Recently, a video of flowers and fruits on the Nu River Bridge has spread all over the Internet, and netizens have said that they have "broken the defense". In the video, you can see that the Nu River Bridge in Qamdo, Tibet, is densely packed with flowers and fruits, and passing vehicles honk their horns in salute. These actions are all to pay tribute to the people's children and soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the construction of the bridge.
The Nu River Bridge, an important transportation fortress on the Sichuan-Tibet Highway, was first built by the Eighteenth Army, which was ordered to march into Tibet. At the beginning of 1950, the People's Liberation Army was ordered to march into Tibet, because the road conditions in Tibet were so bad, Comrade Mao Zedong instructed the troops entering Tibet to "march on the one hand and build roads on the other."
Bridges like the Nu River Bridge, which straddle two alpine cliffs, are more than one on the Sichuan-Tibet Line. The reporter drove through the area of Tongmai Bridge and deeply experienced why this short distance was called "death risk" and "Tongmai Cemetery".
Located in the second largest mudslide group in Asia, the area around the Tongmai Bridge is rich in precipitation and loose soil, making it particularly difficult to build roads. In the 1950s, the road-building army went through all kinds of difficulties to build this section of the road, and the heroic slogan of "let the mountains bow down and let the river give way" was born here.
Road-building troops used log paving to navigate the dangers of rushing water
Comrade Lu Chen, a veteran soldier of the former Eighteenth Army, recalled the past of building the highway around Tongmai Forced Dragon in 1954. At that time, a certain engineering unit was responsible for building the Tongmai Bridge, the officers and men of the road construction continued to fight, after hardships, overcoming many difficulties, seeing that the Tongmai Bridge was about to be repaired, the sudden flash flood mudslide disaster, the bridge was washed away in an instant, and the bridge was destroyed! In the face of the rushing river and the bridge that was destroyed, the engineer in charge of the design of the bridge had red eyes, suddenly cried, and wanted to jump into the river with open arms to coexist with the bridge, and only gave up under the persuasion of his comrades-in-arms.
According to the "Chronicle of the History of the Party in the Nyingchi Region of Tibet", during the construction of this section of the road in the past twenty days, 52 PLA commanders and fighters, including Liang Xingbang and Wu Caibin, were killed due to floods, landslides, and flying stones. No matter how great the difficulties, the heroic Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the officers and men of road construction declared war on natural disasters and challenged the difficulties! Finally, a "boardwalk" for cars was built on the cliff and opened to Traffic in Lhasa. However, due to the harsh natural conditions, after the boardwalk is built, there are still frequent incidents of car crashes and deaths on the road. According to incomplete statistics, 70 people died here in 1956 alone.
Road construction units work on cliffs along the river
For the transport troops, to carry out the mission through the wheat section is to be ready to sacrifice at any time. At that time, there was a Wangfu Bridge in the camp where the Sichuan-Tibet Line car soldiers were located, and the military sisters-in-law often stood on the bridge waiting for the return of their husbands on the mission, and if they did not wait according to the agreed time, they were basically sacrificed.
The monument of "Ten Heroes on the Sichuan-Tibet Line" on the Tongmai section is engraved with the ruthlessness of Tongmai as a "natural danger of death". In August 1967, Li Xianwen, deputy instructor of the third battalion of a certain automobile regiment, was ordered to lead the 11th and 12th companies to carry out combat readiness transportation tasks, and when passing through Tongmai, there had just been a serious landslide here, and the road was blocked. Li Xianwen led the soldiers of the 12th Company to open a passage from the rubble pile and commanded the convoy to quickly rush through the dangerous area. When the convoy of 11 companies behind arrived at the collapse site, a new landslide occurred and the road was severely blocked. In the face of the dangerous situation, Yang Xingchun, commander of the 11th Company, was not afraid and immediately organized officers and men to rush to repair, but the collapse became more and more serious, and the convoy could only be withdrawn to a safe area 1 kilometer away, observe the dangerous situation, and seek opportunities to pass. After the 12th company team returned from its mission, the two teams that were blocked at the east and west ends of the dangerous area jointly studied the adoption measures. The leading cadres took the lead, the soldiers put their personal safety aside, and the two companies each sent 5 people into the dangerous area, risking their lives to explore the road conditions and study the plan for the convoy to pass through the dangerous area. Just as they were advancing from the east and west ends to the center of the dangerous area, there was a sudden earth-shattering noise, and the huge landslide broke out, and 10 comrades unfortunately died on the spot. They were Li Xianwen, deputy instructor of the battalion, Yang Xingchun, company commander, Chen Hongguang, deputy company commander, Cheng Defeng and Tan Rengui, deputy instructors, Qu Yuelun, platoon leader, Yang Qingzhong and Li Rongfu, squad leaders, and Chen Changyuan and Li Xingfu, soldiers. At the time of the sacrifice, the oldest was 33 years old and the youngest was only 22 years old. The "Ten Heroes on the Sichuan-Tibet Line" monument not only commemorates these 10 heroes, but also commemorates the martyrs who died here during the entire road construction and transportation process.
Monument to the "Ten Heroes on the Sichuan-Tibet Line"
Today, there are three bridges juxtaposed on the raging Igongzangbo River, the Suspension Bridge, the Car Baotong Bridge, and the Thong MaiTe Bridge. On April 9, 2000, after the world's rare giant landslide occurred in Yigong Township, Bomi County, and the original Tongmai cement bridge was washed away, in May, the builders built a suspension suspension bridge to transport materials for the repair of the car to protect the convenience bridge. The middle car Baotong Portable Bridge was completed in December 2000, with a load of only 20 tons, and can only pass one vehicle in one direction at a time. At the end of 2015, the Traffic Flow of the Tongmaite Bridge, which was opened to traffic, carried a load of 400 tons, and the traffic situation was greatly improved.
Side-by-side distribution of suspension suspension bridges, car baotong portable bridges, tongmat bridges
Time is silent, spirit is sound. Tongmai Tianjian witnessed the story of the struggle of generations of road builders who were not afraid of hardships, leaving behind endless hymns. Nowadays, every tourist season, the self-driving tour on the Sichuan-Tibet Line is continuous, and people enjoy the magnificent mountains and rivers of the motherland, but we must not forget that behind the change of the natural barrier, there lies a group of wordless heroes.
(Guangming Daily all-media reporter Zhao Binyi)
Source: Zhao Binyi, all-media reporter of Guangming Daily
Editor-in-charge: Wang Yuanfang
Editor: Zhang Xueyu Xing Yanyan