As early as the late Qing Dynasty, generators were introduced to China. Empress Dowager Cixi saw a new gadget, so she bought no less than 6 generators from foreigners. As early as 1888, Empress Dowager Cixi hung a foreigner's playhouse electric lamp in the West Garden of the Qing Palace, which was a material purchased by the Navy Yamen collectively from a Danish foreign firm, all added together, and a total of more than 6,000 taels of silver were spent. At the same time, the generator was also one of them, at that time the power of the generator was about 15 kilowatts now, just outside the palace of Empress Dowager Cixi, and the Yiluan Hall was located against the western wall.
In 1890, Empress Dowager Cixi ordered the Navy Yamen to buy the foreign devil's machine, and the Navy Yamen spent a total of twelve thousand taels of silver to buy a set of generators from the Germans.
As recorded in history, during the Sino-Japanese War, the Qing Dynasty government used naval funds, which is actually what was said above, and the navy yamen was ordered to buy generators, but it was embezzled their own money. However, Empress Dowager Cixi in the court did not enjoy this brightly lit night view for long. In 1900, the famous Eight-Power Alliance invaded China. Soldiers from eight countries entered the imperial city and destroyed two electric lamps and generators purchased by Empress Dowager Cixi, and Cixi ordered people to renovate them until four years later.
After the purchase of the second generator, Cixi held a feast in the court to celebrate the sixtieth birthday, and the British gave a generator to congratulate Cixi, and like the second generator, it was put into the Summer Palace for work.
After the Sino-Japanese War, the Qing government raised silver again, and this time the amount of silver reached more than 120,000 taels. Purchased the entire set of equipment for the generator from the German merchant Ronghua Foreign Company, and restored the electric lights and generators that were destroyed by the great powers in the Xiyuan and Summer Palaces during the Sino-Japanese War.
In the year of Cixi's death, according to her last wishes, the Qing government also built electric lamp equipment in the Forbidden City, and at the same time raised tens of thousands of taels of silver to purchase a complete set of generator equipment.
During the reign of Empress Dowager Cixi. There were no less than six generators in one pool. One of the generators that exists in Ningxia today is the one given by the British on the sixtieth birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi. With the development of science and technology, a power plant was built in Beijing, and the generators of the Summer Palace had no place to play, so they were transported to the Zeng Iron Factory, where they were prepared to be melted and recycled at the Tianjin Iron Crushing Bureau.
By 1934, some developed coastal cities were already brightly lit at night and full of traffic. However, compared with the inland areas, Ningxia Gansu and other provinces are relatively backward and do not know the existence of electricity. Merchants in these areas know a lot of things when they go south and north, and they want to bring electricity into their hometowns and let the people in their hometowns also know the benefits of electricity. So the local businessmen crowdfunded and set up an electric light joint-stock company, and after the establishment of the company, many businessmen and even the government also wanted to raise funds to invest in shares.
Chai Lanting, who was responsible for purchasing equipment such as electric lights, inquired about the abandoned old-fashioned generator in Beijing. It was Chai Lanting who reported what he knew to his superior, Ma Hongkui, the chairman of Ningxia. When the chairman heard this, he felt that since this machine could be used and had been used by Empress Dowager Cixi, it was very meaningful, so he asked Chai Lanting to buy it. Chai Lanting not only purchased this generator, but also purchased a complete set of facilities including two steam engines and a dozen large stone mills. The reason why Chai Lanting prepared to buy a large stone mill was to build a new flour mill after returning home. There are too many things to buy, and transporting supplies has become a major problem.
When Ma Hongkui learned of this problem, he specially dispatched a company of people to carry these machines and stone mills to the bank of the Yellow River and prepare to be transported directly by water. Finally in 1935 the electric light company officially opened for power. But after all, the generator purchased is old and "old", so it often loses power, and it is very troublesome to repair. So in the second year, the company bought a new generator, and the original old generator was assisted by the side, which led to the continuous power supply in Ningxia.
As history went on, the old-fashioned generator was transported to Wuzhong City in 1951 for working power generation. After the purchase of the new generator in Wuzhong City, the old-fashioned generator was transported to Yanchi County to start its own work and provide electricity. After that, the old-fashioned generators were sent to various townships to serve the people and supply electricity.
Finally, the old-fashioned generator was discovered by the Yanchi County Museum and became the ultimate home of empress dowager Cixi's generator. This generator has been through all kinds of things, but it has been powering and continuing its work, which is not only very memorable, but also plays its own value.