How many shames and sins did those humiliating years witness? However, what kind of miracles and legends are hidden in the haze of sin? The complex historical fate of the Fengman Hydropower Station and the Shuifeng Hydropower Station, which were built by the Japanese invaders to occupy Northeast China, has aroused our infinite thinking. What kind of vicissitudes have these two hydropower projects undergone? How did they witness those dark years, and what contributions did they make to the construction of New China? Let's step into the long river of history and explore these forgotten secrets.
1. Brewing and construction of hydropower projects
September 18, 1931, was a day of resentment. The Japanese artillery fire ignited the hot land in the northeast and opened the prelude to the war of aggression against China. After the September 18 Incident, the Japanese Kwantung Army spread rapidly like a venomous snake, occupying the entire northeast in just four months. Enriching one's own pockets and attempting to occupy China forever is the ultimate goal of Japanese militarist greed.
In order to realize this evil attempt, Japan began to build a large number of buildings in Tohoku and began preparations for a long-term occupation. A large number of military fortresses are spread all over the north and south of the river, broken into pieces, and obscuring the sky and the sun. This is not enough, and the most important thing in order to stay in China's hinterland is the issue of energy. Only by solving the supply of strategic materials such as electricity can we fundamentally ensure the long-term rooting of the Japanese army in the northeast.
As a result, among the many cities in Northeast China at that time, Fengman on the Songhua River and Shuifeng along the Yalu River were soon targeted by the Japanese occupation regime. It is rich in hydropower resources, and it is a good location to build a hydropower station. Having sufficient electricity is equivalent to having a lifeline to sustain a long-term war in North China.
Fengman is the old city of Jilin Province and has a long history. However, this rich city, in the winter of 1931, was ruthlessly trampled by the Japanese army and became a victim of Japanese aggression. After the 918 Incident, the Japanese army surrounded Fengman City across the river, attempting to use it as a forward base for the Northeast base camp in the future. A large number of clearance teams swarmed in, and the city was full of bullets and bullets, and the smell of gunpowder wafted in the air.
What is even more outrageous is that while the military occupation was carried out, the Japanese army also forcibly recruited a large number of Chinese laborers to start building the Fengman Hydropower Station. The rocks here are hard, the geology is complex, and the conditions are very harsh. Many laborers died of exhaustion under the atrocities, and their bones were gone. For a time, the land of Fengman was reduced to a murderous nest, full of blood and nightmares.
Dozens of kilometers away, Shuifeng's fate is not much better. In September 1937, the Japanese army began construction of this large hydropower project. Due to a lack of equipment and funds, they dragged hundreds of thousands of Chinese laborers like cattle to build dams. In the ice and snow, the laborers held wooden hammers and hammered stones and engraved rocks, working overtime day and night, the cold wind was biting, and people often froze at the construction site. Little by little, life withered away, turning into mud and reinforced concrete for hydropower stations.
For the Japanese army, these two power stations were naked tools of killing, and the construction process was undoubtedly an unforgettable catastrophe. However, they are unaware of this, ignoring it and simply valuing the power plant to provide sufficient impetus for future expansion. This shows how barbaric and bloodthirsty the Japanese aggressors were, disregarding human nature and civilization, and only pursuing dirty interests to maintain their unscrupulous and criminal rule.
2. Anecdotes from the construction process
In those dark years, during the construction of Fengman Hydropower Station and Shuifeng Hydropower Station, there were always some shocking and bizarre events. These past events are like sharp daggers, piercing deep into people's hearts, making us unable to forget that period of humiliation and pain.
When it comes to Fengman Hydropower Station, the first thing that comes to people's minds is the legend of the mass grave. How did the mass grave come about? According to the memories of the workers at the time, next to the dam of the power station, there was a large ravine 100 meters long, about 4 meters wide and 2 meters deep, and its origin is poignant.
It turned out that on a cold winter night in 1943, a Japanese patrol suddenly rushed into the construction site, and they ordered all the Chinese workers to stop work immediately, stand in line, and drive some of the thin workers aside to check their bodies one by one. Who would have thought that a terrible scene would happen next: as soon as someone was found to be sick or infirm, they would immediately be beaten violently, many people would be beaten to death, and their bodies would be thrown into a large pit nearby. The next morning, the construction site was covered in blood, and the clotted blood on the ground was like ten thousand red wildflowers. Since then, this creepy crater has been known as the "mass grave".
