Chapter 18 17. Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge

Like the Red Flag Canal, the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, completed in 1968, was a new sacred place in the eyes of the Chinese at that time.Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge is located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, on the Yangtze River in the northwest of Nanjing City, connecting the urban area and Nanjing Pukou District. It is the first double-layer railway and highway bridge on the Yangtze River designed and built by China. The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge was completed on December 29, 1968. The upper road bridge is 4589 meters long and the roadway is 15 meters wide. It can accommodate 4 large vehicles in parallel. It is 6772 meters long and 14 meters wide. It is paved with double tracks, and two trains can be separated at the same time.Among them, the main bridge on the river is 1577 meters long, which is the longest bridge in China.On the railing of the main bridge, the highway approach bridge adopts the form of a double-hole double-curved arch bridge with Chinese characteristics.There are 200 cast iron reliefs embedded on the railings on both sides of the main highway bridge, and there are 150 pairs of street lamps in the shape of white magnolia flowers beside the sidewalk.There are two 70-meter-high bridgeheads at the north and south ends of the bridge. There are elevators in the forts to connect the railway bridge, highway bridge and the watchtower on the bridgehead.There is also a sculpture of workers, peasants and soldiers more than 10 meters high in front of the fort.The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge built in that era was the pride of all Chinese people at that time. Visitors to Nanjing all took pictures on the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge.It is also regarded as one of the "Forty Scenic Spots of Jinling".

In 2006, a debate about whether the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge should be blown up reappeared in the media and on the Internet. Almost all reports on this debate will mention that at the theme report meeting on the development of the "Golden Waterway of the Yangtze River" held in Shanghai on January 5, 2006, Huang Qifan, the executive vice mayor of Chongqing who participated in the meeting, said in his speech that we should Consider blowing up two old bridges on the Yangtze River that are not clear enough to solve the problem of "can't get on or off" freighters in Chongqing.Huang Qifan did not specify the names of the two bridges, but everyone who attended the meeting understood that the two old bridges he mentioned were the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge built in 1957 and the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge built in 1968.

Jiang Yude, the deputy mayor of Nanjing who spoke next, questioned Huang Qifan's statement.Jiang Yude refuted Huang Qifan's statement from two aspects: one is that the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge is used for both road and rail, and the main artery cannot be blown up for the smooth flow of the golden waterway; bigger.Jiang Yude also specifically stated that although the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge is a bit old, there will be no problem in using it for another 50 years; moreover, Jiang Yude said from the perspective of Nanjing government officials that in the long run, it will be beneficial to Nanjing not to "explode the bridge", and the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge will be clear. With a height of 24 meters, 5,000-ton cargo ships cannot pass through the bridge to the middle and upper reaches, which will inevitably increase the throughput of Nanjing Port.Huang Qifan did not respond to Jiang Yude's statement.After the meeting, when the two mayors exchanged views, they all agreed that "Blowing up a bridge is not an easy task."All the media, when citing this example, said that the two mayors had a "fierce debate".

Subsequently, debates about whether the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge should be blown up appeared from time to time. A bridge expert, who did not want to be named, told the media: "The account is actually easy to calculate. Instead of spending billions of dollars on reconstruction, it is better to simply blow up the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge and completely destroy it." Dredging the golden waterway of the Yangtze River will bring economic benefits that can exceed hundreds of billions in less than 10 years." Jin Yihua, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and director of the Yangtze River Navigation Bureau of the Ministry of Communications, is also regarded by the media as the main bomber of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge.In an interview with the media, he said that since the ports below the Nanjing Bridge are not restricted by the clearance height of the bridge, 30,000-50,000-ton cargo ships can reach them directly by tide, while the ports above Nanjing are not so lucky.Since the 1980s, the state has successively invested several billion yuan to build dozens of 5,000-ton foreign trade terminals and container terminals in Wuhu, Anqing, Jiujiang, Huangshi, Wuhan, Chenglingji, Chongqing and other ports, but few Large foreign ships berthing.According to the statistics of relevant departments, although more than 10,000 international ships entered the Yangtze River in 2001, 99% of the ships were in ports below Nanjing.The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge with a clearance height of 24 meters is like a chain on the river, blocking large ships under the bridge. During the wet season, only 3,000-ton ships can pass through, and it is impossible for 10,000-ton foreign ships to pass through.

