Lanzhou city founding past: after twenty-one years of preparation, three ups and three downs, the city was built in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and this year is eighty years!
This year is the 80th anniversary of the founding of Lanzhou. Located in the center of the mainland territory of the motherland, Lanzhou's process of establishing the city was very difficult, and natural and man-made disasters continued during the period. From the preparation of the construction to the establishment of the city, it took 21 years. It was not until the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression that Lanzhou was officially established on July 1, 1941.
Today, I want to tell you the story of The founding of Lanzhou!
1. Northwest important towns, the pace of city construction is slow
Lanzhou has been the hub of the northwest since ancient times. As early as 2,000 years ago, Lanzhou was the transportation center of the northwest and an important town in the northwest. The history of urban construction in Lanzhou began in the qin shi huang period.
After Qin Shi Huang unified the world, he sent the general Meng Tian to the northwest to expel the Xiongnu and set up more than thirty counties along the Yellow River. In 214 BC, Meng Tian set up Yuzhong County in Lanzhou. This is the beginning of the founding of Lanzhou, which has a history of more than 2200 years.
In the 29th year of the Qianlong Dynasty (1764), the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, Yamen, moved from Xi'an to Lanzhou, and since then Lanzhou has become the political and military center of the northwest, and has become a strategic place for "controlling the Three Qins" and "Huairou Western Regions". Later, thanks to zuo Zongtang's efforts, Lanzhou became one of the first cities in China to accept modern industrial civilization.
In the third year of the Qing Dynasty (1911), the Qing government promulgated the "Statute of Local Autonomy in Towns and Townships", which stipulates that the government is governed by the government.
The city of hall rule, prefecture rule, and county rule is the city, and the villages, towns, tuns, sets, and wei outside the city box are villages; 5
It is called a town with more than 10,000 people, and a township with less than 50,000 people. This Charter sets a precedent for the construction of cities in China.
It is reasonable to say that Lanzhou should have been established as a city long ago. However, to people's surprise, the pace of Setting Up a City in Lanzhou is very slow. In 1920, the Gansu Provincial Government (Inspector General's Office) ordered the establishment of the Lanzhou Municipal Preparatory Office, and appointed Chen Xuan, Wang Xuan, Shi Zhang, Shui Zi, and Yan Quan as the preparatory committee members to plan the establishment of Lanzhou City. In July of the following year, the Beiyang government promulgated the "Municipal Autonomy System", which set a standard for the establishment of cities in various places.
In 1923, the Gansu Provincial Government officially passed the resolution on the establishment of Lanzhou City, established the Lanzhou Municipal Preparatory Office, and appointed Zhang Wei as the general office of the Lanzhou Municipal Preparatory Office, with four sections under it, preparing for the establishment of the city. However, the pace of Lanzhou's city-building is difficult, and it can be said that it is three steps to stop and take.
At this time, various local forces in Gansu Province were in constant conflict. After Zhang Guangjian stepped down, Lu Hongtao preemptively took the stage as a overseer, but the Beiyang government appointed a literati governor, Pan Linggao, to supervise Lu Hongtao. Who knows, Lu Hongtao and the gentry of Lanzhou colluded, and after more than half a year, they drove out the literati governor Pan Linggao. The plan to build a city in Lanzhou can only stay on paper. After Lu Hongtao completely seized power in Gansu, he abolished the Lanzhou Municipal Preparatory Office.
This was delayed for several more years.
2. In the eighteenth year of the Republic of China, longyuan was in a severe drought, and the municipal preparatory office had to be abolished
In September 1925, Feng Yuxiang's Second Division of the Nationalist Army, under the command of Liu Yufen, drove into Baotou, then from Baotou all the way west, through Wuyuan, and crossed the Yellow River from the mouth of the pedal. At the beginning of October, it entered the Ningxia Plain, crossed Yinchuan, passed through Zhongwei and other places, and approached Lanzhou. In late October, Liu Yufen led his troops into Lanzhou. The Nationalist army entered Gansu and traveled more than 3,000 miles, which lasted 43 days.
