Construction of the Guangdong–Hankou railway (Yuehan railway) began in 1900 and progressed more slowly. The concession was originally awarded to the American China Development Company, but a diplomatic crisis erupted when the Belgians purchased a controlling interest in it. The concession was cancelled in 1904 to prevent Franco-Belgian interests from controlling the entire Beijing–Guangdong route. The Guangzhou–Sanshui branch line was completed in 1904. The Changsha–Zhuzhou section was then completed in 1911, followed by the Guangzhou–Shaoguan section in 1916, and the Wuchang–Changsha section in 1918. Work on the final section between Zhuzhou and Shaoguan began in 1929 but was not completed until 1936.