The experts who suggested the bombing of the bridge also proposed a solution to the cost of the bridge bombing, that is, after the bombing, the government would step in and raise funds from the two provinces of Anhui and Hubei, which benefited the most from the bridge bombing.As early as the 1990s, when the Second Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge was being built, there was talk of blowing up the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, but this plan was rejected by the State Planning Commission because it was worried that the destruction of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge would interrupt transportation and cause trouble; another The big trouble is that the 15 billion to 18 billion yuan cost of demolishing the bridge is too high.

All of a sudden, various plans for the reconstruction of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge appeared in the media. Some experts suggested that some of the piers with the deepest water on the Yangtze River Bridge that can pass 10,000-ton ships should be partially demolished, and then the bridge deck of this section should be rebuilt into a bridge that can It is folded and opened; there are also suggestions to demolish the main bridge, leaving the north-south approach bridge and bridgehead, and transform it into a bridge museum.The purpose of these two schemes is to preserve at least a part of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge as a historical memorial.Most of the opinions opposing the demolition of the bridge, in addition to considering that the bridge has both road and rail transportation functions, also have the special historical significance of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge.This is why the talk of the demolition of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge can cause an uproar every time it appears.The bridge embodies the memory and historical pride of many Chinese people.

The bridge was officially started on January 18, 1960 and has been built for nearly 8 years. The railway was opened to traffic in September 1968, and the road was opened to traffic in December.It is the first dual-purpose double-deck double-lane highway and railway bridge designed by the Chinese. It also passed through the Shanghai-Nanjing and Jinpu railways for the first time. World Records - Its railway bridge is 6,772 meters long and its road bridge is 4,588 meters long. Mei Yangchun, the chief designer of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, was hired by the famous bridge expert Mao Yisheng in 1934 to serve as the official engineer of the first Chinese designed and built Hangzhou Qiantang River Bridge.Prior to this, Mei Yangchun, a Jiangxi native who graduated from the Department of Civil Engineering of Tsinghua University, was sent abroad in 1923. After graduation, he worked for a bridge company in the United States.But because he played tennis well and worked well, he was mistaken for a Japanese.Deeply stimulated, Mei Yangchun returned to China in 1928 and devoted himself to the construction of bridges in China.

After the establishment of the new regime, Mei Yangchun stayed on the mainland, and later served as the deputy chief engineer of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge. He was technically responsible for the survey, design and construction of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge. The new regime also once made architects including Liang Sicheng and Chen Zhanxiang think that they finally got a chance to build.But compared with the famous Liang and Chen Ergongs, Mei Yangchun's luck lies in the fact that he did not live long enough to wait for his own denial.After the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge project, Mei Yangchun got the opportunity to build the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge.His title is chief engineer.

"Guangming Daily" reported on Mei Yangchun and the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge: "The construction is proceeding at a very fast speed. There is nothing too difficult about the project, but the country has encountered difficulties. It is caused by various factors. During the three-year difficult period, the central government formulated the eight-character guideline of 'adjustment, consolidation, enrichment, and improvement', and the project was ordered to be postponed. At this time, the morale of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge construction site was high, with complete equipment and sufficient materials. Although Mei Yangchun's blood pressure was as high as 220 mm mercury Zhu, but he was so anxious that he went to the Beijing Ministry of Railways to appeal, hoping not to slow down the pace of bridge construction. However, the objective situation was in front of him, and the part must obey the whole, so the bridge construction finally slowed down. This time delay prevented him from completing the project himself. The great construction was beyond his expectation. After implementing the adjustment policy of the central government, the three-year difficulties were quickly overcome, and the work was revived. He was over sixty years old and had been separated from his family and fought on the construction site for four years. Mei Yangchun regained his vitality. It is a pity that his age, coupled with his high blood pressure and his tense life on the construction site, are not good for his disease. Although he has suffered from several illnesses, he is still working hard. He still presides over the meeting, Go to the site to inspect and arrange work until he falls ill in the single bedroom next to his office."

