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The Qiantang River Bridge next to Hangzhou Liuhe Pagoda, as a national cultural relic protection unit, carries many unknown stories. The construction of the bridge was costly, lasting nearly three years, and it also took on the important task of saving millions of lives.
However, the fate of the bridge was not as smooth as one might think. In 1937, just a few months after the bridge was built, it was blown up, what is the story behind this?
The Qiantang River, known for its unfathomable depth since ancient times, was spread throughout China in the early 20th century with a legend that it was impossible to build a bridge over this river. However, by 1933, Zhejiang had built more than 3,000 kilometers of railways and roads, and the obstruction of the Qiantang River made it impossible to pass through traffic, which had a serious impact on the national defense and economy of Zhejiang and the whole country. Therefore, the idea of building the Qiantang River Bridge came into being.
However, this is not the first time that the idea of building a bridge over the Qiantang River has been proposed, dating back to the late Qing Dynasty, but due to limited technical conditions, it has not been realized. Prior to this, China's modern bridges were mostly built by foreign engineers.
At that time, the exploration data was sent to Wald, who was a railway consultant to the Republic of China government at the time. A year later, Walder completed the design of the original version of the Qiantang River Bridge, which was 1,872 meters long and included railways, roads and sidewalks, with wooden piles driven into the ground in part. However, in order to break the situation that Chinese bridges were built by foreign engineers, the Zhejiang Provincial Construction Department decided to conduct independent research and design, and this task fell to Mao Yisheng of Beiyang University.
Mao Yisheng has a deep background in modern bridges, and in the face of this task, he deeply investigated the hydrological, meteorological and geological data of the Qiantang River and concluded that under the right conditions, the Qiantang River Bridge could be built. As a result, Mao Yisheng began to lead the design and construction of the bridge. In early 1934, Mao Yisheng's "Second Plan" was born, which made major changes to the original design and proposed a series of innovative design concepts, such as equidistant bridge holes and reduced pier spacing.
With the maturity of the design scheme, in mid-1934, the bidding work for the Qiantang River Bridge began, and Mao Yisheng's plan stood out for its economy and rationality. On November 11, 1934, the Peace Day of the First World War, the construction of the Qiantang River Bridge officially began.
During the construction process, in order to quickly complete the project, Mao Yisheng and others adopted measures adapted to local conditions and overcame many difficulties. For example, they use the water of the Qiantang River to overcome quicksand, use tidal fluctuations to float beams, and so on. Two and a half years later, in September 1937, the Qiantang River Bridge was completed, a feat under the conditions of the time.
However, the completion of the bridge did not proceed smoothly. In the process of building the bridge, Mao Yisheng made an unusual decision - he reserved explosive ports for the bridge, which could be detonated and destroyed at any time. Behind this decision is a more important mission for national survival.
In 1937, China was in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, and the bridge became an important passage for the military and civilians to withdraw south. When the bridge was opened to traffic, there was no celebration, only a train full of anti-Japanese materials and fleeing civilians passed by, and the bridge deck road was not immediately opened to prevent enemy bombing.
In this context, the bridge is likely to become an important passage for the Japanese army to invade China. In order to reduce the speed of the enemy's southward advance, Mao Yisheng reserved explosive ports when designing the bridge. On November 16, 1937, two months after the opening of traffic, the Nanjing authorities sent someone to find Mao Yisheng and convey the urgent news that the Japanese army had approached Hangzhou and demanded that the Qiantang River Bridge be blown up immediately.
That night, Mao Yisheng persuaded the authorities to place a box of explosives at the reserved opening, and at the same time, in the face of the influx of refugees, he decided to open the bridge deck and no longer worry about bombing. Beginning the next day, thousands of people evacuated from the bridge deck, but the good times did not last long, and a month later, the Japanese army attacked Wukang, and Hangzhou was in danger. On December 22, the explosives on the bridge automatically detonated, and the upper part of the piers was completely blown up.
The steel beams all fell into the river, and the Qiantang River Bridge was reduced to ruins. The next day, the city of Hangzhou was covered with plaster flags, and on December 24, 1937, Hangzhou fell, and the bridge's mission came to an abrupt end just 89 days after its completion. In this short period of time, the Qiantang River Bridge played a key role, grabbed a large number of anti-Japanese materials, and helped millions of refugees to evacuate smoothly, such a magnificent feat has become an immortal history.
Without the bridge, millions of innocent people would have been stranded in Hangzhou, facing a Japanese invasion and perhaps even repeating the tragedy of the Nanjing Massacre. Mao Yisheng, in the face of the blow-up of the bridge, was filled with righteous indignation and wrote a poem: "The wind and clouds of the fighting ground change color today, the blowing up of the bridge breaks the way with tears, the lack of fire in the five elements really comes to fire, and if the bridge is not restored, there is no husband."
With the victory of the Sino-Japanese War, the restoration of the bridge began. In September 1946, Mao Yisheng and others were ordered to repair the bridge, and with the help of carefully preserved bridge materials, they gathered engineering and technical personnel to carry out restoration work. In March 1947, the Qiantang River Bridge was reopened to traffic, and although it was later blown up by Kuomintang troops, the damage was not significant, and the repair was completed in less than a day.
In 1953, the Shanghai Railway Bureau renovated the bridge, and there have been no large-scale repairs, only the panels of the road bridge. The bridge, which was originally designed to last only 50 years, has stood on the Qiantang River for more than 30 years and has become a landscape.
Today, the memorial hall of the Qiantang River Bridge sits on its northwest side and has attracted many visitors since it opened in 1999. In the memorial hall, photos of the builders of the Mao Yisheng Bridge are displayed, which truly records the legendary history of the bridge for nearly a century. By browsing engineering drawings, watching films and photos, people can visit the work scenes of the bridge builders in those years and feel the wisdom and efforts of the Chinese people in that special period. The archives management not only preserves the engineering archives, but also records the historical chapter of the indomitable spirit of the Chinese people in difficult times.
The history of the Qiantang River Bridge is full of ups and downs and challenges, but it will always be engraved in the hearts of Chinese. This bridge is not only a traffic project, but also a witness of the anti-Japanese war years, the redemption of millions of lives, and a symbol of the perseverance of the Chinese people. Its story will be passed on forever and inspire generations to forge ahead and defend the dignity of the nation.
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