Harbin – Standing in entrance of a bustling practice station in Harbin, the capital of China’s Heilongjiang Province, senior architect Li Lili (43) clearly remembers how crowded and chaotic the practice station was 20 years in the past.
“An enormous grey concrete constructing, stuffed with deafening shouts and disoriented vacationers: this was my first impression of the biggest practice station within the province,” Li mentioned.
As he walked by the crowded concrete constructions, Lee by no means imagined himself changing into a designer and serving to to innovate these stations.
Throughout her profession, many railway stations in China have developed from mere passenger gateways into trendy, multi-functional transportation complexes, reworking the journey expertise.
“Touring by practice in China has lengthy been a reckless alternative for many individuals, with fixed crowds at station entrances and platforms,” ​​Li mentioned.
Li defined that previously, as a result of the railways have been primarily constructed for freight trains, many passenger stations have been solely supporting services and didn’t present fundamental providers akin to steerage and diversion for passengers.
In 2008 issues began to vary.
Li Keqiang mentioned that many railway stations have seized the chance to enhance service ranges to facilitate journey for passengers.
“One instance is the widespread acceptance of elevated railways in renovated or new stations, which join platforms from above,” Li mentioned.
He added that this innovation considerably reduces the variety of intersections on passenger routes inside the station, avoiding congestion and serving to passengers attain their trains extra simply and shortly.
One other change in practice station design entails the incorporation of native tradition. “Since round 2016, this pattern has been accompanied by the additional growth of China’s high-speed rail community and the rise of personalised journey,” Li mentioned.
He mentioned that vacationers and native governments now hope that railway stations will turn into city landmarks, not simply gateways, exhibiting the distinctive traits of vacationer locations.
“The enduring skyline of Harbin Railway Station was remodeled in 2018. I integrated European-style components into the redesign of Mudanjiang Metropolis Railway Station, highlighting its distinctive historical past of cultural integration,” mentioned Li.
As an architect, Lee has been concerned within the design of greater than 100 practice stations throughout his decades-long profession and continues to reinvent practice stations for the following era.
“As an increasing number of individuals settle for new journey strategies akin to experiential tourism and concrete tourism, practice stations have gotten the sub-center of town. In some cities akin to Hangzhou and Chongqing, practice stations now combine lodging, leisure, and concrete transportation. In a single.
