Once upon a time, Chengdu was an out-and-out "Tianfu Water Town", with a dense network of rivers and lakes.
"Shu Du Fu" said: "Fu Shu Du, with two rivers of the double stream, the river and the mountains, the building and the universe look at each other, the people of Wu are abundant", Du Fu once wrote that "the door is berthed in the Dongwu Wanli boat", Li Bai also left the poem "Langjin Qingjiang Wanli Flow, Yunfan Dragon Goes Down to Yangzhou".
▲The former imperial river Source: Chengdu Water
According to the record of Fu Chongju of the Qing Dynasty in the "Chengdu Overview": "Although Sichuan is a mountain country, Chengdu is really a Ze country. It can be seen that the history of Chengdu as a water town will not disappear for a long time.
In the long history of "Water City", the original and legendary image of "Fuhe Driftwood" still remains in the memory of the old Chengdu people, and the story of being born and prospering because of water has been circulating for thousands of years.
01
The history of "Fuhe driftwood".
The water of the Fu River is in an uproar, and the raft is placed in the river.
What is it like to be hungry and warm? My sister just can't let it go.
The days are hard, and I hope to go home safely.
This is a folk song that has been circulating in Jinniu District for a long time, with simple language and friendly folk sound, which not only sings the mellow world customs and folk customs, but also tells the allusion of "Fuhe driftwood" -
Fu River is the main river of Minjiang River flowing through Chengdu urban area, people will be the logs harvested in the mountainous area of Minjiang River, sawed into more than 10 meters long wooden sections, bundled into wooden rows with bamboo fiber ropes, one or twenty wooden sections for a wooden row, commonly known as wooden rake, put into the river, by virtue of water flow transportation, people call "driftwood".
▲Driftwood Source: Wei Chengdu
The history of "driftwood" can be traced back to the Qin Dynasty Li Bing's water control period, "Huayang Guozhi · Shu Zhi" recorded: "Ice is the Yan River as a mound, through the Pi River, check the river...... Minshan is full of cypress and bamboo, which follow the flow of water, sit on timber, and save money", which clearly shows that the timber used by Li Bing in the construction of Dujiangyan was transported through the water of the Minjiang River.
Du Mu wrote in "A Fang Gong Fu": "Shu Mountain Wu, A Fang out", which fully shows that when Qin Shi Huang built A Fang Palace, he harvested timber in Shu. When Ming Chengzu Zhu Di built a palace in Beijing, he also harvested nanmu and spruce in Shu.
And where does this wood come from? Naturally, it is drifting down the Min River.
▲The busy scene of Chengdu Wharf Source: Chengdu Water
In the old days, the boatmen and "driftwood" of the Shahe wharf used to be a major landscape in Chengdu in summer, whenever the summer flood season, the driftwood from the Minjiang River down the river was salvaged ashore, some of the wood was split into small pieces, turned into the fuel for Chengdu people to cook on fire, and some were transported to the capital thousands of miles away through the Golden Bull Road, becoming the raw material of the royal building.
▲The original Shahe Wharf Source: Chengdu Water
In spring and summer, the water of the Minjiang River rises, the logs that flow straight down along the river are rushing all the way, rampage, mighty, through the mouth of the fish, through the mouth of the treasure bottle, into the Baitiao River, into the Fu River, straight to Chengdu, the scene all the way is spectacular, the professional "drifter" born by the driftwood has also left a strong mark in the history of Chengdu.
During the drifting timber period of the Fu River, the raft is connected to the raft, the river is all over, down the river, just like the Cao Ying soldiers crossing the river to attack Wu, and like the Chibi chain warship, the man on the raft is exposed to the sun and rain, as if it is a bronze sculpture.
- "Taurus Scenery"
▲ "Drifter" on the raft Source: Weichengdu
02
Prosperous "Building the North Gate"
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chengdu's water transportation has made further progress, and the wood processing and manufacturing industry established by "Fuhe driftwood" has created a noisy "North Gate".
On December 31, 1949, Deng Xiaoping pointed out at the office meeting of the Standing Committee of the Southwest Bureau of the CPC Central Committee: "It is necessary to take the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway as the first step to promote the development of all industries, which can not only restore the economy, but also win the hearts and minds of the people and stabilize the hearts of the people." "Railway construction requires large quantities of construction materials. Wood is an indispensable and important material.
