Chapter 14 Chapter 13 The Origin of the Yangtze River

Counting it, since the cold and snowy winter in 1958, when I drove a military vehicle to Tibet for the first time, I passed the source of the Yangtze River and stayed overnight at the Jiangyuan Military Station. It will be less than seventy or eighty times.This number will surely surprise many people, and it is not a place for sightseeing, why, hundreds of times?Amazing!But it feels normal to me.For example, you have lived in Beijing for decades, and someone asks you, have you ever been to Tiananmen Square?You answer: more than a hundred times, no less than a hundred times.Will others suspect it?The reason is the same.I worked as an auto soldier in the army camp on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for seven years, and drove to Lhasa no less than 10 times a year, and the source of the Yangtze River in Lhasa was a must.Later transferred to the capital, I returned to the plateau dozens of times.It is not surprising to have been to the source of the Yangtze River hundreds of times.

The reason why I am shaking the bottom line is that I just want to tell you that I have had frequent contact with the source of the Yangtze River, just contact.But when it comes to understanding, I'm afraid I may not be so deep and comprehensive.This is the truth.Therefore, when I write about the source of the Yangtze River, it can only be the source of the Yangtze River in my eyes, a writer's personal experience of the source of the Yangtze River.I have tasted the warmth and coldness of the river there, felt the bitterness and joy of getting along with the source of the soldiers and civilians on both sides of the strait, and especially the hardships of the hydrologists.In addition, wild animals and Jiangyuan depend on each other for survival.Of course, some folk customs there will also be involved.In short, it can be said that the source of the Yangtze River has undergone decades of changes, and I am one of the witnesses.

The Yangtze River is the longest river in China and the third longest river in the world. The word "Yangtze River" is named after its long history.Its main stream has a total length of more than 6,300 kilometers and a drainage area of ​​more than 1.8 million square kilometers. The main source of the Yangtze River, the Tuotuo River, originates from the Jianggendiru Glacier on the southwest side of Geladandong Snow Mountain, the main peak of the Tanggula Mountains in the west corner of Qinghai Province. After Yushu County received the Batang River, it was called the Jinsha River, and it was called the Yangtze River after the Minjiang River near Yibin, Sichuan Province joined it.Geladandong is a group of undulating snow-capped mountains. The main peak is 6,621 meters above sea level, covered by huge and deep glaciers. The snow line is 5,820 meters above sea level, and the end of the glacier is 5,400 meters above sea level.The source is mainly supplied by ice and snow melt water.The mainstream flows into more than 30 melting waters from south to north, forming the source Duan Naqin Song.Naqinqu passes through the glacier trough, 11 kilometers out of the gorge, and joins Chesumeiqu, which originates from the northern foot of Geladandong Snow Mountain, and is called Tuotuo River.This is the source of the Yangtze River.There are also Nanyuan Dangqu and Beiyuan Chumar River, which form the Jiangyuan area.

In the decades I mentioned above, I have been to the source of the Yangtze River hundreds of times, mainly referring to the Tuotuo River, Dangqu River and Chumar River.These three source rivers are distributed in a fan shape under the Tanggula Mountains.The main tributaries of them that I have stepped on or heard of are Xie Pule Jiequ, Beilu River, Yingqu, Yagequ, Keqianqu, etc. "Qu" means river in Tibetan.Someone told me that there are no less than 40 or 50 tributaries in the Jiangyuan area plus Rongshui.This number will only be conservative and not exaggerated.Only the main tributaries of the Chumar River include Sewuqu, Ningqiaqu, Dengailongqu, Dequ, Yiqu, Batang River and so on.The general terrain of the Jiangyuan area is a high plain and hilly area.

The theoretical hydropower reserves of the main stream and tributaries in the Jiangyuan area are 4.349 million kilowatts, of which the main stream is 3.11 million kilowatts, and 1.674 million kilowatts may be developed.But it has not been developed yet, and only a few small hydropower stations have been built on several tributaries, with a total installed capacity of less than 10,000 kilowatts. Water, water flowing empty, water from the source of the Yangtze River!It is waiting to be exploited.What year and month! From the wasteland to the Gobi, from the countryside to the towns, how many voices are still waiting for water and looking forward to water in the land of China!The mountains with open breasts convulse with thirst!The land exposed to the poisonous sun is so thin that it is smoking, and the farmers in the deep mountains and old forests hold up candle lights to call for the light!Also, many people's throats are so thirsty that they are about to dehydrate!

I once went to a western city that was short of water, and the large area of ​​concrete ground made it hard to breathe, almost suffocating.The well water is almost squeezed dry, and the rainwater cannot be retained.In midsummer, the pots and jars of every household have become water storage containers.I accidentally found a small grass squeezed out between the tiny gap where the cement and the cement board meet. It is so frightened, shy, and fragile!I wanted to speak loudly again, but my mouth was so dry that I couldn't utter a single word! However, the water in the abundant Jiangyuan area flows empty on the roof of the world.

Once, I approached the Tuotuo River and stood on the bank of one of its tributaries. Looking around, there was a low-lying land around me, but at some point my feet turned into a high slope, a lonely high slope.It turned out that I followed the river and climbed up a hilly slope unknowingly, and the river flowed up along the way. How could the water flow from a low place to a high place?Later, a hydrologist told me that the Jiangyuan area is a hilly landform, high and low, and uneven.The banks of the river are generally gentle and open, with low hills.After the water flows to a low place, the original flat place will appear high.The height above the water can sometimes reach 300 meters.Oh, so it is!I was at a high place, looking at the winding Tuotuo River and its tributary rivers coiled under my feet. They all involuntarily turned one after another on this hilly terrain, with figure-eight bends and almost right angles. The bend in the shape of a crescent, and the bend in the shape of a crescent.It was at those corners that I seemed to hear a splash of dewy sunlight.The sunlight floating on the water is like countless pieces of glass shining brightly.The beautiful wilderness, the beautiful source of the Yangtze River!At this moment, the Tuotuo River has become like a flower plate in my eyes!The patch of sunlight is alive, and the patch of deep or shallow water under the sun is also alive!

