Fresh Facts VI: Taiwan's first railway

The Sino-French War of 1884-85 underscored Taiwan's vulnerability to foreign invasion, and was a factor leading to the construction of the Keelung-Hsinchu railroad. Work on the railway started in 1886 but it wasn't until early 1892 that a short stretch (about 45km) was open for traffic. 

The project was delayed because Qing officials ignored or overruled the European engineers hired to supervise construction; requests to divert the line for reasons of fengshui had to be dealt with; and many of the pegs marking the proposed route were removed by locals who used them for firewood.