On the construction site of the Shuifeng Hydropower Station, there are also frequent heinous incidents of torture and killing. A German engineer who worked there still remembers it many years later. On one occasion, he said, a North Korean laborer was so hungry that he stole a little leftover food from the construction site. It didn't take long for him to be discovered by Japanese soldiers and brutally beaten. The poor laborer begged for mercy and cried out hoarsely: "I haven't eaten for days, and I can't stand the hunger that I have eaten a little!" The Japanese soldiers didn't pay attention to it at all, but instead punched and kicked them aggravated, and finally beat the young laborer to death in public! The entire construction site was silent, except for the cries of the workers echoing in the valley.
A North Korean laborer recounted his personal experience at the Shuifeng power station, which was heartbreaking: "We were brought here by the Japanese from North Korea, and we were abused and beaten every day. On one occasion, a North Korean worker fainted on a construction site because he was overworked. A Japanese soldier actually took out a pistol and aimed it at him, and the poor compatriot died! When we saw this scene, we were all so frightened that we didn't dare to resist anymore... ＂
These shocking stories let us better understand the tragic situation during the construction of the hydropower project. It can be said that every stone and every meter of reinforced concrete of the Fengman Hydropower Station and the Shuifeng Hydropower Station embodies the blood and sweat of countless Chinese and Koreans, and also witnesses the brutal and barbaric crimes of the Japanese. In this way, fresh lives were ruthlessly taken away and became victims of the construction of power stations, which is heart-wrenching and discouraged.
Third, the fate of the project after its completion
The Fengman Hydropower Station and the Shuifeng Hydropower Station were finally completed in a difficult and tortuous manner, but their fate was far from calm. On the contrary, in the following decades, the two hydropower projects experienced more bizarre twists and turns, witnessed the turbulent years of war, civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and also carried the historical burden of China-North Korea friendship.
Shortly after the construction of the Fengman hydropower station in August 1945, it was "dismantled" by the Soviet Red Army. On August 20 of that year, the Soviet army took over this super-large hydropower station in the northeast. Unexpectedly, the Soviet army did not receive and operate the power station according to common sense, but began a crazy act of large-scale dismantling of the generator set equipment.
According to records at the time, the Soviet army was stationed in Fengman for half a year, dismantling four large generating units that had just been put into operation, as well as a number of units that were being installed and commissioned, leaving only two small 1500 kVA hydroelectric generators. This wanton demolition has undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to the normal operation of the hydropower station.
Later, it was revealed that the dismantled equipment of the Fengman hydropower station was transported by Soviet troops to the Caucasus and installed at the Mingechaur hydropower station. This also shows from the side that the so-called "borrowing" behavior of the Soviet army is actually a kind of robbery in disguise.
The fate of the Shuifeng hydropower station is similarly difficult. This large-scale power station located in the lower reaches of the Yalu River officially started construction in 1941, and all six units were put into operation in 1945. However, just a few months later, in August of the same year, Japan was defeated and surrendered, and the Soviet army quickly occupied the Shuifeng power station.
Like the Fengman power station, the Soviets dismantled the equipment of the three generating units of the Shuifeng power station, and fortunately, the remaining three were left at the power station. Since then, this power station has become a special existence jointly managed by China and North Korea.
North Korea took over the actual operation of the power station, and the electricity was split equally between China and North Korea. The main plant of the power station is located in North Pyongan Province, North Korea, and China is in charge of major decisions such as reservoir flood discharge. In this way, China and North Korea began a decades-long "power cooperation".
However, due to the differences in concepts and cultures between the two sides, differences and contradictions have repeatedly arisen in the process of cooperation. Once, because of the flood discharge issue, a violent dispute broke out between China and North Korea, and the staff of both sides even pushed and shoved on the spot, and the scene was very tense for a while. If it were not for the timely mediation of the two governments, the situation could have escalated further.
During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the Shuifeng Power Station was attacked by the US military. In 1951, a U.S. military plane flew straight to the power station and dropped an incendiary bomb, causing serious damage to the plant. Dozens of North Korean workers were killed or injured in the attack. Some of the units were seriously damaged and had to be shut down for maintenance.
It was not until 1958 that the Shuifeng power station fully restored its normal power generation capacity. Since then, the power station has played an important role in providing electricity to China and North Korea, and has also become a witness to the friendship between the two peoples.
Fourth, the rebirth of hydropower projects in New China
The smoke of war finally dissipated, and the dawn of new China rose in the east. Fengman Hydropower Station and Shuifeng Hydropower Station got rid of the fate of being enslaved and plundered in this vast history, and began to contribute their modest efforts to the industrial construction of the motherland.
After the dismantling of the Soviet Union, the Fengman hydropower station was once in a state of semi-paralysis. In September 1949, the Chinese People's Liberation Army liberated Fengman, and since then this majestic hydropower project has truly become the wealth of the Chinese people.
The nascent people's power attaches great importance to the construction of electric power and has decided to vigorously restore and expand the Fengman Hydropower Station. In 1954, after several years of painstaking restoration, the much-damaged Fengman power station finally regained its power generation function, and the installed capacity also increased to 56,000 kilowatts.