Ah, dear Tuotuo River, the beautiful river at the source of the Yangtze River!Stories from the past play out on the screen of my memory.The history of my decades of communication and acquaintance with this river is also a history of witnessing the changes in the plateau, and it is also a history of harmonious coexistence between the soldiers and civilians on the plateau and the struggle with the Tuotuo River. I first got to know the Tuotuo River from the story of a founding general. It was a battle of descending the river where the people and the river were almost evenly matched... This general was called Mu Shengzhong, and people called him "the father of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway".

Early autumn of 1954. The team of hundreds of people who built the Qinghai-Tibet Highway came to the Tuotuo River.The annual flood season has not yet passed, and the original 2,000-meter-wide river has almost doubled in width.The waves roll and the waves fly, a river of turbidity.The barren grass slope two to three hundred meters away from the center of the river has now become an island in the middle of the river.The road construction team sent people down the river several times to explore the water, but all failed.The bottom of the river is pure soft sand, and people lose their thighs as soon as they go into the water.The spray and sand are very sharp, and people will be injured if they touch it.If you can't cross the river, you can't build roads. People and horses have to camp by the river and wait.One wait is 10 days.

At this time, General Mu Shengzhong rushed from Kunlun Mountain to Tuotuo River.He asked someone to take out a jug of shochu, raised his head and filled his stomach halfway.He yelled at the crowd: "Bring the rope!" After that, he found Zhang Zhenhuan, the leader of another road construction team, and asked everyone to tie them around their waists, while the people on the shore held the other rope. One end, plunged into the river.They tried to get out of a shallow water area so that they could build a road.The two people were led by the rope and walked slowly towards the center of the river.The oncoming river waves hugged them like a soft wall, and they couldn't move at all.The water was too strong and the waves were too fast, and they soon felt their legs twisting and cramping.Pathfinding failed!

Mu Shengzhong selected three strong boys to form a water exploration team, and rode three horses to the center of the river.When we reached the mainstream of the river, the water immediately filled the horse's belly.The horse was fluffy, neighing, and thrashing, and a man fell off the horse and fell into the river.Thanks to the people on the shore yelling to make him struggle to get up and grab the horse's mane, otherwise his life would be lost! what to do?Mu Shengzhong thought of the camel, this guy is stocky, steady and enduring.yes!It was the same three strong boys who finally crossed the river on camels.But there is no shallow water at all, and the water depth in almost all places exceeds one meter. Finally, they came up with a trick: water diversion. That is, in the upper reaches of the river, a series of dikes are built along the direction of the water flow, and a main stream of the river is divided into many tributaries, so that the width of the river is widened as much as possible and the water potential is slowed down.This way of dividing and conquering will make it easier to tame the Tuotuo River. Mu Shengzhong did not forget to fight when building roads. He said: In military terms, this is called encircling the enemy in sections and defeating them one by one. Later, the road construction team collected a large number of stones from the mountains, put them into sacks, and threw the bags of stones into the river with a splash, sank to the bottom of the river, and spread them layer by layer, forming an underwater road.They call this "bagging and sinking stones to build roads".It is indeed enough soil, but this soil method conquered the Tuotuo River after all, and let the Qinghai-Tibet Highway stretch from this roaring Jiangyuan River.Don't think that this local method is so labor-saving, absolutely.The road construction team spent 45 days soaking in the river before building the underwater bridge.For a month and a half, the water was full of ice and snow, and almost everyone's legs were swollen and swollen from the cold, like sourdough bread, leaving "scars" of various severity. Thirty years later, in 1983, General Mu Shengzhong, who built the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, returned to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.At that time, the old man was 83 years old, and his legs and feet were not very convenient for walking, but he ran every place he fought in that year, including the Tuotuo River where he tied himself with a rope to explore the way.According to Li Nianxi, the deputy political commissar of the Qinghai-Tibet Military Station who accompanied the old general, whenever the old general went to a place where he had sweated and worked hard, he would stand silently for a long time, and he would not stop crying.On the Tuotuo River, he stood in front of the bridge pillar engraved with "The First Bridge of the Yangtze River", touched the five vigorous characters, and said repeatedly: "The sky has changed! The earth has changed! The river has also changed! " Later, in Golmud, I saw a transcript of the old general’s conversation when he returned to the plateau. He specifically mentioned the underwater battle of the Tuotuo River that year: ... how difficult it was at that