Architects Yang Tingbao and Chen Deng'ao led the station house design, assigned to the Ministry of Railway Institute's third department. The design was approved on December 10, 1958, and Premier Zhou Enlai proposed the turrets on the two wings. Construction began on January 20, 1959, with about two million workers at its peak, and finished on September 10, 1959. The infobox gives October 4, 1959 for the opening.
The article says the design blends Chinese traditional and Soviet Stalinist architecture, with gilded eaves and two clock towers whose bells play a tune at 7 AM and 9 PM. Mao Zedong wrote the calligraphy of the station sign. The station area is 250,000 square meters (2.7 million sq ft).
Seismic strengthening and air conditioning came in 1998 and 1999. In 2003 the concrete canopy was removed. Line 2 stops at the station. The infobox says eight platforms, while the text says six platforms and twelve tracks at completion.
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