A Walk on the First Yangtze River Bridge

By Liu Dongli Translation：Sam Bowden

A Walk on the First Yangtze River Bridge

By Liu Dongli Translation：Sam Bowden

Days and nights ran slower in the past,Carriages, steeds, and correspondences went at a snail’s pace,So slow, a lifetime is only enough to love but one.-A song, “Slower Days of the Past”

Everyone has its particular memories in one’s lifetime. Wuhan enjoys the reputation of “the city of waters,” and naturally rivers and bridges have become the shared memories of local citizens.

As the first bridge built over the Yangtze in history, Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge is a landmark which the local residents are proud of. You can always find people from different backgrounds sightseeing here and gazing far on the bridge in the cold winter or in the scorching hot summer,witnessing the rapid development of the city.May it be romantic sweethearts, or the whetherbeaten middle-aged men or silver-haired senior citizens. Despite their differences in their life experiences, they hold profound feelings towards this internationalized city and the Grand Bridge.

A few days ago I came across a vigorous old lady. She proudly told me, “Believe it or not, I am seventy-seven this year and it only takes me forty minutes to walk from the Wuchang end of the Bridge to the Hanyang end.” I was astonished to know that the lady named Liu Yuzhen was one of the pioneering builders of this very Bridge. She was only sixteen years old then, carrying fifty kilograms of stone each time on her weak shoulders for paving the road of the bridge. She has reason to be proud of herself because she participated in such a majestic bridge construction and made contribution to it. Even today, she still maintains her habit of walking across the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge at least once a year.

从前的日色变得慢，车，马，邮件都慢，一生只够爱一个人。——歌曲《从前慢》

每个人都有属于自己的记忆。在江城武汉，这座因水而生的城市，江与桥，成为很多人的共同记忆。

作为万里长江第一桥，武汉长江大桥成为武汉人的骄傲。桥面上，不论严寒酷暑，总有人在桥面上迎风远眺，在浩瀚的长江上感受城市飞速发展。他们或是热恋中的情侣，或是历经沧桑的中年人，或是满头银发的老者。他们经历不同，但对这座国际化城市、这座大桥的感情同样深厚。

前几天，我见到一位精神矍铄的老人。她骄傲地告诉我：“你信不信，我今年77岁，从长江大桥武昌桥头堡走到汉阳桥头堡，只用40分钟。”惊讶中，我得知，这位叫刘玉珍的老太太，就是武汉长江大桥的建造者之一。那时候，她才16岁，用单薄的肩膀扛100斤重的石子铺筑桥面。如此雄伟的大桥，有自己一份汗水凝结，她有理由感到自豪。直到现在，她还保持着每年至少步行一次长江大桥的习惯。

如今，武汉的长江江面上，已经飞架起武汉长江二桥、鹦鹉洲长江大桥、二七长江大桥等十座连接江南江北的大桥，但很多人还是像刘玉珍老人一样，对武汉长江大桥情有独钟。上世纪五六十年代，武汉长江大桥建成、通车期间，很多武汉人蜂拥而至，后来武汉人特喜欢以“桥”为名来纪念这一历史时刻，“建桥”“汉桥”“大桥”“友桥”等名字随处可见。在他们心里，这座桥，意义非凡。

武汉被长江和汉江天然地分割成武昌、汉口、汉阳三部分。上世纪中叶，武汉长江大桥建成前，轮渡几乎是人们往来三镇唯一的交通工具。

Today, There are more than ten such bridges across the Yangtze river in Wuhan as Second Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, Yingwuzhou Yangtze River Bridge, Erqi Yangtze River Bridge that link the three towns of Wuhan. Most people, yet, like Mrs. Liu Yuzhen, hold a special fondness of Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge. Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was constructed during the fifties and the sixties of the last century. When it was finally open to traffic,many locals flocked to have a look. Afterwards,Wuhan people started to like using the word“bridge” in naming things to commemorate the grand occasion, names like “Construction Bridge,”“Han Bridge,” “Grand Bridge,” and “Friendship Bridge” could be seen nearly everywhere in local areas. So, this bridge engraved extraordinary meaning in the local residents’ mind.

Wuhan has been divided naturally into three towns by the Yangtze River and the Han River and eventually formed Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang. Before the construction of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge in the middle of the 20th century, ferryboats were almost the only means of transportation for locals to travel between the three towns.

“At that time, not only was it the bicycles and cars that could only cross the river by ferryboat,but even trains were no exception. Every train that crossed the river would first have to be divided up into several sections to be taken across the river by ferryboat and then brought on to land by locomotive. It would take a few hours just to get one train across the Yangtze.” said Mr. Tang Hao,a sixty-one year old man who formerly worked as a technician for China Railway Major Bridge Design Institute. His father Tang Huancheng was the designer of the Bridge’s Tower. At that time the only lines in circulation were the lines from Hankou to Beijing (Jing for short) and Canton (also Guangdong, Guang for short). It was only after the construction of the Bridge and its opening to traffic that these two lines could be connected together forming the Jing-Guang Railway. The time of crossing the Yangtze for trains was also reduced from a few hours to just a few minutes.

“那时候，不仅自行车、汽车过江要靠轮渡，就连火车都不例外。每列火车过江前，先分成几段，由轮船载过江，再由车头牵上岸。一列火车穿过长江，需要几个小时。”今年61岁的唐浩先生曾在中铁大桥局设计院担任技术员，他的父亲唐寰澄就是大桥桥头堡的设计者。唐浩先生告诉笔者，那个时候只有京汉铁路、粤汉铁路。直到大桥建成通车后，两条铁路线才得以连接，成为完整的京广铁路。而火车通过长江的时间，也由几个小时缩短到只需要几分钟。

“一桥飞架南北，天堑变通途。”变通途的，不仅是天堑长江，更是武汉的发展之路！

我不是地道武汉人，但也保持一个习惯：每年总会有几次，特地来到武昌中华路码头，坐轮渡到对面的江北汉口。感受微凉的江风，听听低沉的汽笛声，让急促的脚步慢下来。当轮船从长江大桥下面缓缓穿过时，我几乎能感受到桥上那飞驰的列车正向着新的明天迈进。

“从前的日色变得慢，车，马，邮件都慢，一生只够爱一个城。”从码头出来，我不由轻轻哼唱。◆

武汉长江大桥桥墩施工The construction of bridge piers of Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge

武汉长江大桥通车情景Scenes of Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge after completion

Spetacular ceremony of Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge when opened to traf fic长江大桥通车盛况

（本文图片由中铁大桥局提供））

A bridge connects the south to north; natural barriers suddenly turn into thoroughfares. That the natural moats can be turned into thoroughfares not only indicates the human’s courage in conquering the nature, but also its wisdom in building a better Wuhan!

I’m not a native of Wuhan, but I keep a habit of taking the ferryboat to Hankou, the other side of the city, a few times a year from the Wuchang Harbour on Zhonghua Road. Feeling the gentle breeze over the river, listening to the whistles of the passing ships, I can’t help slowing down my hasty steps. As the ferry passes under Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, I can almost feel the train above speeding along, marching ahead to a new better tomorrow.

“Days and nights ran slower in the past, carriages,steeds, and correspondences went at a snail’s pace.So slow, a lifetime is only enough to love one city.”Exiting at the Harbour’s entrance, I couldn’t help but quietly whispering and humming.◆

(Photos by China Zhongtie Major Bridge Engineering Group )

60年后看大桥

文/刘冬莉 译/Sam Bowden