time, don’t say anything Digger, it is difficult for me to find a rope to tie around my waist before I go down the river to explore the water. You can't imagine what kind of rope it is, can you?It is a rope connected by several sections of horse reins!I finally came here and repaired the Qinghai-Tibet Highway to the roof of the world, leading to Lhasa!So I always think, no matter how difficult we are today, it is not as difficult as that time! The country is still going to be rich and strong, but I don't think we can untie the rope that was tied around our waists back then!This is a kind of spiritual power! When General Mu Shengzhong returned to the Qinghai-Tibet line that time, there was another place that haunted him deeply.That place is the Chumar River. The Chumar River is another main stream at the source of the Yangtze River, and it is the northern source of the Yangtze River. "Chumar" is a transliteration of Tibetan, meaning "Red Water River", also known as Qumalai River, Quma River and Qumaqu, all of which have the same meaning.It used to be called "Namqituo Ulan Mulun", which is a Mongolian transliteration, meaning "a long red river like leaves".The total length of the Chumar River is 515 kilometers, and its source has two branches: the northern branch originates about 12 kilometers southeast of Hoh Xil Lake, the source altitude is 4920 meters, the total length is 46 kilometers, the river width is 5 meters, and the water depth is 0.3 meters; the west branch originates Located at the southern foot of Heiji Mountain on the south side of Hoh Xil Lake, the peak is 5,432 meters above sea level, with a total length of 45 kilometers, a river width of 4 meters, and a water depth of 0.2 meters.After the confluence of the two tributaries, the east flow is 94 kilometers into Yelusu Lake.The main stream flows out through the lake for 20 kilometers, flows through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway Bridge, and enters the Tongtian River. stop.The story I'm going to tell is the road bridge over the Chumar River. There are four generations of road bridges over the Chumar River, I can testify. One late night in the late 1950s, our car company rushed to the Chumar River carrying a batch of combat supplies to support the anti-insurgency in Tibet.The front line is in a hurry, and we originally planned to walk to Lhasa overnight.Unexpectedly, the bridge was dangerous and it was difficult to cross the river when it was dark, so we had to park our car and sleep in a tented military depot by the river, and then set off after dawn. What kind of bridge is it on the Chumar River? When I was describing it today, I kept thinking of one thing that can most vividly and accurately show the bridge, that is: the wooden cage.Wooden pillars, planks, and strips in all directions form a bridge that couldn't be simpler.The more than a dozen pillars of the bridge are wooden pillars, and the two most strenuous pillars in the middle of the bridge are cylinders surrounded by many wooden pillars, and the middle is filled with large and small stones; Staggered pavement; straight or oblique wooden strips are used to fix the posts between the posts or between the planks; of course, there are also iron rivets, but there are not many, and all the rivets are in the shape of "ㄇ". Always appear at the most important joints.The strange thing is that the logs and boards on the bridge are not fixed, but movable.When a car passes by, various parts of the bridge body will make a very reluctant creaking sound. It's such a bridge, it's no wonder that cars pass by with black lights and don't fall into the river!A wooden board is inserted at each end of the bridge, and it is written: Chumar River.So far, the shapes of these two boards are still clearly fixed in my memory.They must have been two random boards that had not been sawn, ground, or planed. They were very irregular and of different sizes.The four words written on it were obviously not written by someone with strong pen skills, and they were limp as if they had fallen apart, which was very unpopular. In a word, that bridge is the first time I have seen such a simple bridge in my life, and I have never seen such a bridge again. In the 1950s, the country was very poor after all. The construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway was built with a lot of determination and money. It is already very good to have such a bridge on the Chumar River for cars to pass through. . I must also say that this is already the second generation bridge over the Chumar River.One can imagine the simplicity of the first generation of bridges.That bridge is called "Leaky Bridge".How was it built? To put it bluntly, "Leaky Water Bridge" is to build a bridge underwater. In fact, it is still an underwater road, but it is slightly different from the underwater road on the Tuotuo River.First of all, it is necessary to find out the location of the main channel and the secondary channel of the river, and then divide the troops into two groups to start building the "bridge".A few layers of stones are laid side by side in the sub-stream to form an underwater road.The water depth at the mainstream is as deep as 1 meter in some places, and it takes a lot of trouble to pave the waterway.It needs the help of sheepskin rafts, which are the main means of transportation on the upper reaches of the Yellow River in Gansu since ancient times. "Song History·Wang Yande Biography" said: "Use sheepskin as a bag, and it will float on the water when blowing air." In fact, in the actual raw materials for making rafts, in addition to sheepskin, there