#夏日生活打卡季#
Celebrate the 70th anniversary of the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway and the Sichuan-Tibet Highway
Participated in the national joint investigation team Qinghai-Tibet and Sichuan-Tibet
To the south of the sun
Part I:
Participation in the Joint Investigation Unit
In August 1981, when I was serving as a staff officer in the Communications and War Readiness Office of the Military Transport Department of the Logistics Department of the Chengdu Military Region, I was sent by the leaders of the department to go to Xining, Qinghai Province, together with Staff Officer Zhang Yugui, to participate in a joint investigation team led by the State Development Planning Commission, the Ministry of Communications, and the General Logistics Department to investigate and understand the reconstruction of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway under construction, and to make suggestions and demands. Since we received the notice from our superiors late, most of the members had already arrived in Xining and asked us to participate in the investigation team on behalf of the Chengdu Military Region and rush to the investigation as soon as possible.
Time was pressing, and the head of the logistics department assigned us to not only participate in the investigation team, but also to give us a "special task" and ask us to go with the vehicle. At that time, the biggest difficulty in leading the car forward was the problem of refueling, gasoline was a planned supply, and military vehicles could not go to local gas stations to refuel, and there was no military gas station along the highway from Chengdu to Xining, Qinghai, so they had to solve it by themselves. The logistics team sent a Beijing 212 off-road vehicle (the driver Mao Genran, from Henan) to accompany us. So I brought the required letter of introduction and the gasoline ticket needed for refueling on the Qinghai-Tibet line, and also brought two gallon oil cans, filled them with gasoline and put them on the car, and prepared the necessary vehicle accessories and dry food and other related materials. At that time, my wife and children were visiting relatives, so I immediately saw them off, and we set off from Chengdu the next day. Due to the heavy rainfall in Sichuan two days ago, flash floods broke out, and the river water rose sharply, washing away many bridges and culverts, especially the Sichuan-Shaanxi Highway where we were walking, and water damage was frequent. When we walked to the county seat of Zitong, the Zitong South Bridge on the Sichuan-Shaanxi Highway was washed away, and we had to take a detour from the country road; When we drove to the Shaxi Dam of Guangyuan Baolun, the Shaxi Bridge was also washed away by the flood, and we walked to the original flood bridge (allowing a small amount of water to overflow from the bridge deck) on the old road downstream, so we had to risk wading through the old bridge in order to hurry. Fortunately, there was no danger, and on the same day, I finally arrived in Guangyuan smoothly.
After arriving in Guangyuan, we stayed in the guest house of the 50th Regiment Headquarters of the 150th Division of the 449th Army in Guangyuan, and filled the car with gasoline with the assistance of the regiment.
The next morning, I still rushed to Ningqiang, Shaanxi Province along the Sichuan-Shaanxi Highway to have breakfast, passed through Mian County, and stayed at the Fengxian County Government Guest House that night, although it was the county government, but the conditions were very poor. On the third day, we continued westward to Tianshui, Gansu. That night, we stayed at the guest house of the 61st Division of the 21st Army stationed in Tianshui, and took out a letter of introduction from the Logistics Department of the Chengdu Military Region asking for assistance in refueling, and found the Transportation Section of the Logistics Department of the Division, who enthusiastically filled our car with gasoline.
On the fourth day, we set off from Tianshui and arrived in Lanzhou in the afternoon. We found the Military Transport Department of the Logistics Department of the Lanzhou Military Region, and Minister Liu received us very warmly. When they knew that it was the first time for us to Lanzhou, they would not let us go anyway, and sent our comrades-in-arms from the War Office to accompany us for a long time to visit the city of Lanzhou and visit the Yellow River Iron Bridge and other scenic spots in Lanzhou. Arranged for us to stay in the logistics department guest house and filled our car with petrol for free.
On the fifth day, we set off from Lanzhou and arrived in Xining, Qinghai in half a day. The trip is about 1,450 kilometers.
