In 1872, a 12-year-old Chinese boy boarded a ship heading for the USA. He would be away from his parents for the next nine years. This young boy was Zhan Tianyou, who was destined to play a major role in the development of China’s railroads. Zhan Tianyou was one of the first 30 boys chosen to be part of the Chinese Educational Mission (CEM), which had been founded by the Chinese government at the time with the goal of helping China to develop and strengthen through education.
It was not easy, however, to recruit 30 boys whose parents were willing to part with their sons for fifteen years, which was the original plan of the CEM. No one knew what to expect if their children were to be separated from them by thousands of miles for more than a decade. Few people had any experience travelling to countries outside China, and many were afraid of foreigners. A friend persuaded Zhan Tianyou’s father to send his son for the CEM admission test, and eventually Zhan Tianyou joined the small group of boys sailing across the Pacific to the USA.
After the ship reached the US west coast, Zhan Tianyou and the other students had to travel by train across America to reach their schools on the east coast. On the way, the young Chinese boy drank in the amazing natural scenery, the culture and customs, and the developing American industrial civilisation. Looking back years later, he remembered that he had been especially impressed by the amazing railroads and trains.
Zhan Tianyou and his fellow students received a warm welcome from the school and their homestay families when they finally arrived in the state of Connecticut. For the first two years in Connecticut, Zhan Tianyou attended the Seaside Institute for Boys, where he became very close friends with the headmaster and his family. The headmaster’s wife, Mrs Martha Northrop, was an especially good friend and positive influence, encouraging the young Chinese boy to study science and engineering after he displayed a talent for maths. Many years later, Zhan Tianyou wrote to Mrs Northrop to express his great gratitude for her kindness and help during those early years.
During his two years at the boys’ school, Zhan Tianyou embraced as many opportunities as he could to learn about this new world. He took part in all sorts of sports, games, and other activities: swimming, skating, ball games, fishing, riding bicycles, playing chess, and more. He also became interested in travel and reading, especially Mark Twain’s novels. When he entered high school, he continued to participate in many different sports and other activities, even forming a baseball team with the other Chinese students attending the high school. Their team often competed with teams from different parts of the USA.
Zhan Tianyou did not, however, neglect his studies to pursue sports or play games. He greatly expanded his understanding of science and Western culture, took part in natural and social research, and eventually graduated first in his class and second in the whole school.
While in high school, Zhan Tianyou became increasingly interested in the rapid development of modern science and technology. He was impressed by the new American railroad system and the hard work of the Chinese workers who helped to build it. During a visit to Philadelphia, he was amazed by the many displays of science and technology at the Centennial Exposition (later renamed the World Fair). He was also saddened to see that only a few items were displayed by the Chinese representatives at the exposition: mostly tea, silk, and porcelain.
Those first five years of observation and experience, the great encouragement of his good friend Mrs Northrop, and his great desire to help his home country led him to a very clear choice of major in college: civil engineering, with an emphasis on railroad construction. He had seen first-hand how building railroads had greatly assisted America’s growth, and he felt that China would benefit similarly from having railroads.
Therefore, at the age of 17, Zhan Tianyou entered Yale University’s Sheffield Scientific School to study civil engineering. His hard work won him a scholarship and a medal in maths during his time there. He graduated in 1881 with a Ph.B. degree, ranking first in the graduation exams. Of the 120 Chinese boys who came to the US through the CEM, only Zhan Tianyou and another student completed college degrees, as in the summer of 1881, the Qing government decided to recall the CEM students.
Zhan Tianyou returned to China with a great desire to use his education and experience to build up his country. Seven years later, in 1888, he finally began to realise his dream of building a railroad system in China. He became particularly famous for his amazing work on the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, a railway line built across some of the most difficult geographical conditions in China. Zhan Tianyou, now known as the Father of China’s Railroad, served his country for 31 years, improving life for millions of people.