is also cowhide.But customarily people still refer to them as sheepskin rafts.Fortunately, when Mu Shengzhong set off from Lanzhou, he expected that the river system in the Jiangyuan area would be turbulent, so he bought more than ten sheepskin rafts.He was going to carry people, and now he was going to carry stones to sink the river and build a bridge, which he never expected. Started to repair the "leaky bridge".The sheepskin raft carried a "manger basket" made of red wicker, and the basket was filled with stones. Someone on the bank pulled the raft with four ropes and lowered it to a certain place in the river.A basket in the water is easy to be washed and moved around by the water, and it is difficult to park in a predetermined position.They used ropes to string three or five baskets together before throwing them in, and the river couldn't move them.It is not the goal to stop the baskets together. Only by paving the fallen baskets into an underwater road can the task be completed.In this way, someone must drill into the river for underwater operations.The underwater work is extremely difficult and dangerous, and dozens of people take turns to work in the water.Sink baskets, lay stones, pave the way.Group after group of people, layer after layer of stones, the water becomes shallow, and the road takes shape. This is how the "underwater bridge" was built! This is the first-generation bridge on the Chumar River, which was born in the difficult years when Mu Shengzhong built the Qinghai-Tibet Highway.Strictly speaking, it is not a bridge, but a three-dimensional stone wall built with stones in the river.But it is very strong, and it carries the original wisdom of human beings to conquer nature and transform rivers. It is said that in the second year after the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, maybe the third year, the state allocated funds to repair the road, including the construction of the wooden bridge we mentioned above on the Chumar River.From the eyes of today's people, the wooden bridge is still very crude, but the one hidden under the water has been greatly improved compared to this "leaky bridge".After all, this is a bridge that people can see and touch. Around the middle of the "Cultural Revolution", what I saw on the Chumar River was a reinforced concrete bridge.The bridge was moved, next to the first generation bridge, but neither the first generation bridge nor the second generation bridge exists anymore.The pillars of the newly built bridge are poured with cement, which are thick and thick, and there are traces of flooding on them.The bridge deck is paved with gravel, the bridge is not very wide, and it is quite strong.The cars crossing the bridge don't have to pass one by one, but the speed is still very slow.I vaguely remember that the speed limit sign on the bridge said 40 kilometers. Era after age has just disappeared silently.The Yangtze River is still flowing, and so are the big rivers and streams at its source.The Yangtze and its descendants seem to keep a secret forever.But it clearly opened its mouth to tell people something.Yes, the changes on both sides of the strait remain in every season it has gone through, can it not tell if it is not excited? Later I saw the fourth generation bridge over the Chumar River.I have been unable to calm myself down. It was the early 1990s. In the summer of that year, General Lu Jianglin and I organized more than 20 writers from the "Walk to the Plateau in July" literary creation pen club, and stepped onto the roof of the world.I stood at the head of the Chumar River bridge and told my colleagues about the history of the bridge on the river.As a witness who walked through the smoke and dust of the historical tunnel, I have naturally received everyone's attention. Almost every one of the more than 20 writers took a group photo with me at the head of the bridge engraved with "Chumar River Bridge".How many old stories have been drowned by the waves of the Chumar River, but how many new stories have grown on its waves!This is history. The reason why human beings are always so confident and so energetic towards the future is because the sun is new every day. I have not investigated when and what month the fourth generation bridge was built. It does not seem to be very important, but from its majestic and solid concrete appearance, I can definitely see that this is a large road bridge that embodies the level of modern technology. .In particular, the two rows of thick and majestic pillars stand on the broad and heavy bridge deck unabated, giving people the feeling that they are giants standing upright.A car that does not need to slow down when crossing the bridge can grind out a hundred springs with its spinning wheels in a day to feed a Tibet. What interests me the most is that when the concrete bridge was being built, the original concrete bridge was still preserved.It was already mutilated, and it stood there very tiredly, obviously because it had been relieved of the long silence and loneliness, it looked a little relaxed.Now, whenever people walk on the Chumar River Bridge, they can clearly see the shadow of the bridge when they look about a kilometer upstream.It is also looking at the person who looks at it with great interest and unease. The third-generation bridge, the first-generation bridge, and the second-generation bridge lie quietly at the source of the Yangtze River.It's not that you don't speak, but you have nothing to say.In fact, silence is a leap in another sense! In August 2009, I made a special trip to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in