Speaking of gold panning, the little friends should feel that it has nothing to do with Chun'an. However, more than 50 years ago, Chun'an once had a "gold rush", don't you believe it? Then listen to the personal experiencers of that year to tell you about the gold rush years of that year!
It was 1958, on a large sandbar on the banks of the beautiful Xin'an River, where many people were every day, some digging sand, some picking, some holding wooden basins standing in the river water to wash. This is the scene of the students of the high school class of Chun'an Middle School, who panned for gold in the Xin'an River. I was among them, and I was in my sophomore year of high school.
In addition to its abundant hydropower resources, the Xin'an River also contains a large amount of placer gold. According to the geological department's investigation, the gold reserves in the Xin'an River Basin alone in Chun'an alone amount to more than 20,000 taels. The pace of power station construction is accelerating, the dam storage time must be advanced to 1959, and the precious gold in the Xin'an River will sink to the bottom of the water forever. In order to rescue these placer gold and use it for national construction, at the end of 1957, after the winter vacation and the beginning of the new semester, the school decided to move the four classes of the high school to Jiangjiafa Village, which is more than 30 miles away from the county seat, work-study, and study while panning for gold.
The water of the Xin'an River is green and clear, and Jiangjiaba is located on the south bank of the river. Perhaps because the Xin'an River flows through this U-shaped bend, gold-bearing sand is deposited here. We came to Jiangjiaba, went to class in the morning, panned for gold in the afternoon, worked every year, dug sand, and picked up the students were arranged on the big sandbank by the river; The students who cleaned up had to go down to the river. Gold panning operation is mainly in washing, to the sand soil transported from the big sand island, a shovel and a shovel into the small wooden basin like a boat held by the students, and then wash it in the river water over and over again, using the buoyancy of the water, remove the sediment and other impurities, sinking on the bottom of the basin may be gold.
Everyone was very excited, especially at the beginning, in the river water, holding a wooden basin to wash and wash, the sand in the basin washed with the water flow, when the bottom of the basin gradually revealed the shiny sediment, "Gold! Gold!" The students shouted in surprise. But hope soon became a bubble, and it turned out that the brilliant flaky sediment was not gold, but mica sheets, identified by the physics teacher who worked together. Go to the river to pan for gold, the first few days are like this. Although the sand digging classmates had blood blisters on their hands; The sand-picking shoulder was worn out of the skin; Standing in the water washed, his hands and feet were soaked and swollen. But the "fruits" of hard work are either mica tablets or other impurities, and even the shadow of placer gold has never been seen.
Villagers reminded us: "The key to whether we can find gold ore ore, the sand dug on the big sandbar, and whether it contains gold ingredients." This is indeed a matter of experience, how can the wide sandbar be full of gold. So they sent a few classmates to form a prospecting team, they dug east and west, the sand they dug up, tried again and again, replaced again and again, and the "mine source" was finally found. The joy of labor is reflected in the results, when the news comes from the laboratory that the fine particles of the flash in the golden basin are precious gold, the students are happy to tell each other, and the whole village is boiling. Even today, looking back, my heart is still so excited.
Of course, the conditions of Jiang Jiafa cannot be compared with that of the school. At that time, Chun'an Middle School was located on Tianji Mountain in the north of the city. Commanding heights, part of the school building is the original zhongshan park of the old county. The teaching room is at the top of the mountain, the canteen is at the foot of the mountain, from the canteen to the teaching area, on both sides of the road, fruit trees are continuous, there are peach trees, pear trees, cherry trees... In the spring, the fruit trees bloom, the fragrance floats in the wilderness, and the autumn and late fruits are full of flowers and full of branches. If you are strolling on the mountain path after school meals, you can see the Xin'an River rushing east in the distance and the white sails on the river during the day; At night, the lights of the old city are in full view. But who will take care of these, teachers and students think about how to make more money through their own efforts, and pay good gold. The topics that students talk about are often where the sand dug out has more gold content, and how to clean the sand and remove it quickly.
Carrying out technological innovation has become the practical action of many students. There is a student in the first year of high school, Xu April, who imagines making a water-powered gold washing machine with the help of water power to grind flour and rice in the countryside. The workshop was built at the eastern end of the great sandbar, and teachers and students participated together, contributed ideas, and taught Mathematics, Mr. Zhao Zuhuan, who also collaborated to help with calculation and design. This deed was also published in the Chun'an Bao at that time.
Sweep away the yellow sand to get gold. In Jiangjiaba, it was a semester, until after the summer vacation, I moved back to the school, the results of the gold panning, it is said that after the craftsmen made a golden five-pointed star, the school dedicated the results of work-study to the country. I heard that this is the second year, and I have graduated and left Chun'an.
More than 50 years have passed since the experience of gold panning in Xin'anJiang, and the old town sites of The gold panning place Jiangjiafa and Chun'an Middle School have long been submerged at the bottom of Qiandao Lake, but whenever the story of the gold panning in that year is talked about, the sweaty labor scene of teachers and students in the Xin'an River will be presented in front of them. Unforgettable! A partner in the gold panning together. Unforgettable! Beautiful An River.
The copyright belongs to Chun'an Publishing, and the reprint must be informed!
Author: Xu Jian
The image comes from the internet