Shanghai South station (; Shanghainese: Zånhae Nuezae) is a railway station in the city of Shanghai, China. In the Xuhui District, its importance is second only to the Shanghai railway station. After extensive renovation that was finished in 2006, the station features a modern circular design, the first of its kind in the world. The station was expected to handle 15 million passengers annually. Shanghai South serves most trains to cities of Zhejiang (including Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Ningbo, Jinhua and Wenzhou) and the Southern provinces of China, excluding the Shanghai-Hong Kong Route. Without a Customs/Immigration checkpoint it is not capable of clearing passengers straight to Hong Kong; until such a checkpoint is constructed the Shanghai–Kowloon through train will continue to depart from Shanghai station. It is also possible to catch high-speed services to West Kowloon station in Hong Kong via Shanghai Hongqiao railway station: - customs and immigration clearance is done in Hong Kong. Shanghai South railway station also serves as the starting point for the Jinshan railway, running via Xinzhuang in Minhang District to Jinshanwei in Jinshan District, crossing the Huangpu River on a dedicated railway bridge. History Shanghai South station was originally constructed in 1908 as the terminus of the Shanghai-Hangzhou railway line. In 1937 during the Battle of Shanghai, part of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese advanced towards the station in an action known as Bloody Saturday. The fighting destroyed the building and killed many civilians; a photograph showing a crying Chinese baby among the ruins became Time's image of the year. An extensive redesign has been carried out until 2006 by AREP (Paris), ECADI (Shanghai) and MaP3 (structural engineer - Paris), making the new station the world's first circular railway station. With the reopening, two minor Shanghai railway stations have been closed: Shanghai West in Putuo District and Meilong station near Jinjiang Park. All railway connections of these stations have been moved to Shanghai South station, and according to estimates, up to 40% of passengers of Shanghai station will be diverted to the new station. A station fire occurred on April 24, 2010, at 4 pm that was extinguished in 30 minutes. Station The Station is located in the southwestern part of Xuhui District, occupying sixty hectares of land. The new look of South Station has a very clean, airport-like look and feel. The station itself is elevated 47 meters above ground and has a diameter