After arriving in Xining, we found the guest house of the General Logistics Office in Xining, Qinghai (commonly referred to as the General Logistics Youth Office), where we reported to concentrate on registration. The people from Beijing arrived a few days earlier, and we also reported the situation to Lu Mu and his assistants from the War Office of the General Logistics Department of the General Logistics Department, which had arrived earlier. He informed us of the background and relevant circumstances of the organization of the joint investigation team. After arriving in Xining, the problem of refueling our car was also solved, because we could use the fuel tickets of the gas stations along the Qinghai-Tibet line that we brought.
In 1980, the State Development Planning Commission approved the reconstruction plan of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway (also known as the "Qinghai-Tibet Line"): from Golmud, Qinghai Province to Lhasa, Tibet (about 1,200 kilometers), the whole line was reconstructed with the national secondary highway standard, and the asphalt concrete pavement was reconstructed. The survey and design is undertaken by the First Highway Survey and Design Institute of the Ministry of Communications (stationed in Xi'an, referred to as Xi'an Highway First Institute). (The Qinghai-Tibet Highway from Xining to Golmud is a secondary oil road, which has been completed in advance.) The project has started construction, and the current construction team includes the Highway Engineering Department of the Qinghai Provincial Department of Communications (Qinghai Border) and the 851 Brigade of the Infrastructure Engineering Corps. In the construction, because most of them are rebuilt on the original line, the damage to the original road is greater, and the driving of the transport vehicle is greatly affected, and the contradiction between transportation and reconstruction is prominent and the reaction is strong. To this end, the state organizes a joint investigation team to inspect the site and put forward corresponding measures, opinions and suggestions.
The next day, the list of members of the investigation team was announced, and the team leader was Xian Lizhi, director of the Engineering Division of the Highway Bureau of the Ministry of Communications, and the deputy leader was Zhou Ming, deputy director of the Transportation Department of the State Planning Commission, and the members were: Lu Muhe, assistant of the Combat Readiness Division of the Military Communications Department of the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army, Shen Staff Officer of the Infrastructure Engineering Department of the General Staff Headquarters, Engineer Lu of the State Construction Commission, Zou Ronggen, Engineer of the Scientific Research Institute of the Ministry of Communications, Guo Hanbin, vice president of the First Highway Survey and Design Institute of the Ministry of Communications, and others (the others do not remember clearly). Engineer Qi of the Highway Engineering Department of the Qinghai Provincial Department of Communications accompanied the investigation of the Qinghai section.
After the investigation team was formally formed, it went through two days of preparation (mainly vehicles, materials, and equipment entering Tibet). Since we were also well prepared in Chengdu, I took advantage of this time to find Cao Mingquan, a university classmate assigned to Qinghai, through Qi Gong from the Qinghai Department of Communications, who had never been masked after we graduated, and he was in the same unit as Engineer Qi from Qinghai. The old classmates who have been classmates for six years reunited after more than ten years, and they were intimate. Cao Mingquan's family accompanied us to visit Xining City, and also visited the Taer Monastery, where several Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas, Tibet, were engaged in Buddhist activities in Qinghai. In particular, the famous butter flower art tribute.
Starting from Xining, the investigation team marched along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, which has been reconstructed according to the national second-class standard asphalt concrete pavement, and traveled about 800 kilometers through Qinghai Lake, Chaka, and Dulan, and arrived in Golmud in two days. At this time, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway had been opened to Golmud.
Investigation of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway
The investigation team officially began the investigation of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway reconstruction project from Golmud. The next day, the 851 Brigade (regimental level) of the infrastructure engineering corps, a construction unit stationed in Golmud, reported to the investigation team the situation of the construction site and the problems they had encountered.
Here I met my familiar brother Yang Bingru, who is the chief engineer of the 851 Brigade. When I was studying at Chongqing Jiaotong University, he was in the 59.2 class of Qiao, and I was in the 62.1 class of Lu, and he was the third grade above me. Because Li Mingxin, a fellow brother of mine (elementary school, junior high school, high school, and university are all in the same school), is in the same class and dormitory as Yang, I often go to his place to play, so I am also familiar with Yang. Later, after the military reform of the police, the 851 Brigade belonged to the First Armed Police Traffic Corps, stationed in Chengdu, and Senior Brother Yang was also promoted to the chief engineer of the corps.
