Chapter 18 17 Accompanying Premier Zhou to inspect the Three Gorges

In 1954, a once-in-a-century flood occurred in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.The water level in the city of Wuhan surpassed that of 1931, which caused a great disaster.The liberated people of the Jianghan Plain, especially the people of Wuhan, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, overcame the flood, but there was no fundamental guarantee that such serious floods would not occur again in the future.There should be a cure. According to the suggestions of experts, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou began to contemplate the construction of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River.

Soon, Chairman Mao proposed to the Soviet Union, asking them to help us build this project and assist in planning, so as to further control and develop the Yangtze River.The Soviet Union sent some experts in time.Therefore, on the basis of previous work and with the assistance of Soviet experts, the Yangtze River Basin Planning Office made every effort to carry out the planning of the Yangtze River and the exploration and design research of the Three Gorges Dam Project, and initially selected Sandouping as the dam site.Premier Zhou is in favor of the construction of the Three Gorges Project, but he believes that in order to build such a world-class huge project, the policy of "actively preparing and fully reliable" put forward by Chairman Mao must be implemented. Can stand the test of history.

From late February to early March 1958, he personally led relevant leaders and experts to the Three Gorges area for investigation.At that time, I participated in this investigation as the first secretary of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China.Premier Zhou personally observed the scene and mastered the first-hand materials. On the other hand, he personally presided over the meeting, listened to reports, organized discussions, and let everyone fully express their opinions.Everyone is familiar with the Prime Minister's democratic style and thoughtful way of thinking. In front of him, everyone can express their opinions without any worries.He never interrupted other people's speeches, but reminded the speaker to say as little as possible or not to repeat the opinions as much as possible.The Premier made an on-the-spot investigation and listened to various opinions, and then made an oral and written report on the Three Gorges Project and the planning of the Yangtze River Basin to Chairman Mao and the Party Central Committee.

On March 25 of the same year, the Chengdu meeting held by the central government discussed and agreed to this report, and formed the document "Opinions on the Planning of the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project and the Yangtze River Basin", which was approved by the Political Bureau meeting of the Central Committee on April 5.The document clearly pointed out: "Considering the country's long-term economic development and technical conditions, the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project needs to be built and may be built, but the final decision to build and when to start construction depends on the preparation of various important aspects. A decision can only be made after it is basically completed. It is estimated that the entire survey, design and construction of the Three Gorges Project will take about 15 to 20 years. Now we should adopt a proactive and fully reliable policy to carry out various related work.” If it is not because The three-year economic difficulties caused by the "Great Leap Forward" and other factors, if there were no ten-year turmoil caused by the "Cultural Revolution", I think the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project, according to the idea at the time, might have been completed in the mid-1970s and started to generate electricity for socialism. The construction has brought huge economic benefits; the tens of millions of people in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River no longer have to worry about the threat of floods.

Now 28 years have passed, and the issue of whether the Three Gorges Project will be launched is still under debate.A year or two ago, at a meeting to discuss the Three Gorges Project held in New York, Kennedy, a professor at the University of Io and director of the Water Conservancy Research Center who supported the opinion, said: "If the Three Gorges Project cannot be started in five or ten years, then it will be We won't see it in our lifetimes." He added: "A lot of projects are like that, and if it's discussed long enough, it's often said to be dead like that."

I don't think the Three Gorges Project will be said to death.Because it is the need of our country and people, it is a project with the best comprehensive benefits, and it must be built sooner or later.Whether or not a large project will be launched, and when it will be launched, it is necessary to carefully discuss, but if we delay in making up our minds, delay the opportunity, suffer another flood like the one in 1954 or a larger flood, and then be forced to launch, then we The price paid is simply too great.In my opinion, for the safety of the lives and property of tens of millions of people on both sides of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and for the needs of the construction of the four modernizations, the construction of the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project should be started as early as possible instead of being delayed for a long time.

