When it comes to the city of Panzhihua, many people think of tourism and abundant fruits. But how many people still remember that this city named after flowers was actually built on steel?
Panzhihua's iron ore resources are very abundant, with iron ore reserves of 7.1 billion tons. At first, Panzhihua was just a small village, but the discovery of iron ore provided an opportunity for the establishment of Panzhihua City.
So why do we mention Panzhihua today, and what development path has Panzhihua embarked on today?
Discovery and development of Panzhihua iron ore
In the fifties of the last century, out of the need for development, the country began large-scale mineral exploration. It was also during this period that the extra-large vanadium titanomagnetite of Panzhihua was discovered. Panzhihua is very rich in mineral resources, with reserves of 70% of the proven mineral resources in Sichuan Province, and is listed as one of the four major iron ore areas in China along with the three mining areas of Anben, Sijiaying and Baima.
At that time, Panzhihua, which was still a small village, was fully developed with the blessing of resource exploitation, and was finally established as a prefecture-level city.
When the Panzhihua Iron Mine was first discovered, it could not be immediately put into development. This is because the iron ore here is vanadium titanomagnetite, which, as its name suggests, is an iron ore mixed with three elements: vanadium, titanium, and magnetism.
To use a popular analogy, you mix corn flour, glutinous rice flour, and wheat flour together, and then ask you to pick out the wheat flour from it.
Of course, it is 10,000 times more difficult to extract various minerals from this symbiotic ore than this analogy. Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine that this kind of iron ore is notoriously difficult to smelt, and since the nineteenth century, many industrially developed countries have begun to refine this iron ore, but they all end up with the problem of viscous slag and indistinguishable slag and iron.
At that time, China's metallurgical technology was not yet mature, let alone overcoming this kind of problem, so although Panzhihua's iron ore reserves were as high as 7.1 billion tons, it was directly judged by Soviet experts to be a "dead mine" that could not be mined. "Dead mine" is a mine that cannot be used, to put it bluntly, it is a "dead mine", a mine that cannot be used.
However, with the efforts of the scientific research team for nearly 20 years, this "dead mine" is no longer "dull", and has finally been developed and utilized.
The black and swarthy iron block in the picture above seems to be unremarkable, but in fact it carries the milestone significance of the development of Panzhihua Iron Mine. Cast in 1970, it is a commemorative iron cast from the first molten iron smelted in the blast furnace of Pangang No. 1, which is of extraordinary significance.
After the iron ore in Panzhihua was asserted by experts as a "dead mine", China's Ministry of Metallurgical Industry is still determined to gnaw this hard bone. As a result, more than 30,000 people from geological teams, designers, scientific research institutes and factories gathered in Panzhihua to start the research and development of vanadium titanomagnetite in Panzhihua.
After Chairman Mao decided on the address of Panzhihua Iron and Steel Plant, the people who came to Panzhihua surveyed and designed at the same time. Finally, in 1966, the design plan of the Panzhihua Iron and Steel Plant in Nongping was finally approved, and the development of the Panzhihua Iron Mine was also in full swing.
In order to successfully smelt vanadium titanium magnetic symbiotic ore, it is necessary to solve the problem of viscous slag and indistinguishable slag and iron. The carbon content of Panzhihua is as high as 30%, much higher than the international smelting standard of 16%.
Finally, on June 27, 1970, 108 research institutes, known as "one hundred orders and eight generals", finally overcame the problem of smelting Panzhihua, a vanadium titanium magnetic symbiotic ore, after day after day of experiments.
Through continuous trial and error, the scientific research team has experienced more than 1,200 experiments, and these more than 1,200 attempts are not as easy as having dinner with anyone, but mixed with the sweat and tears of their predecessors. That is to say, after all kinds of difficulties, it has opened the glorious mining development road of Panzhihua.
The problems that the once industrially developed countries could not overcome were overcome in China, which was not outstanding at that time, and it was inseparable from the determination of the country and the hard work of the scientific researchers.
Based on the international environment at that time, China was isolated and helpless, so it had to rely on itself, and you can imagine how difficult this process was. But even so, the scientific research team overcame the poor local geographical conditions, poor office conditions and technical difficulties, and finally won the giant iron ore mine in Panzhihua, which is undoubtedly very admirable.