We stayed in Golmud for two days and went to visit the famous "Salt Bridge", which is actually a gray-black road, and the shape of the "bridge" cannot be seen. On the third day, we set off for Tibet! Along the way, I looked at the construction site, and the road in the construction area was really difficult to navigate, and in some places our investigation team's car could not pass, so we relied on the bulldozer of the construction unit to tow our car over. Large cars are slightly better, with a higher chassis, while small cars are more difficult to pass!
The investigation team proposed to the construction unit the method of time-based construction and time-based passage in the construction area. Before the construction unit gets off work, the obstacles must be removed to ensure that the vehicle can pass: the construction time is forbidden to the vehicle to ensure that the construction is not disturbed. Use this method to solve the contradiction between construction and traffic.
Most of the comrades in the investigation team were entering Tibet for the first time, so the altitude sickness was relatively serious, and they were all older, and it was the first time for me to enter Tibet on the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. We all endured the pain of "high anti-anti", insisted on work, carefully investigated and studied, and humbly listened to the opinions and suggestions of the maintenance road class, construction units, drivers and local governments along the line. In addition, according to the request of the team leader and the chief of the department, the investigation team stayed at the Wudaoliang military station and the Tanggula military station, which had the strongest reaction in the high mountains, and fully experienced the difficulties of driving on the Qinghai-Tibet highway. We have a lot of first-hand information and are fully prepared for future decision-making proposals.
In the reconstruction of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the Ministry of Communications also issued a scientific research project to the First Institute of Xi'an Highway: to solve the problem of building asphalt concrete pavement in the alpine permafrost zone. When we investigated, they were preparing to do a test section.
When we drove to the junction of Qinghai Province and Tibet in the Tanggula Pass, Yang Zonghui, deputy director of the Tibet Autonomous Region Department of Communications (formerly chief engineer), led a group of people to greet the investigation team. We really entered Tibet and went all the way down the mountain to Amdo, but unfortunately the car we were riding in had a flat tire and had to stop to change the tire. After changing, we need to repair the rotten tires, we use the "fire repair glue" to repair the rotten holes of the inner tube, put back the old tires, and then use the pump (bicycle steamer) carried with the car to fill the air one by one. It's a very strenuous job, and it's already difficult to breathe on the plateau, and it's even more tiring to pump the tires of your car. It is not enough to rely on the driver Xiaomao alone, so we all take turns to come, and one person beats 50 times and then change until the tires are sufficient. This is yet another test for us on the plateau!
When we arrived at Nagqu (Heihe) accommodation, Deputy Director Yang arranged for us to go to the famous hot spring in Nagqu to take a bath, this is an alkaline hot spring, the water is slippery, there is no sulfur smell, the water quality is very good, it is said that washing clothes and this does not need soap, the hot spring water is very clean. I think it's the best natural hot spring I've ever come across!
On the same day, Wang Jinquan, deputy commander of the Chengdu Military Region, was conducting research and investigation in the Nagqu Military Sub-district, and he heard that the investigation team had arrived in Nagqu and that some people from the Chengdu Military Region were participating, so he found us through the military sub-district and asked to meet us. Zhang Yugui and I immediately went to the military sub-district to report the situation to Deputy Commander Wang, and said that the head of the logistics department and the leaders of the Ministry of Transport wanted to invite the investigation team to inspect the Sichuan-Tibet highway. After listening to the report, he said: This is good, and he asked them to take a look at the Sichuan-Tibet Highway so that they can appeal for the reconstruction of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway in the future, and encouraged us to work hard in the investigation team to complete this task. After we returned to the group, we conveyed Deputy Commander Wang's greetings and invitations to the two division chiefs, Xian and Zhou.
