One of the most popular maps in our cartographic archive, The Stanford’s Map of the Siberian Railway was first published by Edward Stanford, Long Acre on the 1st February 1904 making this year its 120th anniversary.
“Not only is this a geographical map, it’s a historical one. A moment in time as well as space.” –Colin Thubron.
Depicting the great land route to China and Korea, this vital rail route was also known as the Moscow Highway or the Tea Route because of the large quantities of tea exported from China. It connected European Russia to Siberia and China.
Until the Tran-Siberian Railway was built in 1916, the Siberian Railway route was the longest and most famous. Construction started in 1730 and was not completed until the mid 19th-century.
A week after this map was published the Russo-Japanese War broke out and a lot of places on this railway line were significantly impacted. You can hear more about that in this video of the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award winning author Colin Thubron talking about this map:
Stanfords Print-on-Demand: We print replicas of this map in our store so it is available in many sizes on paper or canvas. Prices start at £9.99