The Wuchang Uprising was the Chinese uprising that served as the catalyst to the Xinhai Revolution, ending the Qing Dynasty – and two millennia of imperial rule – and ushering in the Republic of China (ROC). It began with the dissatisfaction of the handling of a railway crisis. The crisis then escalated to an uprising where the revolutionaries went up against Qing government officials. The uprising was then assisted by the New Army in a coup against their own authorities in the city of Wuchang, Hubei province on October 10, 1911. The Battle of Yangxia led by Huang Xing would be the major engagement in the uprising.

Canton and Sichuan railway crisis

After the Boxer Rebellion, many Western countries saw China as a good location for railway building and investment. Having carved out their individual spheres of influence, countries such as the United Kingdom and France built numerous railways over the Qing government's protests.Germany began building lines in Shandong, the British in Yangtze Valley, French in Kunming, Russians in Heilongjiang and the Japanese had the Southern Manchuria Railway company.