The Woosung railway was a 19th-century, 2 ft 6 in narrow-gauge passenger railway in Shanghai, China, between the outskirts of the American Concession in the modern city's Zhabei District and Wusong in Baoshan District. Surreptitiously conceived and constructed, it ran for less than a year before it was purchased and dismantled by the Qing viceroy Shen Baozhen. The line would not be rebuilt for twenty years. This fate was a commonly invoked symbol of the Qing dynasty's backwardness and insularity, despite the road's admitted illegality and numerous legitimate objections voiced by the Chinese during its construction and operation.
The opening of the Woosung road.
The opening of the Woosung Road, as depicted by the September 2, 1876, Illustrated London News.
The Woosung Road in 1876.
Remnant of the Tiantong'an Station on the Woosung railway in Hongkou District.
Shen Baozhen (1820–1879), formerly romanized Shen Pao-chen, was an official during the Qing dynasty.
Shen Baozhen