▲ Transport of timber Source: Weichengdu
Especially after the completion of the Chengdu-Chongqing, Baocheng, Xiangyu and other railways, the timber of Sichuan was sold to 21 provinces (cities) across the country through Chengdu North Railway Station, and became a "hot goods".
Thousands of driftwood in the upper reaches of the Min River can enter the Fu River in the afternoon. Dongzikou and Jiulidi in Jinniu District, as the gateway to Chengdu in the north, have rapidly developed into the largest timber distribution center and timber processing base in Chengdu.
At that time, the transportation routes were roughly: Baisha River Estuary→ Baohuakou→ Baitiao River→ Xujiachang, Jinmachang→ Tangchang Dishuiyan→ Pixian Sandaoyan→ Fuhe → Dongzikou.
According to statistics, in the more than 40 years from 1950 to 1998, more than 1,400 cubic meters of timber were transported by water on the Minjiang River.
▲Workers salvaging driftwood Source: Jinniu District Fang Zhi Office
In the 50s of the 20th century, Chengdu's urban construction brought about the busyness of water transportation, which in turn promoted the prosperity of Chengdu's wood processing and manufacturing industry.
▲ Chengdu lumber yard pole erection machine loading train Source: Jinniu District Fang Zhi Office
In 1950, the Southwest Logging Corporation was established, and four logging companies were established: East Sichuan, South Sichuan, West Sichuan, and North Sichuan. The West Sichuan Logging Company is mainly responsible for the harvesting and water transportation of timber from the Minjiang River. Floating on the Fu River is the wood of the Sichuan West Logging Company.
In 1953, the Southwest Logging Corporation was changed to the Southwest Forest Industry Administration, and the timber transportation in Sichuan was "able to be water but not land", and the timber water transportation was carried out by the Dadu River Bureau, the Yangtze River Bureau and the Minjiang River Bureau, among which the busiest business was the Minjiang Bureau at the end of the transportation in Dongzikou, Chengdu.
▲ Chengdu Lumber Yard Source: Great Southwest Building Materials City
Caojia Lane has the provincial and municipal construction engineering bureau timber processing plant, Wanfuqiao has Chengdu timber company, Jiulidi has Chengdu timber comprehensive factory, Chengdu lumber storage plant and other large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises, Zhangjiaxiang, Jinhua Street, Shangheba and other wood units stand side by side, the plant is adjacent, the machine roars, the car, the ox cart, the horse-drawn cart, the rickshaw comes and goes, the logs and wood products go in and out, the street is very lively, and it is called "building the north gate" for a while.
▲ Great Southwest Building Materials City Source: "Dao Golden Bull" Daniel Zhang/photo
03
A supermarket that thrives on wood
The first bridge from Fuhe River into the center of Chengdu is located in the north and second section of today's First Ring Road, because the bridge is in the northwest outside the city, so it is named Northwest Bridge. Since it is on the thoroughfare and there is no slope, many people have passed on it countless times, but they do not know that it is a bridge.
However, many old Chengdu people still clearly remember that just north of the northwest bridge, there used to be a large factory, the Chengdu Wood Comprehensive Factory in Sichuan Province, commonly known as the "Wood Comprehensive Factory" in old Chengdu, founded in 1954 as one of the 694 large-scale key projects designed and built by the mainland itself in a five-year plan of the People's Republic of China.
▲Chengdu Timber Comprehensive Factory, Sichuan Province Source: Palm Golden Bull
The wood comprehensive factory will be through the Fuhe River water drifting down a large number of logs on the Minshan Mountain into a variety of boards and other products, once the largest timber processing plant in the western part of the mainland, once played a huge role in the construction of the national economy.
However, with the implementation of the natural forest protection project, the busy scene of timber cutting and water transportation has come to an end, and the thriving production workshop has gradually become deserted.
In 1991, Chengdu Second Ring Road was opened to traffic, and the wood comprehensive factory independently adjusted its industrial structure, began to expand from a production-oriented enterprise to the field of commerce, and developed the factory area of the second ring road into a "Fuheqiao Comprehensive Market of North Railway Station".
