and was expanded to the liberated areas. This enabled the authority to cease the sale of Regional stamps by end of June 1950, with the exception of the Northeast Liberation Area and the Port Arthur & Dairen Post & Telegraph (by end of 1950). The unified administration issued its first postage stamps in October 1949 that consisted of four with designs of ‘lantern and the Gate of Heavenly Peace’. Postal service is also used as propaganda tool, stamps play an important role. See Stamps. April 1949, GMD and CCP officials reached an agreement for the exchange of mails and the elimination of postal censorship. After mid-1949, the agreement ended and the GMD government reintroduced the blockade until January 1950. By the end of 1950, all provinces were entered into the unified postal service. On December 5, 1950 the Chinese People's Postal Administration accepts the Universal Postal Convention. November 1, 1949, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications is established. Zhu Xuefan was appointed Minister. He worked since 1924 for the Post Office. He was assisted by Gu Chunfan, former GMD director general of the Post Office and Zhao Zhigang, deputy director of the General Post Office, he was also a former GMD administrator. Minimal alterations were introduced to the structure, organization, and personnel, in line with Mao Zedong’s general directive issued on April 25, 1949, regarding the takeover of Nationalist offices, as well as the specific policy outlined by the Central Executive Committee concerning the Post Office. These directives stipulated that the Post Office should maintain its existing business framework, prioritize the swift restoration of services, disseminate fundamental policies, safeguard essential supplies, engage in staff education and ideological remolding, and analyze previous systems to strategize essential reforms. Additionally, a "three preservations" policy was implemented to conserve the former offices, wages, and bureaucratic structure of the GMD Directorate. Conference delegates adopted slogans akin to those of the Nationalist Post Office, retained green and yellow as institutional colors, retained the vast majority of staff, and adhered to almost all internal operational regulations. The most notable changes pertained to staff designations and office terminology, aimed at aligning with the revolutionary ethos of the new government. At the end of 1949, the postal administration operated about 25,000 post offices, but more than 21,000 were postal agencies operated by persons other than employees of the postal administration. Plans are made for the rapid repair of postal routes, and the main postal routes should strive to reach the 1936 level as soon as possible. The coastal cities, with large foreign business presence, had relatively advanced telephone systems. Shanghai possessed about 30% of all telephone lines on the mainland. In 1951, the total number of urban subscribers is 273.000, in the rural areas the total number is 45500. In the countryside, almost all telephones were for official use. In 1953, the administration started a campaign to provide more telephones in the countryside. On December 12, 1950, the Beijing-Moscow telephone line with a total length of more than 12,000 kilometers was officially opened. Communication

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On October 1, 1949, at the founding ceremony of the PRC on Tiananmen Square, the Telecommunication Administration had installed more than 200 telephones, hundreds of kilometers of remote broadcast lines, several wireless transmitters and amplifying equipment for the square.
In 1950, plans are made to restore and build the main national long distance communication network, to build an international broadcast system, (see Article 49 ) to renovate and develop local telephone systems in the capital and other big cities, and to expand river and coastal radio stations to improve navigation. According to the suggestion of Soviet experts, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications decided in July 1950 that postal and telecommunications should be under the centralized and unified leadership of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications to implement professional division of labor within the Ministry, and set up 4 business function bureaus, namely the General Post Office, the General Administration of Long-distance Telecommunications, the General Administration of Radio, and the General Office of Local Telephone.

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Chapter 4 of Common Program

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