With the arrival of the Nationalist Army, Gansu ended the years and months of the rule of the Beiyang warlord forces and entered a new era in which the Nationalist Army was in charge. All localities have set off a new trend of prohibiting foot binding and braiding, abandoning robes and horse coats, and paying attention to hygiene. The Nationalist troops stationed in Lanzhou renovated East Avenue, West Avenue, and South Avenue, and the road surface was grouted with gravel; the provincial government garden was opened as Zhongshan East Garden, and the back garden of the Civil Affairs Department was Zhongshan West Garden, which was opened regularly for people to visit; radio stations and factories were set up in Lanzhou; and the provincial five ethnic groups college was changed to Lanzhou Zhongshan College.
These reforms and new measures have brought great vitality to Lanzhou. In the summer of 1927, the Gansu Provincial Government submitted an application to the Nanjing Executive Yuan for the establishment of a city in Lanzhou: "Lanzhou is the capital of Gansu Province, and all municipalities are to be expanded, and the number of household registrations in the city is also in line with the requirements, and it is proposed to submit a charter to build the Lanzhou Municipal Government for development." Soon, with the permission of the Executive Yuan, in August 1927, the Lanzhou Municipal Preparatory Office was established again, and at the same time promulgated the "Interim Regulations of the Gansu Lanzhou Municipal Preparatory Office", appointing Shuizi as the general office of the Lanzhou Municipal Preparatory Office and Wang Ju as the general office of the Lanzhou Municipal Preparatory Office. It is planned to hold Lanzhou municipal affairs under the leadership of the provincial government and under the command and supervision of the Department of Civil Affairs.
Unfortunately, during this period of time, natural and man-made disasters continued. In 1928 and 1929, the land of Longyuan suffered a severe drought, the red land was thousands of miles, the people were not happy, and the number of severely affected counties reached 58, and there were more than 2.5 million victims. During this period, more than 1.4 million people died of starvation, more than 600,000 people died of epidemics and diseases, and more than 300,000 soldiers and bandits died. There are also many daily deaths in Lanzhou. According to the statistics of the 18th year of the Republic of China (1929), Gansu Province has a population of 3 million, and Lanzhou has only 8. More than 60,000 people. Such a tragic scene, in March 1933, the Lanzhou Municipal Preparatory Office was abolished again.
3. The fundamental reason is that Lanzhou does not have the conditions for establishing a city
According to the standards of city building at that time, in order for a city to meet the standards of setting up a city, it must have corresponding considerations in terms of environment, transportation, development prospects, talent reserves, education, concepts, and exchanges with the outside world.
The geographical environment of Lanzhou, which is naturally relatively closed, was developed in several basins in the Yellow River gorge. The city is surrounded by mountains, the Yellow River flows in the middle, and the environment is relatively closed, hindering people's communication with the outside world. Lanzhou's road traffic can only rely on the Sealand Highway, the railway is still just an idea, and the navigation of the Yellow River cannot run large ships, and the sheepskin raft is the main means of water transportation.
From the perspective of industrialization, the place where the modernization of the northwest of Lanzhou city began, the earliest textile enterprises in the northwest and even in East Asia were born in Lanzhou. However, since Zuo Gong was transferred, Lanzhou's industry has fallen into a state of stagnation. By the 1930s, industry was basically tinkering with small workshops. No industrialization was achieved at all. The main pillar of the economy is agriculture and animal husbandry. And the population is less than 90,000 people.
In terms of talent, there is even more lack of talent. Basically, it relies on the input of talents from outside, and it is impossible to retain people. In the 30s of the last century, rickshaws were widely used in Lanzhou, and some people suggested that rickshaws should be imitated, but several depots in Lanzhou could only repair and could not imitate. People say that a simplified version is also possible, however, this is also not possible.
At that time, more than half of the people in Lanzhou were illiterate, and most of the literate people were people who were literate and literate. In Gansu Province, 90 percent are illiterate, and only one-thousandth of literate people are highly educated.
The most important Lanzhou atmosphere is not open, the concept is backward, and there have been many jokes. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, when the telegraph line was erected, it was considered to be bad feng shui, and a farce of pulling out the pole occurred. Later, greening was carried out in the north and south mountains of Lanzhou, which was believed to be wearing green hats for Lanzhou people. Paying attention to hygiene and setting up a lice eradication station is considered an insult to Lanzhou. In addition, there are other issues, such as the degree of openness to communication with the world, the degree of commercialization of urban areas, and so on.