order to go to the source of the Yangtze River to actually experience and write this "Water Control" reportage.On the highway bridge over the Chumar River, I took one photo after another.Whole body, half body, silhouette, sitting, all left a memorial.After that, I stood at the head of the bridge and looked around. The warm sun illuminated the source of the Yangtze River so brilliantly, serenely and far away.The boundless grassland stretches flatly to the snow-capped mountains in the distance, and the snow-capped mountains are shining with dazzling silver light.All kinds of unnamed wild flowers are dotted with grassy beaches, and flocks of cattle and sheep are swimming like white clouds.Chumaer River, Tuotuo River, Dangqu River, Buqu River, Beilu River... are scattered on the source of the Yangtze River like a net, clean, comfortable and bright.When I moved my feet and turned around, I saw a bright red flag on the sunny slope on the left side of me, swaying rhythmically in the breeze. My friends told me that it is the Tuotuo River Hydrological Station! The Tuotuo River Hydrological Station is located on a sunny slope beside the Tuotuo River.People who come to the source of the Yangtze River are always the first to hear the sound of rushing water, and then they see a bright and eye-catching small house. This is the only one-story house in the hydrological station. Sleep is all in this rectangular space.I don’t know which poet who loves life [maybe it’s the staff of the hydrological station] wrote these four poems on the outer wall of this small room: Although the writing is crooked, the rhythm seems to be a little off.But it is very flavorful, and anyone who reads it will think of thousands of things.Who is the author, I asked several comrades in the hydrological station, they all shook their heads, and only said that they discovered this poem almost at the same time after getting up that morning.It is said that a group of more than a dozen people came to visit the hydrological station the afternoon before, and wrote this poem without paying attention.Of course, the people on the site also suspected that their Xiao Zhang wrote it. This guy is a bit educated, and he always hums a few sour doggerel.Xiao Zhang refused to admit it, he said, look at my crooked appearance, can my stomach hold such elegant poems?Leave it alone, even if this poem grew wildly on the wall of the hydrological station!I saw this poem when I visited the hydrological station in 1997. At that time, this poem had been born for more than ten years, that is to say, people saw it around 1987.Everyone suspected that Xiao Zhang, who wrote the poem, might have been transferred to work somewhere in Gansu, otherwise I would have interviewed him carefully.For some reason, I always felt that the poem was written by this little Zhang.It's a pity that I missed an interview subject and lost a lot of valuable writing materials. Why should I go on and on about this anonymous poem?Because the comrades at the hydrological station are very disapproving of it, they said sarcastically, what a sour poet, is our life so romantic?Do we have the leisure to be romantic?Not to mention anything else, the water in the Tuotuo River we eat is also salty and astringent, and we have to fetch water for cooking elsewhere.Keeping one season throughout the year, in winter, hands and feet are almost frozen into ice cubes, and you can still watch the rain and snow leisurely, go to hell! Let's put aside that poem, let's go to the real life of Tuotuo River.It's a really tough place there.The hydrological station is located at an altitude of 4,500 meters, which is a severe alpine anoxic area.The climate is cold, windy day and night, and heavy snowfall in summer.People have to wear cotton-padded clothes all year round. In the coldest season, cotton-padded clothes can no longer withstand the severe cold. They need to be fully armed with "four leathers": fur coats, lint caps, fur shoes, and leather gloves.There used to be such a joke, which has been circulated on the Qinghai-Tibet line to this day: One summer, a comrade from the hydrological station went to the capital to do business. Before he left, the source of the Yangtze River was covered with heavy snow.As he walked inland, the weather became warmer, and he kept reducing the clothes on his body.After arriving in Xining, he took off his fur coat, and when he reversed the car in Xi'an, he threw off his fur shoes and leather gloves.On the day he arrived in Beijing, when he got off the train, he saw people all over the world shaking their fans.The air was hot, and after a while, beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.But he still wore a big greasy fur hat on his head.Xu Shi has been in the ice and snow for a long time, and he is used to covering his head with a hat all the year round. No matter how hot the weather is, he can put the hat on his head to feel comfortable.This "Tuotuohe man" wearing a big fur hat walked on the streets of the capital in midsummer like no one else.People all cast surprised glances at him, and he didn't realize that he had any special clothes that were different from everyone else. The extreme coldness of the Tuotuo River has tortured all good people to numbness, stupid! On this day, I interviewed Comrade Wang Wei, a veteran hydrologist, at the office of the Golmud Branch of Qinghai Hydrology and Water Resources Survey Bureau.Wang Wei came to Qinghai with his parents in 1966 when he was 3 years old.He graduated from Hubei Water Conservancy School majoring in land hydrology. For more than 20 years, his feet have almost