▲In 1991, the Fuhe Bridge Market started to start Source: Palm Golden Bull
On June 18, 1995, the wholesale building materials "Chengdu Fuheqiao Market" was formally established, which is the earliest batch of building materials markets in Chengdu.
▲In 1995, Fuheqiao Market was put into trial operation Source: Palm Golden Bull
After decades, Fuheqiao Market has developed into a large-scale decorative building materials market with high visibility in the southwest region and even the whole country, a landmark market in the northwest of Chengdu, and a representative of the big market and big trade in Jinniu District.
At its peak, the Fuheqiao market not only includes tens of thousands of home decoration products of all categories, but also has more than 3,000 merchants, but also ushers in a daily passenger flow of more than 40,000 people and more than 4,000 vehicles, with an annual transaction volume of nearly 8 billion yuan.
"To buy building materials for home decoration, come to Fuheqiao Market." This advertising slogan can be said to be a household name and word of mouth in Chengdu back then.
▲Chengdu Fuheqiao Market Source: Palm Golden Bull
The rapid development of the city and the personalization and diversification of people's demand for decoration have led to increasingly fierce competition in the building materials wholesale market. The restrictions on trucks within the Second Ring Road have made the former "golden port" more and more disadvantaged, and the wholesale market in the urban area has gradually shifted to the outside of the city.
▲ Inside Chengdu Fuheqiao Market Source: Cover News
In 2018, in response to the call of urban renewal, Chengdu Fuheqiao Market started upgrading, and the first generation of "Rongpiao" Feng Shui treasure land quietly came to an end and pressed the "pause button".
04
A new generation of landmarks returns
After six years, the landmark that carried the memory of a generation of Chengdu people returned and continued to write the legend.
On July 26, 2024, Fuhe Home Furnishing, located in Chengdu Rongbei Business District, Jinniu District, had a grand opening. The Fuhe Bridge Market in the memory of the old Chengdu people officially returned as "Fuhe Home".
▲ Fuhe Home Furnishing opening site Source: Palm Taurus
Fuhe Home Furnishing is divided into a boutique hall and an aesthetic hall. Among them, the boutique hall has a total of 6 floors with a construction area of about 37,000 square meters, mainly engaged in home decoration and building materials and soft decorations, etc., and the aesthetics hall is also 6 floors with a construction area of about 25,000 square meters, focusing on the whole house decoration and smart home appliances. After the return, Fuhe Home Furnishing will continue the characteristics of Fuheqiao Market for more than 30 years, which are close to the people, affordable and cheap, and is committed to building a one-stop home furnishing commercial complex in Rongbei.
▲The above picture is the rendering of Fuhe Home · Boutique Museum, and the following picture is the rendering of Fuhe Home · Aesthetic Museum Source: Palm Golden Bull
Fuhe Home Furnishing, which is transformed from the earliest and largest comprehensive building materials market in southwest China, has a profound heritage, cheap and affordable characteristics have long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, with historical memory and consumers to form a link, more comfortable scenes, richer brands, and more high-quality shopping experience, will surely blow a new storm.
Ten years of trees into a forest, endless competition.
The 631.5-kilometer-long Timber Water Canal has now become an urban landscape river, and looking back, the hustle and bustle of the past and the buzz of people still seem to linger in my ears.
"Fuhe driftwood" has long disappeared in the tide of the times, but the legend of the wood is still being updated, and it is recording the history of the city in another way and depicting the city picture of the new era.
Resources:
[1] Sichuan Provincial Local Chronicles Compilation Committee, "Sichuan Provincial Chronicles· Forestry Chronicles"
[2] Chengdu Local Chronicles Compilation Committee, "Chengdu Chronicles·Forestry Chronicles".
[3] Chengdu Jinniu District Local Chronicles Compilation Committee, "Tao Jinniu".
[4] Chengdu Jinniu District Local Chronicles Compilation Committee compiled "The Legend of the Golden Bull".
[5] Pocket Taurus "Opening! Taurus adds a new commercial complex.
[6]天府文化ChengduCulture《都江堰的水流去哪里了？》.
END
This article is from "Fang Zhi Taurus" and may not be reproduced without authorization.
Written by: Momo
Editor: Xiang Siyi
Proofreading: Gao Saiqi Long Yudan
Review: He Wenwen Zhu Zixiang