Complex sentence: In 1896 China granted a construction concession through northern Inner Manchuria, running from near Chita via Harbin to Vladivostok, and construction was drastically accelerated after Russia concluded a twenty-five year lease of Liaodong from China in 1898.
Split into simpler sentences: In 1896 China granted a construction concession through northern Inner Manchuria. Nikolsk-Ussuriski, and accelerated drastically after Russia concluded a twenty-five year lease of Liaodong from China in 1898.