traveled all over the rivers, lakes and seas on the land of Qinghai.It seems that he is born with the muscles and bones to endure hardships and endure hardships. He loves to beat himself in the most difficult places.For eight years, he worked at Yanshiping Hydrological Station and Tuotuohe Hydrological Station at the foot of Tanggula Mountain without moving his feet.These two hydrological stations are located at the source of the Yangtze River, so Wang Wei is a veritable Jiangyuan water conservancy man.To this day, he and his wife live a separate life in two places.His wife works in Xining and his son goes to school in Guangzhou.The harsh natural environment at the source of the Yangtze River made Wang Wei suffer a lot, and it also nourished his muscles and bones.Wang Wei recalled to me with mixed feelings everything he and his colleagues had endured during those eight years.Wang Wei, who is now the leader of the Hydrology and Water Resources Survey Branch Bureau, obviously smashed himself into today's self when recalling the past, and reassembled it into the vigorous young man who worked at the Tuotuo River Hydrological Station. That experience in that place was so emotional, it filled me with admiration for him.I think he will always be an ordinary soldier working hard in field hydrology at the source of the Yangtze River for most of his life.A rare true color! His memories are far away, sometimes even a little heavy.This, I can understand, can give him deep sympathy. I first asked Wang Wei a naive and common-sense question: What is the mission of the hydrological station? He said: Observe the water level, test the flow, record the evaporation of water.In a word, it is to discover and grasp the changing law of water, and to accumulate data for the development and utilization of water resources. Their specific work procedures are divided into two types: patrol inspection and live inspection.There are four and eight observation periods. The four periods are: 8 o'clock in the morning, 14 o'clock in the afternoon, 20 o'clock in the evening and 2 o'clock in the morning; Hours, 8:00, 11:00, 14:00, 17:00, 20:00, 23:00. The comrades at the hydrological station are running overloaded and busy from morning to night every day.This tells people that the hut located at the source is only a resting place for them to eat and sleep, and the stage for their real activities is on the roof of the world where the wind is blowing and snowing.It is precisely because of this that Wang Wei's memories appear heavy and long. I specially found an old material in 2006. From the words recorded on it that we laymen can barely understand, we can guess how much we lovely hydrologists have paid for the observation of the hydrological data of the source of the Yangtze River. Hard sweat and painstaking efforts -- Tuotuo River Station, established in September 1958, is located at the seat of Tuotuohe Township Government in Tanggula Mountain, Golmud City, and is the main stream control station of Tuotuo River in the upper section of Jinsha River in the Yangtze River Basin.The station is alpine and hypoxic, with an east longitude of 92°27′, a north latitude of 34°13′, and an altitude of more than 4,500 meters.The control river is 350 kilometers long, with a catchment area of ​​15,942 square kilometers, an annual average runoff of about 940 million cubic meters, and an annual average flow of 25.2m3.The maximum flow over the years was 750m3, which occurred on August 24, 1966.The minimum flow rate over the years was 0m3, which occurred on February 6, 1976.The annual average sediment discharge is 1.11 million tons, and the annual average precipitation is 288mm.The largest annual precipitation over the years was 8mm, which occurred in 2005.The annual average evaporation is 1702mm.The observation items of the station include: water level, sediment concentration, precipitation, evaporation, water temperature, air humidity on the shore, groundwater level, groundwater temperature, and ice regime. It is indeed some technical terms, boring, and difficult for laymen to understand.However, this is the fruitful result of the sweat and wisdom of the comrades at the Tuotuohe Hydrological Station.How cumbersome and monotonous their work is, you can feel it from this text.Not one month or two months, nor one year or two years, but every year.Wang Wei has worked for 8 years, some have worked longer than Wang Wei, and some have worked until retirement.There is no spirit of dedication, okay? It is very interesting that the hydrological station guards the source of the Yangtze River, but there is a shortage of water and fresh water.The water quality of the Tuotuo River is poor and salty.Drinking water at the hydrological station has to be sourced from dozens of kilometers away. In summer, it’s okay, but as soon as the season enters autumn, the water freezes, and the stored water is not enough for food. They can only smash ice cubes to melt water for cooking.Smashing ice is really a labor-intensive and labor-intensive way of life. Every time I smashed ice to fetch water, my hand was so shaken that bloody mouths were split open, and the splashed ice water droplets soaked into the bloody mouth, which was excruciatingly painful.Then you have to stick to smashing ice.The cold wind was blowing, and water droplets kept falling on his body, and he quickly put on an ice armor.If you add altitude sickness, headache, nausea, and limb weakness, it will be even worse.Once, a comrade went to smash the ice, accidentally slipped his foot and fell into the ice cave. He struggled for a long time. The ice lump on his