The news of Mei Yangchun's illness quickly spread to the Ministry of Railways, which was in charge of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge project at that time.Minister Lu Zhengcao and Vice Minister Wu Jingtian of the Ministry of Railways both instructed that all efforts should be made to rescue the engineer.The plane deployed from the Air Force transported the most famous cerebral thrombosis expert from Beijing and Shanghai to Nanjing, and his wife and children also rushed from Beijing to Nanjing to visit this hard-working engineer.Since then, Mei Yangchun's illness has gone through several twists and turns: "The colleagues paid close attention to him and rescued the physically and mentally exhausted President Mei from the death line, but he was paralyzed. When the plum blossoms bloomed in the early spring of 1962, he was able to sit up again. With some energy, he yearned for the bustling construction site again. He was obsessed with work, and did not seriously think about and prepare for the final destination of his life. Taking advantage of his improvement, the organization decided to send him back to Beijing for recuperation. The wish I put forward was to go to the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge construction site to take a look at the Nanjing Bank Wharf. Unexpectedly, due to emotional agitation, the encephalopathy relapsed at night, and the rescue could not be rescued, so he held his wife's hand and died forever."

It's just that later people don't know whether to feel lucky or sad for Mei Yangchun.Li Guohao, director of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge and one of the most famous bridge experts in China at the time, was imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution that began in 1966.Li Guohao, who is 13 years younger than Mei Yangchun, has a background in Germany and a successful young man. As soon as his doctoral thesis "Practical Calculation Method for Suspension Bridges Based on Second-Order Theory" was published, it aroused great repercussions in the bridge engineering field. Li" became famous in the industry.However, Li Guohao could only listen to the radio in the prison to learn that the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, which he served as a technical consultant, was open to traffic. He conducted draft calculations at the office, completed the preliminary theoretical research on the vibration of the bridge, and then secretly produced a truss bridge model with the most primitive method. He wanted to use this to solve the problem of bridge shaking. Appear. The completion of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge brought great pride to China at that time.In the last 28 days of the bridge construction battle, more than 100,000 volunteers flocked from all over the country. "Volunteer labor on the bridge" was the most commendable thing at that time. One of the factors may be that the Cultural Revolution had already begun at that time.The Nanjing branch of Xinhua News Agency wrote in a telegram on December 29, 1968: "On the happy day when hundreds of millions of soldiers and civilians warmly cheered that our country successfully conducted a new hydrogen bomb test, another exciting news came from the banks of the Yangtze River: our country Relying on the invincible Mao Zedong Thought, the working class successfully completed the road bridge of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge with high speed and high quality on December 29, 1968. So far, the largest highway bridge designed and built by our country The most modern bridge, the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, has been fully completed and opened to traffic ahead of schedule. The broad masses of workers say that the history of the construction of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge is the history of the struggle between the two classes, and the history of the victory of Chairman Mao’s proletarian revolutionary line.” For a long time, the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge has been a must-see for foreign leaders accompanied by state leaders.Zhou Enlai therefore required that the street lamps used on the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge must be the same magnolia lanterns as Tiananmen Square.He always told foreign leaders who came to visit that the two miracles of new China are the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge and the Hongqi Canal in Linxian County, Henan Province.Also on the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, Nixon asked Zhou Enlai how many people passed the bridge every day. Zhou Enlai replied, five, workers, farmers, soldiers, scholars, and businessmen. A photo of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge also appears on the back of the RMB 2 jiao.It’s just that more people are most impressed by a primary school text. This text called "Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge" is often asked to recite by primary school Chinese teachers: "I came to the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge in the early morning. The weather today is very good, with white clouds floating in the blue sky. The bridge looks very magnificent under the bright sunshine. Nine huge bridge piers are firmly supported by the rolling waves of the river. Live on the bridge. The main bridge is connected to the 22-hole approach bridge, like a giant steel dragon lying on the river. The bridge is divided into two floors, the bottom floor is the train track, paved with double tracks, the upper floor is the road, and the two sides of the road are sidewalks. Wide On the highway, pedestrians and vehicles came and went. I walked along the sidewalk and approached the main bridge. Two majestic statues of workers, peasants and soldiers stood on the left and right. Behind the statues stood two tall bridgeheads with red flags on the top. Reflecting the sun, it is very gorgeous. On the straight road of the main bridge, a pair of magnolia flower lampposts stand neatly like a team waiting for inspection. I stand on the bridge with my hand on the bridge railing, looking at the river from afar, the river The steamship is like a flat boat with leaves. It rises and falls with the waves, and listens carefully. Trains whistle and whistle and pass under their feet. The surging river is mighty, rushing to the sea. The Yangtze River, which has been called Tianzhu since ancient times, Conquered by us. A bridge flies from north to south, and the natural moat becomes a thoroughfare.”