Preface
As a country that adheres to friendship and mutual assistance, the mainland has been doing its best to help some countries in need, and even when it is not rich, the mainland will still extend a helping hand to other countries.
The "Tanzania-Zambia Railway" is one of the representatives of the aid, which was a railway that the mainland contributed money and technology to help Africa successfully build, which stimulated the development of Africa's economy at that time.
Why did African countries choose when the continent was just beginning to recover its economy? Now, decades later, what about the current state of the railway?
Difficult to operate
The Tanzania-Zambia Railway has been in existence in Africa for 52 years, during which time the throughput of the railway has been far less than in the past due to the economic development of the two countries connected by the railway.
Originally, the railway was used to transport goods, but now due to the rise of tourism, passenger trains have also begun to take tourists to the two places.
Although the presence of the railroad made it convenient for the locals, it went downhill.
There was a railroad driver who worked on the railroad for ten years, and he could drive many times a day, but in the time after he retired, the railroad could only run one or two pairs of wagons.
Not only that, but the driver had no idea what his pension would be after retirement, because he never received a pension and the railway authorities did not have the money to provide such a retirement guarantee.
China Youth Network, May 03, 2017 - The current situation of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway: Striving to maintain operation and looking forward to rebirth
In addition to the fact that the revenue of the railway has decreased, because of the poverty of the local residents, and the railway has only a small number of vehicles passing through, some residents will tear down the railroad tracks and use them as fences for their yards.
What's more, they directly take down the railway cables and sell them for money.
Naturally, such behavior was resisted by the railway bureau, and after the crackdown, this situation gradually disappeared, but despite this, the railway bureau was still in the predicament of "no money".
Of course, after the delivery of the railway, the mainland did not let it go, but cooperated many times and continued to contribute money, personnel and technology to maintain the basic operation of the railway.
Although this railway is in decline, at the beginning, we and our African brothers also suffered a lot in order to build this railway.
"Freedom Trail"
In 1964, Tanzania and Zambia had just emerged from their colonial status as independent states, and in order to improve their national status, both countries needed to rapidly upgrade their economies.
However, Zambia is a typical landlocked country, at that time aviation was not developed, export goods could basically only be transported by water, but Zambia did not have a port, which directly limited Zambia's economic development.
Tanzania, which is adjacent to Zambia, was different, although it was coastal, but the railways were not well developed, and it was difficult to transport goods on a large scale at that time.
If Zambia wants to have a coastal port, it must pass through Tanzania, and Tanzania also needs to go inland through Zambia, so the two countries hit it off and planned to build a railway connecting the two places.
But both countries were just starting to build a railway, and they simply didn't have the money or the means to build a railway, so they began to ask for help, but they were repeatedly refused.
At that time, China was in diplomatic isolation, and if it wanted to break this situation and help these two countries build railways, they could get their support and gain some diplomatic power.
Even though the mainland's economy was not prosperous at that time, Premier Zhou still decided to help build this railway after considering all aspects.
Zambia and Tanzania could not afford to pay for the construction of the railway, and it was the mainland that signed an interest-free loan treaty with them and gave them financial assistance.
Xinhua News Agency, September 23, 2019 - Reference News: National Day Special Article丨Tanzania-Zambia Railway witnesses the "all-weather" friendship between China and Africa
At that time, the mainland could already build its own railways, so we also sent tens of thousands of technicians and workers to Africa to help build the "Tanzania-Zambia Railway".
However, the environmental conditions between the two countries are very complex, and the terrain of various situations exists, and sometimes when the tools are not in place, it is necessary for workers to work by hand.
Not only that, but the rail standards of the two countries are also different, and the designers have to redesign the tracks according to the standards of the two countries.
There was a shortage of all kinds of local materials, and the mainland took out hundreds of millions of yuan to support the construction of the railway, you must know that the mainland's economy was not as rich as it is now, even if we were in difficulty, but we would still choose to help the construction of the Tanzania-Zambia railway.
After ten years of perseverance in the construction of the three countries, the Tanzania-Zambia Railway was successfully opened to traffic, driving most of the economic development of the two countries.
Even though Tanzania is still one of the least developed countries, the existence of this railway has greatly improved the lives of the Tanzanian people.
The mainland has paid a lot for the construction of this railway, and there are even many young martyrs who have left their lives in foreign lands.
People's Daily Online, February 04, 2024 - Let the spirit of the Tanzan Railway shine forever
Because of our gratitude for such all-out assistance, so that the African countries are very grateful to us, the representative of Tanzania, dressed in a tunic and voted in favor of the resolution on the continent becoming a United Nations, along with the majority of African countries.
The completion and opening of the "Tanzania-Zambia Railway" has not only helped the two countries develop their economies more conveniently, but also successfully improved the mainland's reputation in the international community.
Future developments
Although there are often reports that the Tanzan railway has been abandoned, in fact the railway is still running, but the throughput is far less than it was at its peak.
In order to help African countries maintain their railways, the mainland has provided more than 10 aids, including but not limited to economic and technical assistance.
At the beginning of this year, a reporter went to the Tanzania-Zambia Railway to feel the current development of the railway.
Not only is the railway cheap, but it also offers an "in-depth national tour", which is a good choice for tourists and locals alike.
Huanqiu.com2024-02-24——Experience the "in-depth train tour" on the Tanzania-Zambia Railway: enjoy the scenery of Africa and feel the fun of cross-border train travel
The mainland will also continue to lend a helping hand to the Tanzania-Zambia Railway to help it maintain and operate.
epilogue
Nowadays, the mainland has developed, leaving our construction footprints all over the world, and has become a veritable "infrastructure maniac".
Even when we need to tighten our clothes, we are still willing to help African countries build their "road to freedom", which is also a "road of friendship" between the continent and Africa.
People's Daily Online, July 26, 2023 - A road of friendship and development
Text | ST
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