Li Hongzhang (1823-1901) once built a railway in the Forbidden City for Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The old news has been repeatedly rediscovered and discussed for various reasons in Chinese media and among scholars over decades. But the sightseeing railway built by Li for the Empress Dowager and Emperor Guangxu in the Summer Palace has rarely been mentioned.

The Summer Palace Railway was first proposed in 1887， shortly after Li Hongzhang was summoned to Beijing and charged with security affairs for the Empress Dowager and the Emperor for their travel and sacrificial ceremony at the royal cemetery. In interviews between the Dowager who was the real power of the dynasty at that time and Li over various issues， the subject of building a sightseeing railway in the Summer Palace came up. Li reported that a foreign businessman was willing to build a sightseeing railway in the Summer Palace at his own expenses.

The proposal looked like a move designed to please the Dowager and the Emperor. But it was not that simple. Li， a minister who tried to promote westernization in China， had long since aimed to introduce railways to China. It was not until after the Sino-French War in 1885 that the Dowager changed her mind about the railway project. In September 1885， Li brought an American model train and an engineer to the Forbidden City and staged a show. The successful demonstration pleased the Dowager. The American ambassador to China was pleased with the demonstration and remarked in his report to the US government that the successful demonstration would make it possible for the vast empire to adopt the American railway system. Shortly afterwards， a railway extension program for the existing Tangshan-Xugezhuang Railway， suspended for more than five years， was finally resumed. The 11-km-long Tangshan-Xugezhuang Railway is China’s first ever railway system， built to transport coal from Tangshan Mines. It is now part of Beijing-Shenyang Railway. Li had planned to get the railway extend from Tianjin to Beijing. The demonstration was a move designed to feel for the political climate at the court.

Now Li Hongzhang needed to find a foreign businessman willing to finance his pet railway project. A French businessman was willing， for his negotiation with China to build a shipyard in Lushun for Chinese navy under the care of Li Hongzhang would be greatly helped if he financed Li’s pet railway project. The French businessman had a whole set of railway equipment in Tianjin. Li had a plan: the construction and installation project would kick off immediately in the Summer Palace， to be replaced by a new system as soon as it arrived in China from French. Li’s plan was approved. It cost 6，000 liang of gold.

Shanghai Journal (1872-1949)， a Shanghai-based Chinese business newspaper， reported on December 21， 1887 that the railway system was successfully transported under the heavy guard of military escorts all the way from Tianjin to the Summer Palace in Beijing. The transport attracted huge crowds of curious spectators.

After installation in nearly five months， the railway system was ready. Li Hongzhang’s diary relates， “May 22， 1888 saw the completion of the Summer Palace Railway. As the Chinese driver had an accident while test-running the royal train， the Empress Dowager ordered that the locomotive be removed and that people be used to push the train.”

Fourteen months had elapsed since the approval of the railway project. The new train arrived in China six months late as had previously expected. The newly imported train included six carriages--five luxury carriages in three different categories and one luggage carriage. The French businessman did not make a cent of profit out of this railway system. As he knew the train was for the Empress Dowager， he poured money into the manufacture of the train so as to make it as sumptuous and opulent as possible in the hope that the royal house would be pleased. Li was pleased. The Dowager was pleased. The French businessman was given a nominal high-ranking official title in compensation for his extra input.

During this period， Li Hongzhang had another railway installed for the Empress Dowager as she has been living in the West Garden since May， 1988 while the Summer Palace was under construction. It was not until April， 1991 that Dowager moved to the Summer Palace.

Li’s strategy worked. With the success of the Summer Palace Railway in place， the Dowager finally approved Li’s proposal of building Tianjin-Tonghua Railway. The approval coincided with the presentation of the train imported from France on the same day.