In this mood, when commemorating the 90th anniversary of Premier Zhou's birth, I compiled and published the diary I wrote when I accompanied him to inspect the Three Gorges area in 1958. Today during the day, Premier Zhou, Comrades Fuchun and Xiannian arrived in Hankou by train, and I went to meet them at Dazhimen Station.I saw the prime minister dressed lightly, talking and laughing happily. Regardless of the exhaustion of the journey, he led us to set off on the Jiangxia passenger ship in the evening and started the investigation of the Three Gorges area. In the morning, the meeting was held on board, and the Prime Minister presided over it.Comrade Wei Tingzheng from the Yangtze River Basin Planning Office reported on the planning of the Han River Basin and the design of the Danjiangkou Water Conservancy Project.After discussion, the decision to build the Danjiangkou Water Conservancy Project was passed.This project not only has the benefits of flood control, power generation, and irrigation, but also trains troops for the construction of the Three Gorges Dam.

The meeting continued in the afternoon, and the Prime Minister made a concluding speech.He pointed out that the Danjiangkou water conservancy project must be built well.First, ensure the quality.Second, immigration must be properly arranged.Thirdly, the design is in charge of the chief office, the construction is in charge of the Hubei provincial government, and the governor Zhang Tixue is personally in charge. (Author's Note: 1. The first phase of the Danjiangkou Hydropower Station has been completed for more than 20 years. It has played a huge role in flood control, power generation, and irrigation. If the second phase of the project is completed, the dam will be 8 to 13 meters higher. Flood control, power generation, and irrigation The benefits will be even greater. Second, the Danjiangkou Reservoir approved a total investment of 700 to 800 million yuan, but actually used 960 million yuan. Unfavorable changes can be predicted: the Three Gorges Reservoir will also not cause any adverse impact on the ecological environment. Fourth, the sediment concentration of the Danjiangkou Reservoir is two to three times greater than that of the Three Gorges, and the sedimentation problem of the reservoir has not had a serious impact.)

Today, Premier Zhou made an on-the-spot inspection of several dangerous sections of the Jingjiang Levee.On the embankment, Comrade Lin Yishan, director of the Chief Office, reported to him that the water level of the Yangtze River flood was more than ten meters above the ground. If there is a breach in the Jingjiang embankment, not only the lives and property of millions of people in the Jianghan Plain will be destroyed (there may be dozens Tens of thousands or millions of people were drowned), and Hankou in Wuhan City is also likely to be swallowed by floods.In the flood year, many embankments in the Dongting Lake area of ​​Hunan will also be damaged, and the Yangtze River may be diverted.In order to prevent floods and ensure the Jingjiang embankment, heightening and thickening embankments can only be a temporary measure. Of course, repairing dikes to prevent floods is the main means of flood control at present. With the Three Gorges Dam, dikes will also be built to prevent floods, but the level of safety at that time will be limited. It is very different. When encountering a flood like that in 1954, the flood diversion area can be used no longer.The establishment of flood diversion areas is just the lesser of two evils, which can reduce flood disasters to a certain extent.Only by building the Three Gorges Dam to store and adjust the flood from the upper reaches during the flood season (accounting for 70% of the flood in the middle reaches) can we fundamentally prevent the catastrophe that may be caused by the flood.Premier Zhou and others watched and listened, nodding frequently.At this time, there was a heavy snowfall, and there was not much snow on the ground, but the weather on the embankment was quite cold.At this time, the Prime Minister put on a fur hat, as if he was a scholar, which gave people a more cordial feeling.

The sun came out today, and the snow that fell yesterday has melted. It seems that the broad beans and peas that have begun to bloom have not suffered from frost damage. In the morning, the Prime Minister led us to the Nanjinguan Dam area to see the Sanyou Cave and the oblique drilling.Here is limestone, there are caves (karst), building a dam may leak water.Most water conservancy experts are not in favor of building a dam here, which is just one of the alternative dam sites. In the afternoon, visit the Sandouping Dam site.The Prime Minister and we observed the dam site in detail on Zhongbao Island, compared and studied the engineering design plan on the spot, carefully understood the geological survey work, and watched the geological drilling core.The Prime Minister also took a piece of granite core, saying that he would bring it back to Beijing and put it on display in his office.