clothes became thicker and heavier, and he couldn't climb up.The comrades on the station waited for a long time but couldn't see him coming back. They rushed to see that he was still thrashing about in the ice hole, completely turning into an iceman.Everyone rushed to rescue him.The comrade who fell into the water still caught a cold and had a high fever, so he was rushed to Golmud Hospital for emergency treatment, which saved his life. As time goes by, the conditions and equipment of hydrological stations are always improving.Later, the superior equipped the station with an old car, a diesel car.So they can sit in the car when they patrol.Saved a little trouble, but also brought some troubles.It was the winter of 1985. The source of the Yangtze River encountered a rare snow disaster. The entire Tuotuo River, Chumar River and all the rivers at the source were completely covered by snow.The comrades at the hydrological station still have to survey.That day, they hadn't traveled far in the car when the car broke down, and the fuel tank was filled with water and frozen.The car is off.The driver had no choice but to burn the fuel tank with a blowtorch.Come on, let's get in the car and run for a while.The fuel tank was frozen again, so I baked it again, and then drove for a while... The delay in time was second to none, and the most worrying thing was that the diesel fuel might explode if the fuel tank was not properly ignited when baking the fuel tank.In this way, they have to carefully lie on the ice and snow and hold the blowtorch to bake.The ice melted, and the snow on the ground also disappeared, making the whole body covered in mud. When I put down the blowtorch, it quickly froze again.That day, they were supposed to finish the three-session survey mission in the evening, but because they took three steps, one stop, two steps and one walk, it was already two o'clock in the morning when they returned to the hydrological station. With regret, Wang Wei told me the story of a husband and wife hydrologist working hand in hand at the source of the Yangtze River.The husband, Xiao Huang, and his wife, Xiao Duan, both volunteered to go to the frontier to support the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from the water villages in the south of the Yangtze River, and they worked in the same hydrological station.Go to work at sunrise, return at sunset, work hard, live lovingly.One day, after the two of them finished measuring the current, they delayed their get off work time due to wind and wave interference, and it was getting late, so they rushed back to the hydrological station by boat.Unexpectedly, on the way home, there was a sudden storm, and there were layers of waves on the river.They speeded up and rowed on their way.The storm not only did not decrease, but intensified.Just as their boat was turning along a bend in the river, the boat capsized in the river with the wind.His wife, Xiao Duan, was detained in the river under the boat. She was wearing bulky rubber pants, which were very inconvenient, and she couldn't get out no matter how hard she broke free.Xiao Huang was so anxious that his heart seemed to be on fire, and he hurried to save his wife in a panic.Little did he know that his eyes were highly myopic, and when he went into the water to find his wife, his glasses fell into the river.Now he couldn't see anything, like a blind man.He cried out his wife's nickname and continued to search in the river.He didn't know where his wife was washed by the water, and he couldn't see it. How could he find it?So he shouted hoarsely for help, but it was wild.Where is someone!Xiao Huang didn't want his wife to be lost at the source of the Yangtze River, so he still fumbled in the river and called out for help.Later, his voice became hoarse, his throat was bleeding, and he was still shouting... He soaked in the cold river water for nearly three hours, and finally fainted in the water.My dear Xiao Duan was swept away by the big waves and I don’t know where!Later, comrades from the hydrological station came to rescue Xiao Huang from the river.Everyone huddled together and wept bitterly for a long, long time! At the source of the Yangtze River, a tomb of clothes appeared.With deep respect and deep love, the workers of the hydrological station buried a young colleague as old wine and buried them under the frozen ground.Several years later, later people dug up this jar of wine, and what they tasted was the alcohol of realgar and Moutai! The Yangtze River is still flowing, and Xiaoduan will not die! The life of the hydrological station changed a lot after two lesbians came.They are Wang Qingfen and Luo Jing.Because their parents were both workers at the old hydrological station, they were recruited to work in the water conservancy industry after graduating from high school.It was difficult to find employment at that time, and they were considered to have enjoyed the care of preferential policies.Suddenly there are beautiful women in the man's world, and life will definitely become colorful and interesting.They are responsible for washing rice and cooking, and the rice is delicious, needless to say.Even the work of washing and rinsing for everyone on the station was rushed to do more than half of it.There are still things that make the hydrological station most proud!This is why these two lesbians were often "borrowed" by the Tuotuohe Military Station, which is adjacent to the hydrological station, to help.It turned out that the military depot would always have some distinguished guests who came to dine. In the past, those soldiers were the receptionists, serving plates and bowls, and those who were clumsy and clumsy inevitably had something wrong.The military depot is also a world of all men. It would be great if there were attentive female receptionists!Now that two young and beautiful girls have come to the hydrological station, the military station has a new idea.