4. The outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the inward migration of a large number of people brought opportunities to the establishment of Lanzhou
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, a large part of the country was lost, and a large number of patriots left their hometowns and fled to the rear to continue the War of Resistance.
Under the impetus of the Lanzhou Office of the Eighth Route Army, Lanzhou set off a climax of anti-Japanese salvation. At the same time, literary and art propaganda organizations such as the "Blood Flower Troupe," the "Wang Brothers and Sisters Troupe," and the "New Northwest Anti-Japanese War Troupe" have emerged, bringing together cultural figures such as Bai Wei, Mao Dun, Wang Luobin, and Xiao Jun. In terms of higher education, Gansu Province has successively opened colleges and universities such as the Northwest Agricultural College, and relocated to the Northwest Normal College and other colleges.
At the same time, a large number of Soviet aid materials for China were continuously transported to Lanzhou through the Northwest International Communication Line and then transferred to various major war zones in the interior. The Soviet Union established a diplomatic representation, a military representation office and an air force guest house in Lanzhou. Communication with the world is developing rapidly.
As one of the few provincial capitals in the rear area, Lanzhou also accommodates a large number of talents, and at the same time, there are a number of industrial and mining enterprises that have migrated from the southeast coast. Before the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Lanzhou was only an ancient city inland, except for some private handicrafts, there were only some public small sand turning factories, weaving mills, machine factories and other machine industries. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, bureaucratic capital and national capital moved inward. Gansu's industry has gained unprecedented opportunities for development, especially in Lanzhou, where there are more than 50 public and private factories and more than 400 handicrafts.
This is a stage of rapid industrial development in Lanzhou. At the same time, other construction and transportation industries have also developed rapidly. Lanzhou has changed its old appearance, and the city scale is second only to Xi'an.
A number of periodicals publicizing the War of Resistance and mobilizing the masses were also published one after another. In November 1937, the Gansu Working Committee organ publication "Northwest Youth" was published publicly, and Xie Jueya, Peng Jialun and others contributed articles for it. In addition, Zhang Daqian, Gu Jiegang, Mao Dun and others also came to Gansu during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and they either went to Dunhuang, or inspected various places, or passed through Lanzhou.
Lanzhou has developed by leaps and bounds, and the establishment of a city has once again been put on the agenda of the Gansu Provincial Government. In February 1941, the Gansu Provincial Government held a meeting to review the "Rules of Organization of the Lanzhou Municipal Government", and then submitted to the Chongqing National Government for approval, and the Lanzhou Municipal Preparatory Office was established again. On June 30 of that year, the "Lanzhou Municipal Government Organizational Rules" were officially promulgated. On July 1, 1941, Lanzhou was officially established, and this year it has been exactly eighty years.
The original urban area of Lanzhou was as follows: the south bank of the Yellow River: east to the east of Donggang Town, bounded by the ravine of Yong'an Bridge (including GaoTan and Shuihang Tan to the Zaoshu Ditch on the north bank of the Yellow River), south to the proximity of the east and west hills of Shizuizi, west to the pier of Tumen Dun; the north bank of the Yellow River: north to Luoguo Mountain, Kyushu Tai Peak, west to Shilidian to the west of the Kongjiaya New Canal Watermill Dam along the Yellow River, and east to the Yanchang Fort to the Jujube Tree Ditch. The new urban area is about 146 square kilometers.
In order to tidy up the appearance of the city, Lanzhou continued to build streets after the establishment of the city, mainly to complete the reconstruction of 6 streets The width of the street should be expanded to 25 meters "--- 30 meters, and 3 meters of green brick sidewalks were added on both sides, and sidewalk trees were generally planted; the shops on both sides of the street were converted into two-story buildings. At this point, Lanzhou's municipal construction has begun to take shape, and the city's appearance has been greatly improved.
Today, after 80 years of development, Lanzhou has undergone earth-shaking changes and has become a modern metropolis.