In the evening, the Prime Minister used the time when the meeting was not held to talk to the leaders of Jingzhou and Yichang prefectural committees, and listened to the work report.Despite a busy day, the Prime Minister was still full of energy and asked some questions in great detail. This morning, the Prime Minister presided over a meeting and listened to a report by Dmitoryevsky, the head of the long-running Soviet expert group.He talked about the technology, cost, and project deadline of the construction of the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project, and made an objective analysis and comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of the two dam sites, Nanjinguan and Sandouping.He believes that the comprehensive benefits of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam are affirmative and technically sure.Further study and comparison of the two dam site proposals have not been made. There was no meeting in the afternoon, and the Prime Minister and we enjoyed the majestic and magnificent scenery of Wu Gorge by the boat.I took a few photos for Meirentuo and Goddess Peak.Beauty Tuo looks like a statue, but Goddess Peak hardly looks like a woman.The words and sentences written by Chairman Mao in "Shui Tiao Ge Tou. Swimming" in 1956: "The goddess should be safe, and the world should be shocked." After the completion of the Three Gorges Dam, the new landscape of "high gorge out of the flat lake" made an order Fascinating depiction.At that time, the surface of the river under the Goddess Peak will become broad and calm, and the morning and evening glow will reflect the reflections of the colorful mountains in the clear lake water. What a charming landscape it will be!People who are worried that the construction of the Three Gorges Dam will destroy existing natural landscapes and historical sites need not worry too much!Valuable monuments can be relocated, and natural landscapes will become more beautiful.Young lovers can swear each other forever in front of Shennvfeng, and sing love songs under the beauty.All the reefs will be deeply buried in the bottom of the river, and the sailing of the ship will become free and stable, and there will be no more tragedies of sinking and dying due to a ship hitting a reef. In the evening, I wrote a free verse: Continue the discussion on board today.The Prime Minister has repeatedly stressed the need for everyone to open their minds and express their opinions.The meeting was very lively and successful.Comrade Li Rui, director of the Hydropower Administration of the Ministry of Water and Electricity, made a speech.He first said that in terms of comprehensive benefits, the Three Gorges Project is very ideal, although there are many technical difficulties, they can be overcome.However, he disagreed with Comrade Lin Yishan's opinion and opposed the Three Gorges determined by the Yangtze River Basin Plan as the main body to control and utilize the water resources of the Yangtze River.He believes that the problem of flood control in the Yangtze River is not a big problem, and can be solved by raising the embankment.Then, Comrade Qian Zhengying made a speech.She is in favor of building the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project.She disagreed with Comrade Li Rui's opinion.Starting from the overall situation of the Yangtze River Basin, she believes that it is reasonable for the Three Gorges to be the main project of the plan.She believes that the flood control problem of the Yangtze River is related to the lives and properties of millions of people, and it must not be taken lightly, because raising the embankment alone cannot solve the problem.Comrade Qian Zhengying is not only a leading comrade of the Ministry of Water and Electricity, but also a water conservancy expert.Her reasoning is sufficient and her attitude is serious.Six of the Soviet experts spoke, and the expert team leader spoke twice.Zhang Jinfu, vice president of the Academy of Sciences, Liu Xiyao, deputy director of the National Technology Commission, Li Baohua and Liu Lanbo, vice ministers of the Ministry of Water and Electricity, Yan Hongyan, secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee, and I all attended the meeting.Comrades such as Li Zhennan, an expert in water conservancy, hydropower and shipping, also expressed their opinions.The written report written by Comrade Lin Yishan, director of the long-term office, was distributed to everyone at the meeting. The main issues discussed this time are whether it is necessary to build the Three Gorges Dam, whether it is possible to build the Three Gorges Dam, whether the Three Gorges Dam is the main project for developing the water resources of the Yangtze River, and whether this project will have huge economic and social benefits. It is not to try to build this project ahead of schedule.Through today's discussion, the vast majority of comrades agree on these issues. Arrive at Fengdu City in the afternoon, the Prime Minister led everyone ashore to visit.In the old society, it is said that when a person dies, his soul will go to Fengdu. Whether to go to the western heaven or go to hell is decided by the king of hell here.There are Naihe Bridge, Hades Hall, Wangxiang Terrace, and there are also shaped oil pans for punishing sinners, executioners who pick noses and eyes, judges and imps who enforce the law, and so on.Seeing these superstitions promoting karma and reincarnation, Premier Zhou laughed out loud from time to time.As an ancient building reflecting a certain aspect, it still has preservation value, but it has been destroyed by the Kuomintang garrison in the