[Editor’s Note]
Amidst the hustle and bustle of traffic flowing to and fro, the lively automobile passenger stations were once a collective memory for generations. With the changing times and shifts in transportation modes, more and more passenger stations are now at a “crossroads,” facing the decision of whether to cease operations or undergo upgrades and transformations. What is the path forward for the transformation of these passenger stations?
The Paper launches a series of reports titled “Passenger Stations at the Crossroads,” conducting on-site investigations and visits to representative passenger stations across the country, engaging in deep dialogues with industry experts, passenger transport practitioners, and management departments to jointly explore this question of transformation.
Wuhan’s Fujiapo Long-Distance Bus Passenger Station, which carries the travel memories of several generations, has exited the stage of history.
Fujiapo Passenger Station, established in 1984 and located at No. 358 Wuluo Road, Wuchang District, Wuhan, belonged to Hubei Road Passenger Transport (Group) Co., Ltd. It was once the largest professional long-distance bus passenger station in central China, one of the largest window units in the Hubei provincial transportation and postal system, and a national first-level AAA station.
On September 9, 2024, the last passenger bus departed from Fujiapo Passenger Station.
After 40 years of operation, Fujiapo Passenger Station officially ceased operations on September 9, 2024, following the departure of the last passenger bus. Starting from September 10, all intercity and interprovincial passenger transport lines at Fujiapo Passenger Station were transferred to Hongji Passenger Station and Qingnian Road Passenger Station for continued operation.
The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) notes that currently, the land use attribute of the Fujiapo Passenger Station project site has been adjusted. The originally planned commercial land and protective green space within the project site are proposed to be adjusted to secondary residential land, park green space, and public parking spaces.
Long-distance passenger transport once played a crucial role in inter-provincial and inter-city travel. In recent years, with the socio-economic development and the increasing popularity of travel modes such as railways, airplanes, and self-driving, the market for long-distance bus passenger transport has declined. Should it quietly bow out as the tide of the times progresses, or seek transformation and survival amidst adversity? What is the future path for Wuhan’s traditional long-distance bus passenger stations?
On October 28, an exploration of Fujiapo Passenger Station after its closure. All photos in this article are by Wang Ting.
The 40-year-old Fujiapo Passenger Station bows out.
On October 28, more than a month after the official closure of Fujiapo Passenger Station, a reporter from The Paper conducted an on-site exploration and found that most of the businesses beside the waiting hall of Fujiapo Passenger Station had withdrawn, and the entrance to the food court was also tightly closed. Neighboring shops such as Shaxian Snacks, travel agencies, and car rental services had posted “Shop for Transfer” signs, with only one cold drink and grocery store still in operation.
The Paper notes that the architectural style of the passenger station reveals a sense of age, and the exterior walls of the station are relatively old. Approaching the waiting hall, the glass entrance doors are tightly closed with seals. Through the glass windows, one can see that the furnishings inside the waiting hall remain as usual, but all screens and lighting in the station have been turned off, making the hall appear dim.
The parking lot in front of Fujiapo Passenger Station is still in normal use, with some private cars parked there. There are no passengers on site, making it appear very desolate. Some areas beside the passenger station have been fenced off for construction, where the Wuhan Metro Line 12 is being built.
The cold drink and grocery store that is still in operation is located to the left of the passenger station’s waiting hall. It is operated by a lady in her sixties. She told The Paper that in the previous few years, Fujiapo still had a relatively high volume of people, but after the pandemic, the number of passengers seemed to decrease. The small dining shops around the passenger station have not relied on passenger traffic for income in the past two years and have switched to delivering take-out food. The main income of the grocery store currently comes from selling water and cigarettes to drivers in the parking lot in front of the passenger station. She said that she has not stocked up on goods for a long time and just wants to sell as much of the existing inventory as possible before moving out.
The lady from the grocery store mentioned that there is another passenger station, Hongji Passenger Station, near Fujiapo Passenger Station. Hongji Passenger Station is not only adjacent to Wuchang Railway Station but also has a subway, making transportation more convenient. Therefore, many passenger lines have been transferred to Hongji Passenger Station.
The main entrance of Fujiapo Passenger Station is a four-lane road with heavy traffic, and there is a two-lane road beside the side entrance. There are also many schools around the passenger station, such as Wuhan No. 15 Middle School, Wuhan Primary School, and Wuluo Road Experimental School. During peak school hours, there is a high volume of people, and traffic jams often occurred when the passenger station was still in operation.
According to a report by Hubei Daily in September of this year, the final departing lines from Fujiapo Passenger Station were to Huangshi, Huangmei, Wuxue, Luotian, and Yingshan. The report showed that at 3 PM on September 9, when the last bus departed, staff at Fujiapo Passenger Station waved goodbye to it. Thus, the 40-year-old Fujiapo Passenger Station exited the stage of history.
On October 28, the cold drink and grocery store beside Fujiapo Passenger Station was still in operation.
On November 3, a reporter from The Paper visited Fujiapo Passenger Station again and found that the entire passenger station area had been enclosed by tall cement walls. Almost all of the shops originally located on the side of the passenger station had closed their doors, and the inside of the walls was tightly covered. Through the side gate, one could see that renovation work was being carried out. Only one supermarket was still in operation outside the walls, and the owner said that the area will be redeveloped into a commercial residential area, and they are also packing up their goods to move out. Additional security personnel have been added to the main entrance of Fujiapo Passenger Station to manage the construction site entrance and maintain order.
On November 9, the Wuchang District Natural Resources and Urban-Rural Construction Bureau of Wuhan issued a modification announcement for the controlled detailed planning guidelines of management units A110801 and A110802 in the main urban area of Wuhan (Fujiapo Passenger Station plot).
According to the modification announcement, a 0.14-hectare park green space will be added at the intersection of Wuluo Road and Meiyuan Road, and approximately 0.4 hectares of land for a primary school will be added to the south of the site. A 2.29-hectare commercial land will be changed to residential land; the planning of the southern road and the eastern public passageway will be slightly adjusted in conjunction with the land layout, and a 7-meter-wide east-west public passageway will be added within the site. The location of the combined public parking lot will be changed to set up 90 public parking spaces in conjunction with the primary school land, and 100 public parking spaces will be added each in the community park and protective green space to the south of Wuluo Road and west of Wuluo Road Fourth Lane.
After the modification, the secondary residential land will increase by 2.28 hectares, the primary school land by 0.4 hectares, the park green space by 0.14 hectares, and the urban road land by 0.02 hectares, while the commercial land will decrease by 2.84 hectares.
On November 3, construction walls were built around Fujiapo Passenger Station.
Once covering over 180 stations in 15 provinces and cities, with a daily passenger flow of 50,000 during the Spring Festival travel rush.
Public information shows that Fujiapo Passenger Station belonged to Hubei Provincial Passenger Transport Group. Fujiapo Bus Passenger Station was completed and put into use in 1984, covering an area of 55,000 square meters, with a total construction area of 23,000 square meters and a parking area of 10,000 square meters. The total investment for its construction was 9.6 million yuan. In 1985, the station had 50 daily departures and served over 1,000 passengers per day.
Since its establishment and commissioning, Fujiapo Passenger Station has witnessed the rapid development of Wuhan’s transportation industry. As the largest professional long-distance bus passenger station in central China during its heyday, the station had 188 operating lines. Its passenger transport network spanned 15 provinces and cities including Hunan, Shandong, Jiangxi, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Shanghai, covering over 180 stations with a radiation radius of more than 2,000 kilometers.
Over the years, Fujiapo Passenger Station has also undergone renovations, such as in 2007 when the old Fujiapo Passenger Station was transformed, equipped