For many locals, Guangzhou Railway Station has faded into a yellowed memory. After more than a decade, I passed through this once-iconic station again to return to the city where I have lived for over 20 years. To my surprise, the station is no longer what it used to be under the wheels of the times. Looking back at the newly renovated square in front of the station, I can still feel the precipitation of time in Guangzhou.
A Microcosm of an Era
Guangzhou Railway Station was once a microcosm of an era, witnessing the rise of a generation in southern China and carrying the collective emotions of China's population flow since the reform and opening-up. It was the starting point full of expectations for migrant workers returning home for the Spring Festival every year. The commercial hubs around the station were once prosperous. It was also the place where many people who came to the south to pursue their dreams earned their first pot of gold after the reform and opening-up.
Unforgettable Memories of the Past
Since I came to Guangzhou in 2001, two trips through Guangzhou Railway Station have left me with a deep fear of the word "railway station". I have two profound impressions of this place.
First, the overwhelming crowds. Coming from a small city, I was shocked by the scene at the station exit. Bosses looking for workers were everywhere, holding signs that read "Urgent Recruitment for Skilled Sewing Workers" and "High Salary Recruitment for Welders". Young people from all over the country poured out of the gate with bags on their backs, instantly surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the Pearl River Delta. It was the first time I experienced what it was like to be in a sea of people, and what it meant to queue all night just to buy a train ticket.
Second, the hidden dangers. You had to keep a close eye on your meager belongings at all times. A casual conversation with a stranger might lead to being robbed. In the era when you couldn't board the train without a ticket, being robbed meant losing not only your money but also your hope of returning home. At that time, Guangzhou Railway Station was not only a landmark but also known for its poor environment.
I also witnessed the 2008 Spring Festival travel rush. Snow and ice blocked the north-south transportation artery, leaving 100,000 people stranded here. Migrant workers who left their hometowns for urban construction wrapped themselves in heavy coats, breathing white mist in the cold wind and rain. Their woven bags were filled with new clothes and toys for their children. They waited here for days and nights, a microcosm of the Spring Festival travel rush known as the largest migration in human history.
Transformation in the New Era
After 2010, with the successive completion of high-speed railway stations, the hustle and bustle here gradually faded away. Today, the old Guangzhou Railway Station is no longer the only gateway to the city. New stations such as Guangzhou East Station, Guangzhou South Station, Guangzhou North Station, Guangzhou Zengcheng Station, Guangzhou Xintang Station and Guangzhou Baiyun Station have been built, becoming new transportation arteries of the region.
The old station did not disappear. Memories stretch like railway tracks, stubborn and unyielding. After a period of renovation, the old Guangzhou Station has returned to the track of the new era. It seems to remind us that when a city moves forward, it always takes some familiar scenery as the fare, then changes itself to regain its former prosperity in the development of the new era by virtue of its geographical advantage in the city center.
Just like the huge clock tower in the station square that still overlooks everything, the slogan "Reunify the Motherland, Revitalize China" remains a classic landmark of Guangzhou Railway Station in the hearts of Guangzhou people.
Today, the bell of Guangzhou Railway Station still rings on time. New-generation high-speed trains flash by, and the old station still breathes at its unchanging pace. No longer crowded, it calmly witnesses the era change of the new generation of Guangzhou people from "going out" to "coming home".