Mr. H. Chao was born at P'ingtu Hsien, Shantung Province, in 1873. He received an engineering education in Tsingtao and started his career as a draftsman. In 1920 Mr. Chao was engaged by the Tao Ching Railway and in 1905 was transferred to the Shanghai-Nanking Railway as Chief Draftsman of the Woosung-Shanghai Section. In 1908 he became Chief Draftsman to the Chief Engineer of Tientsin Pukow Railway. In 1909, at the request of Governor Yuan Hai-kuan of Shantung, he assisted Lao Tzu-chan in making a survey of the proposed Chefoo-Weihsien Railway of Shantung. In 1911 he became assistant engineer of the Hsu-chowfu Section of the Tientsin-Pukow Railway and in 1914 was promoted as chief of the engineering section of the Tientsin Pukow Railway Administration. In 1916 he was appointed a Divisional Engineer of the Northern Section of the Tientsin-Pukow Railway and in 1917 became Acting Chief Engineer of the Northern Section. In September of 1920 he was given the concurrent position as chief of the engineering department of the Chefoo-Weihsien Railway. In June 1922, Mr. Chao received the Third Order of Paokuang Chiaho and was appointed acting director in charge of the Direction of Railways of the Ministry of Communications. Then he was given the concurrent position as chairman of the Commission for the Investigation of Railway Accounts and Director of the Railway Through Traffic Bureau. He also served as Director-General of the Government Railways. In October 1922 he received the Second Order of Tashou Paokuang Chiaho and in November 1922 was appointed director in charge of the department still holding the several concurrent positions. In January 1923 he was appointed a Member of the Commission to take over the Kiaotzi Railway and later became its managing director. This position he held until July 1923 when he was appointed managing director of the Pienlo Railway.
