Editor’s note: Pictures are the best way to trace the history of a city and its people.

We are presenting readers with pictures taken before the founding of the PRC, in the 1980s and also in the 21st century. The city’s 120-year history will be recast before you, thanks to the efforts of those who have recorded the city’s history.

  THE old Qingdao Railway Station, first built by colonists from Germany in 1899 as permitted by an agreement with the Qing Dynasty Government, was German Renaissance-style architecture.

    Construction on the rebuild project of the station started in February 1991, with an investment of about 200 million yuan (US$30.7 million).

    The new station, occupying 31, 000 square meters, was completed Aug. 8, 1994, which preserved only one front wall of the old station. Also, the new bell tower is 3 meters higher than the old one. (Chen Ting, Fan Zeshun)