Kailuan Museum
The following article comes from Tangshan Scenery, written by Li Guixiang
Tangshan Scenery.
Traces of time
The author has a collection of photographs of the early aftermath of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. This photo album is bound into a book with 8 sheets of drawing paper, and the two large characters "earthquake" are written in the middle of the cover, and the following note is "taken in Kailuan Coal Mine - Linxi, September 29, 1976". The complete collection consists of 9 pages, with 9 4-inch pictures posted on each page, for a total of 81 pictures.
This photo album was purchased by the author many years ago at the Shoza Antique Market. The seller is an old gentleman, a native of Beijing, who speaks with a Beijing accent and Beijing rhyme, and has been friends with me for more than 20 years. When he got historical information about Tangshan, he had to bring it to Tangshan for me to see for the first time. When I get information about Beijing, I try to transfer it to him as much as possible. He said that this thing should have been taken by a news unit in Beijing, and it was the original picture.
Linxi was in the east of Tangshan City, about 35 kilometers away from the urban area, and was under the jurisdiction of the East Mining District at that time. Because it is some distance from the epicenter, the damage is much smaller than that of the urban area.
It is clear from the pictures that the main industrial buildings with good structures have not been seriously damaged, such as the belt corridor of the coal washing plant, the pedestrian bridge of the Linxi mine, the large chimney of the Kailuan power plant and the cool water tower. General factories and workshops were seriously damaged.
The devastation of the earthquake did not crush the people of Tangshan, and it can be seen from these pictures that the big chimney is smoking, the locomotive is also making a fire and smoking, and production in the mining area is gradually recovering.
The 81 pictures in the whole volume are basically the post-earthquake situation of the Linxi Mine and Kailuan Power Plant Plant, and there are no pictures of residential areas. From here, it can be seen that the photographer's focus is on Kailuan.
One of the pictures was carefully identified by the author, and after consulting a friend of Linxi Mine, I learned that it was taken at the main (south) gate of Linxi Mine. The three-storey building on the west side of it is the dormitory for the female staff of Linxi Mine. This picture is a true reflection of the spirit of the times.
In the photo collection, there are 6 images that deserve special attention.
The picture shows seven or eight people walking around the factory area, as if checking something, researching something, and a young man still holding a notebook, ready to record at any time.
Judging by the backpack they were carrying and the state of hurry, they should be outsiders.
The author consulted the "Kailuan Historical Review" and learned that in early August 1976, the former Ministry of Coal held the first meeting of the Kailuan Coal Mine Design Battle in the earthquake-proof tent in Beijing, and the relevant design institutes of the coal system were deployed to quickly send a design team to Tangshan to participate in the Kailuan Coal Mine Production Design Battle.
Eight coal mine design institutes, including Yanzhou Coal Mine Design and Research Institute, Handan Coal Mine Design and Research Institute, Chongqing Coal Mine Design and Research Institute, Shaanxi Coal Mine Design and Research Institute, Liaoning Coal Mine Design and Research Institute, Hubei Coal Mine Design Institute, Shanxi Coal Mine Design Institute and Pingdingshan Coal Preparation Design and Research Institute, are the design units of Kailuan.
These design institutes have successively sent more than 850 key design personnel to meet with the Luan Coal Mine. It undertook the industrial design of Tangjiazhuang Mine, Fangezhuang Mine, Majiagou Mine, Jinggezhuang Mine, Tangshan Mine, Zhaogezhuang Mine, Building Materials Factory, Linxi Mine and the design of coal washing plants in each mine.
Since then, according to the needs of the restoration project, other systems across the country and relevant design units in Hebei Province have also come to Kailuan Coal Mine to participate in the restoration design work.
Together with the Shanghai Municipal Aid Design Units, these design units have carried out a design conference on an unprecedented scale in the history of the construction of the mainland coal industry.
In late August, the former Ministry of Coal held the second Kailuan Coal Mine Resumption Production Design Conference, and put forward the deployment of "investigation, appraisal, planning and design" for the construction and design work.
At the beginning of March 1977, the former Ministry of Coal held the third meeting of the resumption of the Kailuan Coal Mine Design Campaign, and put forward the goal of completing all the design tasks by the end of June of that year.
Due to the great attention paid by all the institutes and the hard work of the designers who participated in the war day and night, by the end of June, all the aid design projects had been completed ahead of schedule or on time as required, meeting the needs of speeding up the resumption of the Kailuan Coal Mine.
The people above the picture are likely to be the engineering designers who came to Tangshan to assist in the resumption of the construction of the Kailuan Coal Mine and did preliminary design and investigation at the site.
Time flies, years pass.
The middle-aged people in the picture should have long since left their jobs.
Although after many inquiries, the author still does not know who took this photo album, nor does he know where the people in the pictures come from, which is somewhat regrettable for collectors.
With the strong support of the people of the whole country, the people of Tangshan worked hard to rebuild their beautiful homes on the ruins of the earthquake. (Text/Li Guixiang)