As I mentioned earlier, we brought a car to join the investigation team, and the ministry gave us a special task, which was very difficult and unknowable: that is, we were asked to invite the joint investigation team to inspect the Sichuan-Tibet Highway after seeing the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. Therefore, along the way, we got close to the leader and deputy leader of the investigation team, gained a good impression, and often talked about the advantages of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway compared with the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, such as lower sea level, good climate, and beautiful scenery along the route, and invited them to take the Sichuan-Tibet Highway when they went back. Fortunately, the team leader is from Hejiang, Sichuan, and the deputy team leader Zhou Ming is also from Ba County, Chongqing, Sichuan, and they are very concerned and supportive of the construction of their hometown. When we officially extended an invitation on behalf of the Logistics Department of the Chengdu Military Region to inspect the Sichuan-Tibet Highway, they said that they would seriously consider our request, but that they would not confirm it until they arrived in Lhasa.
The road from Nagqu to Lhasa was very smooth. In Lhasa, we stayed at the Tibet Communications Department Guest House (which was relatively good in Lhasa at the time, and many meetings of the autonomous regional government were held here). I was very fortunate to meet an acquaintance again, who I met when I went to Zuogong to support farmers when I was at Xiubangda Airport, Li Dalun, the former secretary of the Zuogong County Party Committee. At that time, he was also promoted to deputy commissioner of Shannan Prefecture, came to Lhasa for meetings, and also lived in the guest house of the Department of Communications. We talked about our friendship after parting.
After arriving in Lhasa, the investigation team summed up and prepared an investigation report, and unanimously held that the reconstruction of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway is of great significance and is very necessary, and it plays a decisive role in Tibet's economic development and the consolidation of national defense. To this end, the first is to increase the investment plan, speed up the construction progress, strengthen the construction force, and strengthen the organization, leadership and coordination; Second, it is necessary to formulate a good construction organization plan, arrange the time division between construction and traffic, and solve the contradiction between construction and traffic; The third is to ask the First Institute of Xi'an Highway to complete the scientific research project of paving asphalt concrete pavement in the alpine permafrost zone as soon as possible, so as to provide a reliable scientific basis for the next step of oil pavement construction; Fourth, it is required to strengthen the maintenance work along the maintenance section and the road class, and the road section that has not started construction cannot be disrepaired because it is to be transformed, resulting in driving difficulties; Fifth, in view of the fact that the Qinghai-Tibet Highway is located in a cold area and the construction season is short in a year, so the construction period is long, it is suggested that the whole line should be completed and opened to traffic in 1985.
Yin Fatang, secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Regional CPC Committee, came to the guest house of the Department of Communications to visit and meet with all the members of the joint investigation team and held a discussion with us. He pointed out that the reconstruction of the secondary oil road of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway marks a gratifying step towards the modernization of Tibet's transportation and will certainly play an important role in Tibet's construction.
When I arrived in Lhasa, Director First made it clear to me that the investigation team had decided that at the invitation of the Chengdu Military Region, it would travel from the Sichuan-Tibet Highway to Chengdu and then return to Beijing. I hurriedly sent the good news back to Chengdu through the Transportation Department of the Logistics Department of the Tibet Military Region, and asked them to inform the Tibet Military Region to prepare vehicles and military stations along the Sichuan-Tibet Line to make preparations for reception.
After the completion of the investigation task of the Qinghai-Tibet line, waiting for the vehicle and preparing to take the Sichuan-Tibet highway, the Tibet Transportation Department arranged for us to visit the Potala Palace, Dazhao Monastery and Norbulingka and other places of interest. In addition, Tezhu arranged for us to go to see the special custom "sky burial" that is unique to Tibet (which is generally not allowed to be visited), and the whole process brought me a great shock.
(To be continued)
(All illustrations in this article are provided by the author)
About the Author:
Xiang Nanyang: Born in November 1943, graduated from Chongqing Jiaotong Institute in 1969 and was assigned to the Highway Survey Team of the Tibet Military Region, transferred to Bangda Gongzhi Repair Airport in 70, and transferred to the Military Transportation Department of the Logistics Department of the Chengdu Military Region in 78 after completion, and transferred to the Sichuan Provincial Transportation Department in 90.
Author: Xiang Nanyang