past. Today, we arrived in Chongqing.The Prime Minister led us to Lion Beach and visited the hydropower station.This is the first time I have visited a relatively large hydropower station, and the project is indeed very complicated. In the morning, the Prime Minister presided over the discussion of the "Summary Summary" (that is, the draft written for the central document).In the afternoon, the Premier made a concluding speech.He said that through the on-the-spot investigation and the continuous meetings and discussions, everyone agreed that the Three Gorges Project must be carried out, and it can also be carried out. It is of great significance politically and economically, and it is also possible technically. From 20 years to 20 years, it can be built.It is a great success to achieve such a unanimous opinion.From now on, active preparations must be made in order to be adequate and reliable.Regarding the construction of the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project itself, the Prime Minister also expressed many important opinions.He said that the normal high water level of the Three Gorges Dam should be controlled at 200 meters above the base point of Wusong, and not higher than this level. At the same time, two levels of 190 meters and 195 meters should be studied.While carrying out the Three Gorges Project, we must seize the opportunity to complete various flood control projects in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in stages.We must avoid waiting for the Three Gorges Project and thinking that everything will be fine with the Three Gorges Project.He also pointed out that the basic principles of planning for the Yangtze River Basin should be unified planning, comprehensive development, appropriate division of labor, and phased implementation.At the same time, it is necessary to correctly resolve the relationship between long-term and near-sight, main stream and tributary, upper, middle and lower reaches, large, medium and small, flood control, power generation, irrigation and shipping, hydropower and thermal power, power generation and electricity consumption, etc.These seven relationships must be combined with each other, and according to the actual situation, they should be prioritized and arranged in detail.But it is right to take the Three Gorges Project as the main body, and I agree with Comrade Lin Yishan's written report.The Prime Minister also announced that in order to strengthen the leadership of the Three Gorges Project and the planning of the Yangtze River Basin, a Yangtze River Basin Planning Committee should be formally established.The Prime Minister said that all these issues must be reported to the Central Committee and Chairman Mao, and can only be implemented after approval.So far, the issue of the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project, which has been debated for several years, has come to a conclusion. I am an activist who advocates the construction of the Three Gorges Dam.I participated in the discussion in the spirit of listening more and speaking less.A 10-minute statement was made at only one meeting.I said: The comprehensive development of the Yangtze River with the Three Gorges Project as the main body is an important issue for the country, and the construction of the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project on the Yangtze River will indeed play an unimaginably important role in national construction.Preparations for the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project should be actively carried out.I also mentioned Comrade Lin Yishan, Director of the Long Office.I said that he was responsible in his work, and the questions raised were based on investigation and research, and were well-founded, not casual remarks.For example, once Chairman Mao asked him, how much is the total investment required for the Three Gorges Project?He said that based on current prices, it would cost 7 billion yuan (author's note: the price of steel and cement at that time was much lower than it is now). The chairman asked if 5 billion packs would work.He said it was impossible with the current level of technology.The chairman once again proposed a lump sum of 5 billion yuan, but he still did not agree.According to the chairman's intention, Premier Zhou proposed to reduce the installed capacity of the power station from 25 million kilowatts to 5 million kilowatts. Is 5 billion yuan enough?Lin Yishan replied bluntly on the spot: This is enough.But after building such a big high dam, how can we only install 5 million kilowatts of electricity! During the 10 days of inspection with the Prime Minister, I saw that the Prime Minister was so serious and meticulous in his work, was so approachable to his comrades, and listened to various opinions with an open mind when he presided over the meeting. People are free in his presence.He has an amazing memory, and he can almost name many people with whom he has occasional contact.He has superhuman energy, sleeps only five or six hours a day, and does not rest at noon.I'm 20 years younger than him, and I can't work day and night like him.The prime minister's noble character, earnestness and fine style are worth learning for a lifetime. The above is a diary from 30 years ago. I checked it out today. The trip to the Three Gorges in 1958 seems to have happened yesterday.Although he has been away from us for 12 years, his amiable and respectable image will always be engraved in my heart. May we all be like Premier Zhou: in order to build socialism with Chinese characteristics, we will bear the burden of hard work, work hard, devote ourselves to death, and die.