It can be said that the development of Panzhihua Iron and Steel Plant is a microcosm of the development of China's iron and steel industry in the last century. With the strong support of the state and the struggle of countless predecessors, the "three-line spirit" has been embodied concretely and has been inherited to this day.
The economy of Panzhihua after the completion of the steel plant
Panzhihua was established in 1965, and after the smelting technology was overcome, the steel plant was officially put into production. There is a need for workers in factories, but as we mentioned earlier, Panzhihua was originally a small village with a small population base, so a large number of immigrants poured into Panzhihua, and it became a typical "immigrant" city.
So, if you've lived in Panzhihua, you'll find that there are a lot of people here who speak with foreign accents. If you grew up in Panzhihua, you may be more impressed by this. Maybe your classmates, friends, or even your own parents moved to Panzhihua from other places.
While the steel plant was developing steadily, the reform and opening up in 1978 also kicked off. Panzhihua's economy is developing rapidly by riding on the momentum, and in the words of Comrade Deng Xiaoping, Panzhihua's development conditions are unique. In the wake of the hurricane of national development, the once small mountain village has become a popular city in one fell swoop, and the local GDP has ranked first in Sichuan Province for many years.
With the reform of the social and economic system, Panzhihua after 1978 followed the policy and completed the reform of the first batch of modern enterprise systems in the country.
After entering the 21st century, Panzhihua has also developed steadily with the policy of not being short-term. Continuous improvement and development, and the same as all cities in the country, comprehensively promote the construction of urban infrastructure, and continue to promote the development of urbanization, of course, during this period the steel industry has also been further developed, the output value has been steadily growing.
In this process, Panzhihua can be described as a great change. The construction of the city has become more complete and modern.
However, Panzhihua is rich in iron ore, and the economy it develops is a very typical resource exploitation economy. This also means that the economic development of Panzhihua mainly depends on the two major parts of resource development and industrial development. However, in order to smelt iron, it is necessary to burn the furnace, and during this period, the problem of environmental pollution inevitably arises. Therefore, Panzhihua is also actively seeking the road of urban transformation, especially after 2012, the economy of Panzhihua area has basically entered a period of transition.
Once a city of steel, now a city of sunshine flowers
More than 10 years have passed since the transformation, how is Panzhihua City developing today?
Panzhihua is the only city in China named after a flower, and although it started as an iron ore mine and was a city of steel casting, it has now become the Sunshine Flower City with the same name.
In 2004, Panzhihua was listed as one of the "Top 10 Air Polluting Cities in China". But ten years later, Panzhihua won the honor of "Top Ten Cities in the National Respiratory Environment". It can be seen that the transformation of Panzhihua is still relatively successful, at least in terms of environment, it still retains the "green waters and green mountains".
In 2004, the title of "Top 10 Air Polluted Cities in China" was tantamount to tying Panzhihua to a pillar of shame. As a result, the government has stepped up rectification efforts and dealt with many heavily polluting projects. The following year, air quality improved.
But in 2013, Panzhihua once again put on the black hat of "pollution". It turned out that the sulfur dioxide emitted by the No. 6 sintering machine of Panzhihua sounded the alarm bell of Panzhihua's air quality.
So, Panzhihua decided to take another fierce medicine. This time, Panzhihua started from the industrial composition. As a heavy industrial city, protecting the environment and developing industry is like a fish and a bear's paw, and it is inevitable that you cannot have both. Therefore, Panzhihua must find another way.
This road is to start from the positioning of a livable city in the southern subtropical scenery to create a sunny and healthy city. At the same time, with the blessing of the title of "Top Ten Cities in the National Respiratory Environment", the road of health care in Panzhihua has gone very smoothly and attracted many tourists.
The geographical location of Panzhihua is very superior, the climate is humid and the temperature is suitable, which is very beneficial to the development of health care. At the same time, this climate is also very suitable for the growth of various fruits, so Panzhihua starts from the planting industry and constantly enriches the composition of the regional economy.
So, after a general understanding of the past and present of Panzhihua, does it evoke your memories of industrial development or foreign population?
Resources:
Commentary of Panzhihua China Third Line Museum
With a collection of 7.18 billion tons of "dead mines", how does Panzhihua turn "waste" into treasure!?