Peking–Mukden Railway () was a 19th-century steam powered trunkline connecting Peking (Beijing) and Mukden (former name of Shenyang) through Tianjin, northeastern Hebei, and southwestern Liaoning; it was a crucial railway in North China and Northeast China. The history of the railway can date back to Kaiping Tramway (often known as Tangshan–Xugezhuang Railway in Chinese) completed in 1881, which became PMR after several extensions in the next 31 years. It was significant and influential in the Railway development and even transportation histories in China since it was the first trunk line being built and operated successfully. Although Woosung Road and had been built years before PMR, they were neither built for practical use nor in operation for more than a year. Timeline The timeline of how Kaiping Tramway was transformed into the trunkline PMR was shown below. The Inner-Pass section Predecessor – Kaiping Tramway Kaiping tramway, commonly known as Tangshan–Xugezhuang railway in China, was the first railway built for transportation purpose and was regarded as the origin of China's railway development. With the length of about 9 km, this railway was completed in November 1881 as a tramway to help the coals in Kaiping Mines move to Tangshan to meet the demands of Imperial Chinese Navy and China Merchants Steam Navigation Company. As the supply of Kaiping Mines increased, this tramway was extended to lutai and renamed Tangshan–Lutai Railway in 1887. Conversion to trunk line On 5 March 1887, The Administrative of Imperial Chinese Navy reported to the royal court, requesting for railway's further extension to Taku in the west and Shanhai Pass in the east, to make troops move faster. Claude W. Kinder was called upon to survey the route. Li had to overcome opposition in the Imperial Court.... but gained sanction for the line to be extended 50 miles to Tianjin. Kinder, as Chief Engineer of the now newly named China Railway Company, was then permitted to secure the services of several more foreign engineers which included Resident Engineers A.W.H. Bellingham and W. Watson. The railway was extended from Lutai to Taku in March 1888, and to Tianjin in August. Having been built for 14 months, the railway was completed and renamed as Tangshan-Tianjin Railway. Limited train services commenced in August 1888. On 9 October, the opening ceremony of Tangshan-Tianjin Railway, presented by Zhili Governor Zhou Fu, was held in Tianjin. After examining the quality of the equipments in