遇到一些重要的接待任务，忙不过来，他们就向水文站伸去求援的手，把他们的两个女同志“借”来当招待员。两个女孩多次出色地完成任务，兵站站长把她们送回水文站时，他总要这样对水文站的同志说：咱们虽然住在两个院落，却是一家人，军民一家亲嘛！你们需要我们干的事尽管张口，我们会把它当成自己的事干好！水文站吃水有困难，兵站每次用拉水车运回来的淡水总会有水文站一份。兵站每次到格尔木买菜时，也不会忘记要给水文站捎回足够他们吃一周的菜。两家人为了打破长江源头死沉沉的寂寞，逢年过节少不了要举行军民联欢晚会。因为有了女同志的清唱和舞姿，晚会的气氛也变得活泼可亲了！ 长江源头一军一民两家人，过的是平平凡凡的生活，是默默无闻奉献的生活，也是流动着美好旋律的生活。 现今的中国，有一种动物被人们谈及的几率很高，而且越来越高。它就是作为奥运会吉祥物的藏羚羊。提起藏羚羊人们马上又会想到一个地名：可可西里。那里是藏羚羊的乐园。其实，从一定意义上讲，可可西里也可以说就是长江源头。更确切地说，长江源头的数十条支流绝大部分分布在可可西里地面上。所以我要说，长江源头也是藏羚羊的乐园。这么说绝不夸张。 我常常对别人说，楚玛尔河两岸的藏羚羊最多也最可爱。因为我第一次见到这种很灵性的动物就是在楚玛尔河畔。不过那时我们都把藏羚羊误以为是黄羊。那是50年代末，我是一名高原汽车兵，经常驾驶着汽车奔驰在世界屋脊上。一天中午我们的车队在楚玛尔河边小憩，不知是哪位战友惊喜地高嗓门喊了一声：“快看，黄羊！”于是我们就看见了在离我们大约不足两百米的草坡上，密密集集地挤满了一大群动物，往少处说也有三四百只。那真是太壮观了，一片活脱脱的肉海！黄羊们悠闲地移动着，有的低头啃草，有的仰脖望着我们，还有的互相追逐着嬉闹，没有一点惧怕人的意思。雄羊的尾骨部有一块折绒毛，点缀在羊群里，在和煦的阳光照耀下更加惹眼，这里一闪，那里一亮，十分耐看！那天带车队的秦副连长特地允许我们在楚玛尔多待了一会儿，让我们饱尝眼福多看看这些可爱的生灵！可惜的是那个年代我们谁也没有照相机，无法把那一片足足有三四百只藏羚羊的宏大场面留下来。 当然，我们很快就纠正了自己的无知，那不是黄羊，而是藏羚羊。黄羊的个头大，头上也没有长角。同时我们也逐渐了解到了一些关于藏羚羊的知识，包括江源地区为什么会成为藏羚羊的乐园。 长江源头遥远的地理位置和残酷的自然条件，阻挡着人类走近它的同时，却为野生动物筑起了一道安全生活的屏障。千百年间，野生动物在这块广袤的无人区后来变成近乎无人区的世外桃源，肆无忌惮地纵横驰骋、随意嬉戏、繁衍生息，甚至互相残杀。生物资源极为丰富的青藏高原大约有230多种野生动物，在长江源头和可可西里就可以看到近乎一半。野牦牛、藏羚羊、盘羊、岩羊、野驴、雪豹、棕熊、猞猁、鹿、麝、喜马拉雅土拨鼠、长毛野兔等，它们在这里平平安安送走了每一个白天和夜晚。数百种野生动物中，以藏羚羊为最多。长江源头是目前国际上公认的藏羚羊生息的最主要地域之一。今天当全世界的人都把关注的目光投向三江源头时，中国人的自豪感更多的不是闪射在脸上，而是应该脚踏实地做着保护这块土地上每一种生灵的行之有效的工作。 然而，我们曾经背叛过阳光，愚昧一度像瘟疫一样制约了中国人的理智。先是在三年自然灾害中，饥肠辘辘的高原军民像华夏大地上所有吃不饱腹的国人一样，在饿极了的时候，逮住什么都往肚里填。谁也无法统计，昆仑山到唐古拉山之间这片野生动物的欢乐世界里，驻扎着多少个狩猎队。枪声不间断地回响在长江源头，倒地的野生动物包括藏羚羊在内被汽车运往各地，成为人们餐桌上的食物。我亲眼见过这样的场面：在沱沱兵站的院子里，被猎杀的野生动物垒成一座又一座小山样的大垛，军车排成队等候着运载；在楚玛尔河畔的二道沟兵站，巧手炊事员做出了两道名菜：野葱爆兔肉，红烧羚羊排。过路的客人吃了赞不绝口，声称是走遍神州大地也吃不出这样爽口清香的野味。结果一传十，十传百，进藏出藏的人为了吃上这两道野味，特地赶到二道沟兵站就餐。一时间，这个兵站的食堂吃客爆满，每天排长队等候。我曾经写过一篇通讯《可可西里草原上的新村》，就记录了这个兵站打猎改善伙食的事，通讯中有这样一段文字：“……伊站长每天带领两名战士，步行几十里到深山打猎。打这以后，二道沟兵站的炒野兔肉，就名扬千里了。过往的部队写诗赞扬道：'二道沟，二道沟，餐餐菜里有兔肉，味美菜香真可口，愿意来，不愿走。'”这篇通讯刊登在1963年10月10日《人民军队》报上，有据可查。 如果说三年自然灾害时期，人们用野生动物肉充饥是生活所迫，出于无奈的话，那么从90年代初开始，一批一批盗猎者疯狂残杀藏羚羊就是无法容忍的犯罪行径了。 那个年代藏羚羊遭受到了灭顶之灾。我们不得不从长江源头腹地的那些湖泊谈起，那里是藏羚羊产仔的福地。每年的6、7月，分布在广袤荒原上的藏羚羊自发地组成声势浩大的群体，开始了一年一度的大迁徙。它们从不同地方拥向那些湖畔，度过产假。雌羊的跋涉异常艰苦，它们大都带着上年的小羊，一边走一边吃草，月下赶路居多。沿途对孩子的悉心照料最使妈妈操心。遇到狼、鹰的袭击是常有的事。这时妈妈就得千方百计地保护孩子的安全。即使这样也很难保证身边孩子不受伤或者死亡，最让妈妈痛心难忍的是肚子里的宝宝因为惊吓而早产。迁徙路上洒满雌羊的担惊和悲痛。自出行离开栖息地时，会有一些雄羊一同伴随，精心照料爱妻，还要顾及即将出生的孩子。但是往往走到半途，大部分雄羊便悄然失踪，有的原地栖息，有的自由游荡，寻找其他雄羊结群生活。 迁徙地到了，一片浩瀚的湖泊就是雌羊们的“产房”。这个季节正是这些湖泊地区的干燥期，无雨，热风劲吹，湖周围的那些大小不规则的湖泊，很快就亮起了肚皮。细腻的胶泥，明晃晃的，一望无际，风吹日晒，这些胶泥便微微卷起，呈瓦片状，凹成碟盘。雌羊们太喜欢这些碟盘了，因为它们的乳房在这个即将产仔的日子，奶水逐渐增多，膨胀，随之发痛，发痒。大自然为雌羊早就准备好了挤奶器，它就是这些“瓦块”，碟盘。雌羊卧在其上，硬硬的又略带些绵柔的“瓦块”，会将一些过剩的奶水挤出来，流入碟盘内。渐积累，胶泥瓦块上就存下了不少奶液。这些遗奶恰恰又是那些在湖畔生活的鸟们理想的食品。美餐。鸟们吃得贪婪，吃得解馋！它们边吃边拉，在湖畔积存下了一层粪便。无人打扫，越积越多。这些鸟粪又成了藏羚羊和出生不久的小羊仔的绝佳食品。因为鸟粪中含着母羊产后需要急于补充的丰富的氮、磷、钙营养物质。 长江源头的这些湖畔有这样得天独厚的生存条件，何乐而不为？对藏羚羊和鸟们均如此！ 然而，藏羚羊的乐园也正是盗猎者实施罪恶残杀的最理想的屠场！他们瞅准了藏羚羊迁徙的路线，瞅准了藏羚羊产仔的湖畔。每年6、7月这个时候，这些盗猎者便神不知鬼不觉地埋伏在藏羚羊必经必到的关口中，袭击成群结队的藏羚羊。防不胜防，多少可爱的生灵惨死在罪恶的枪口下！在青海省森林公安局的展览室里，工作人员给我描述了这样几个血淋淋的场面：—— 大约上百只迁徙的藏羚羊，没有任何提防地走进了盗猎团伙早就布好的埋伏圈。盗贼从几个方向同时开枪。羊们无法辨清子弹来自何方，便围着头羊不知所向地团团转。很快，一只接一只的藏羚羊倒地。血，满地是血。有的羊死了，有的受伤后还活着，挣扎，哀叫。撕肝裂脾地叫。刽子手得意忘形，一脸狞笑，他们甚至暂时丢下枪奔上去，趁着藏羚羊身上还有余热时挥刀剥皮。还没有死去的藏羚羊发出疼痛的嘶叫声。 一只雌藏羚羊卧倒在血泊中，不法分子早已剥走它的皮，只留下一团鲜红的肉在微微颤动。一只新出生不久的小羊还偎在母亲的怀中，吮吸着乳汁。这时，大群的秃鹰、乌鸦从四面八方赶来，吞吃着血淋淋的藏羚羊的尸骸。偎依在母亲尸体上的小羊的眼珠被鹰啄去，小羊咩咩惨叫，四条小腿拼命地乱蹬着，它并没有完全死去，鹰就撕吃着它的肉。 —— 昆仑山下的高原新城格尔木，是青藏公路的咽喉要道，又是不法分子交易藏羚羊皮张的集散地。这些刽子手把猎杀来剥下的皮张运到格尔木附近后，埋在戈壁荒滩中，然后由买主交钱运走。埋入干沙中的皮不会腐烂。好长一段时间，格尔木四周的沙滩成了不法分子藏匿赃物的“天然仓库”…… 野蛮杀生！肆无忌惮，贪财掠夺，暴殄天物。流血的长江源！ 人们会有一个疑问，盗猎为什么要把藏羚羊视为宝物，贪得无厌地去猎杀？ 完全是为了那个“沙图什”。 藏羚羊终生的生存领地是海拔3700米至5000米的高寒荒漠地带，气温极低，大都是雪线以上，终年积雪不化。有的地方被雪覆盖期超过半年，没有无霜期。为适应这种恶劣的自然环境，藏羚羊在长期的进化与适应中，身上生长出了保暖性极好的绒毛。它的绒精细，轻软，弹性好，是世界上公认的最好的绒。在中国境外，1公斤藏羚羊绒价为1000到2000美元，其绒被称为“绒中黄金”、“羊绒之王”。用藏羊绒加工而成的披肩叫“沙图什”【译音，在克什米尔，藏羚羊被称为shantoosh，现已成为国际通称】。克什米尔印度控制区是全球最大的加工“沙图什”的地区，其产品主要运往欧洲销售，也有将原料运往欧洲加工的。英国是出售藏羚羊制品的主要市场。“沙图什”披肩长1至3米不等，宽1.5米左右，重100克，轻柔如絮，可以从一只戒指中穿过，因此说它又有一个美名“戒指披肩”。传说把鸽子蛋放进柔而暖的藏羚羊绒披肩里，就可以孵出小鸽子来。一条“沙图什”需要用300—400克羊绒，而一只藏羚羊仅产绒100克左右，就是说编织一条披肩要杀3到4只藏羚羊。一条“沙图什”披肩价格在3万美元到4万美元之间。因此，“沙图什”披肩在欧美、印度等国家成了身份与财富的象征。18世纪这种披肩传到欧洲，据说拿破仑就曾经将一条“沙图什”披肩送给自己的情妇约瑟芬。约瑟芬爱之深切，一下就定购了许多条。 藏羚羊绒成为“沙图什”的惟一原料给藏羚羊带来灭顶之灾。这种披肩的价格在国际市场上不断攀升，青藏高原藏羚羊就必然减少。据资料记载，可可西里的藏羚羊最多的时候到了近20万只，在20世纪90年代中期锐减到不足3万只。 保护可可西里的藏羚羊，保护长江源头的自然资源，势在必行！ 在长江源头罪恶的枪声时而激昂时而停息的断断续续的回荡声中，保护藏羚羊已经引起了社会各方面的关注。中国政府发表了《中国保护藏羚羊白皮书》。1999年6月，中国野生动物保护协会、中国科协、北京野生动物保护协会共同举办了“保护藏羚羊行动报告会”，呼吁社会各界关心、支持我国藏羚羊保护事业。接着中国野生动物保护协会发出了《保护藏羚羊行动呼吁书》。1999年5月26日，青海省农业厅、青海省野生动物保护协会发表了《青海省藏羚羊保护倡议书》。 长江源头猎杀藏羚羊的枪声还在响着，不过稀疏了，远了。那枪声细细的，游丝一般，分明随时都会断掉。 下面的一组数字，也是我从青海省森林公安局得到的：—— 1992年，破获猎杀、贩运、走私藏羚羊及皮的特大案件5起，收缴藏羚羊皮4043张，查扣违法狩猎枪支5支，车辆6部，抓获犯罪嫌疑人19人。 —— 1994年，破获特大案件8起，收缴藏羚羊皮2332张，查扣枪支29支，车辆4部。1月18日，青海省玉树藏族自治州治多县西部工作委员会书记索南达杰在长江源太阳湖地区，一次就查获藏羚羊皮1300余张。令人震惊的是，在与盗猎分子的激烈搏斗中，索南达杰竟然被罪恶残暴的盗猎分子枪杀。 1995年到1997年3月，查获重、特大盗猎案件10起，收缴藏羚羊皮159张，查扣枪支9支、子弹1670发、车辆11部，抓获犯罪嫌疑人60人。 有人估计，自1992年到1998年，差不多每天有15只藏羚羊被杀害。这几年共有3万多只藏羚羊，从长江源头地域永远地消失了！ 这些年，我多次到过长江源头，看到的已经是另一种景象了，沱沱河、楚玛尔河、北麓河、解普勒节曲等源头支流，平静而赏心悦目地流淌。西岸的草滩上时有牧民赶着牛羊安详地放牧，最有意思的是，那些藏羚羊也许在凑热闹，它们中竟然有那么几只不甘寂寞，大摇大摆地走进牧人的羊群里，与家羊们多情地嬉闹一阵子后，才心满意足地离去。牧人丝毫不阻挠，只是静静地观望着，任其来去逍遥。 长江源头，天高云淡，太阳很红。那河那湖，在阳光下闪金耀银，平静、安详而又丰满地向东流去。很远很远的东边，很近很近的源头！ 我就是在这时候，又一次来到长江源头。时间2009年8月。我站在楚玛尔河桥上，瞭望茫茫无边的江源土地，难以按捺心头的澎湃。原来是源头的细浪冲击着我的胸膛。我朝上游望去，那里是连绵不断的雪山、冰川，长江最终极的源头，也许只是一条或几条涓涓小溪，孕育了这条滔滔大江！我朝下游望去，那里是一览无余的莽原，数十条也许是数百条支流，欢快地奔腾着走向同一个地方。那个地方叫大海。在长江流向大海的数千公里沿途上，有她孕育的千年富饶文明。也有她制造的贫穷灾难。人们顺应着她，利用着她，也要不时地与她的狂暴不轨搏斗。 我站在长江源头，突然觉得自己很高大，又突然觉得自己很渺小；高大时我愿做长江的一朵纯净的浪花，渺小时我愿做雪山之巅的一棵小草。 我骄傲，我站在长江源头的楚玛尔河畔！ 【王宗仁：解放军总后勤部政治部创作室主任】