After entering the 60s of the 20th century, Fengman Power Station underwent large-scale expansion and transformation. The reservoir, spillway, and power plant building have all been strengthened and upgraded, and a number of large units have been added. By 1971, the total installed capacity of Fengman Power Station had reached 654,000 kilowatts, making it the largest hydropower station in Northeast China at that time.
From barely maintaining operation in the early days of liberation, to becoming a well-known mega-power station in Asia and even the world, Fengman Hydropower Station once again proved the indomitable will of the Chinese people to be self-reliant and self-developing with its own butterfly history.
On the other side, the Shuifeng Hydropower Station, which was once "jointly managed" by China and North Korea, also underwent a new round of expansion around 1960. At the same time, the DPRK has launched a large-scale industrial construction program in the city, which has led to a significant increase in electricity consumption. As a result, China and the DPRK agreed to reformulate the right to allocate hydropower resources for the power station.
In January 1963, with the support of China, a new water allocation plan was finally adopted. The new plan provides North Korea with 60 percent of the power plant's power generation and China with 40 percent of the electricity right. So, decades later, the Shuifeng power station is still providing reliable power to China and North Korea.
However, it is true that the development of these two power stations is falling behind day by day. Although Fengman Power Station has been continuously renovated, problems such as aging units and deterioration of the ecological environment have become increasingly prominent. In 2007, in order to protect the ecological environment of the Songhua River Basin, the state finally decided to close the Fengman Power Station. This former Northeast power giant has entered the sunset of history in this way.
Shuifeng Power Station also faces a similar problem, its power generation equipment is outdated and outdated, and it is difficult to meet modern needs. In recent years, North Korea has been preparing for a large-scale renovation of the old power station, which may undergo major changes in the operation mode of the power station.
However, it is gratifying that both Fengman Power Station and Shuifeng Power Station have played an indelible and important role in their own development process. They were deliberately used by the Japanese as tools of plunder and war, but they eventually became a solid energy source for people's lives and industrial construction. These two hydropower projects embody the blood and sweat of countless Chinese and North Korean compatriots, and also witness the great journey of the northeast from darkness to light.
5. The historical significance of hydropower projects
Looking at the vicissitudes of Fengman Hydropower Station and Shuifeng Hydropower Station over the past century, it is not difficult for us to find that these two projects carry extremely rich and far-reaching historical significance. They bear witness to the indomitable perseverance of the Chinese people in a humiliating environment, and also show that the ties of friendship between the Chinese and Korean peoples from generation to generation go back to now.
The reason why Fengman Hydropower Station and Shuifeng Hydropower Station have become "living fossils" of history is largely due to their special construction background and tortuous destiny trajectory. As the "tools of war" built by the Japanese invaders in Northeast China, the construction of these two power stations is undoubtedly a cruel historical crime.
Countless Chinese and North Korean laborers died here, their blood and sweat frozen in every stone crevice of the power station. Those dark years witnessed the arrogance and wanton killing of the Japanese army. Every brick and tile of the power station is soaked in the sweat and blood of the people of Northeast China to resist aggression, and they vividly record that hateful and humiliating history.
After the war-torn and civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the Fengman Hydropower Station and the Shuifeng Hydropower Station truly became the common wealth of the Chinese people and the Korean people. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, these two power stations regained their vitality and contributed valuable power resources to the industrial construction of the motherland.
It is worth mentioning that the special fate of Shuifeng Power Station has made it a witness to the friendship between China and North Korea. This power station across the Yalu River was once jointly managed and operated by the two countries, and it also witnessed the revolutionary friendship between the two peoples who supported each other and shared weal and woe in difficult times.
Even in recent decades, the issue of the distribution of power resources at the Shuifeng power station has been the focus of conflict between the two countries, but it has finally been satisfactorily resolved on the basis of mutual understanding and respect. This reflects from one side that the friendship between China and the DPRK is unbreakable at all times.
In general, the Fengman Hydropower Station and the Shuifeng Hydropower Station have recorded too many moving historical moments. They witnessed the barbaric atrocities of the Japanese army, and also witnessed the heroic feat of the Chinese people and the Korean people jointly resisting aggression and building the country together. In these two power stations, there is too much blood, sweat and tears, carrying the collective memory of generations of people in the Northeast.
Someone once lamented: "If these heavy steel and cement could speak, they would tell a moving history." "I think this is the unique meaning of Fengman Power Station and Shuifeng Power Station for us. Let us always remember that cruel and singable past, take history as a mirror, never forget the past, cherish today's era of peace, and work hard to realize the great cause of national rejuvenation!