BEIJING, July 1 -- A train station in China reached the end of the line on Monday night after serving for 105 years a railway that once boosted national morale in an era when poor and weak China suffered constant invasion and bullying.

Zhangjiakou Station, the terminal station of Jingzhang Rail that links Zhangjiakou City with Beijing, will no longer be used for passenger trains, according to the railway operator.

Jingzhang Rail was the first railway wholly financed by domestic money, and took Chinese workers four years to build.

Two trains per day used to stop at the station.

"We were not a part of its beginning, but we can witness its farewell," said Zhangjiakou resident Zhao Zhihai, who bought a ticket for the last train as a souvenir.

Tickets for the last train from Beijing to Zhangjiakou all sold out.

Liu Xudong retired from working on Jingzhang Rail three years ago. His father spent 34 years serving the railway and his son is a current employee.

The reason for Zhangjiakou Station's closure is because it no longer fits in with the rail network and its platform is too short to accommodate modern trains, Liu said.

Over half of trains running in China are now bullet trains, according to the latest national rail network route schedule which took effect on Tuesday.

"The station's closure is bittersweet for me," Liu said. "On one hand three generations of my family worked for the station; on the other hand, its closure will improve the train transportation in our city."

The station will not be torn down. Its ticket booths will be kept open for business, according to Jingzhang Rail administration.

Locals have called on the government to convert the station into a museum.

Since Jingzhang Rail was launched in 1909, the railway industry has been on a course of modernization, especially during the last decade. China has built the longest and most heavily used bullet train network in the world.

With its fastest trains running at a speed of 350 kilometers per hour, China is looking to export its trains to Asia, Africa and Europe as a way to improve the image and quality of "Made in China".

A commercial featuring China's bullet train model CRH380A was shown at New York's Times Square earlier this year.

Also, Beijing has expressed interest in investing in a high-speed rail project that will link London and the north of England.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang wooed Thailand to buy bullet trains during his visit to the Southeast Asian country last October.

While addressing the headquarters of the African Union in May, Premier Li proposed a dream of connecting African capitals with high-speed rail and promised China's help to make the dream come true.