The Wuhan Yangtze Great Bridge (), commonly known as Wuhan First Yangtze Bridge, is a double-deck
road and rail bridge across the
Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
in
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
, in
Central China
Central China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that includes the provinces of Henan, Hubei and Hunan. Jiangxi is sometimes also regarded to be part of this region. Central China is now officially part of South Central ...
. At its completion in 1957, the bridge was the easternmost crossing of the Yangtze, and was often referred to as the "First Bridge of the Yangtze".
The bridge extends 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) from Turtle Hill in
Hanyang Hanyang may refer to:
China
*Hanyang District (漢陽區, 汉阳区, ''Hànyáng Qū''), Wuhan, Hubei
:*Hanyang Arsenal (漢陽兵工廠), founded in 1891 as one of the oldest modern arsenals in Chinese history
:*Hanyang 88 (漢陽八八式步槍), ...
, on the northern bank of the Yangtze, to Snake Hill in
Wuchang
Wuchang forms part of the urban core of and is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the ri ...
, on the southern bank of the Yangtze. Plans for the bridge's construction were first made in 1910. A total of four exploratory surveys were made between 1913 and 1948 to identify a suitable site, but economic limitations and the combination of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
prevented the bridge's building until the 1950s. Actual construction began in September 1955 and was completed in October 1957.
The upper level of the bridge is a two-way, four-lane automobile highway. The lower level is a
double-track railway
A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.
Overview
In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...
on the Beijing-Guangzhou railway line.
History
Background
The Wuhan metropolis is an amalgamation of three cities situated at the confluence of the
Han River and the Yangtze:
Wuchang
Wuchang forms part of the urban core of and is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the ri ...
, located on the southern bank of the Yangtze,
Hanyang Hanyang may refer to:
China
*Hanyang District (漢陽區, 汉阳区, ''Hànyáng Qū''), Wuhan, Hubei
:*Hanyang Arsenal (漢陽兵工廠), founded in 1891 as one of the oldest modern arsenals in Chinese history
:*Hanyang 88 (漢陽八八式步槍), ...
, located on the northern bank of the Yangtze and the west bank of the Han, and
Hankou
Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers wher ...
, located on the northern bank of the Yangtze and the eastern bank of the Han. Wuhan lies at the heart of Central China and is a hub from transportation between the
Central Plain in northern China and the trading ports of
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
and
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
in southern China. The Beijing-Wuhan railway line went into full service in 1906, followed in 1936 by the Wuhan-Guangzhou railway line. Between that time and the bridge's completion in 1957, railway cars travelling between northern and southern China had to be ferried over the Yangtze on barges, a laborious and dangerous practice.
Early planning
Early formulations of plans for a railway bridge over the Yangtze at Wuhan were put forward by
Zhang Zhidong
Zhang Zhidong () (4 September 18375 October 1909) was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Qing dynasty. Along with Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, Zhang Zhidong was one of the four most famous officials of the late Qing ...
in the late 19th century. In May 1912, railroad engineer
Jeme Tien Yow
Zhan Tianyou/Chan T'ien-yu (; 26 April 1861 – 24 April 1919), or Jeme Tien-Yow as he called himself in English, based on the Cantonese pronunciation, was a pioneering Chinese railroad engineer. Educated in the United States, he was the chief ...
was made head of the Wuhan-Guangzhou railway association by the
Beiyang Government
The Beiyang government (), officially the Republic of China (), sometimes spelled Peiyang Government, refers to the government of the Republic of China which sat in its capital Peking (Beijing) between 1912 and 1928. It was internationally r ...
. While working on the Wuchang railroad station, Jeme incorporated plans for connection of the Beijing and Guangzhou lines into the railroad's construction.
In 1913,
Peking University
Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education.
Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...
professor of engineering George Miller brought Xia Changchi (), Li Wenji (), and 13 other Chinese engineering students to Wuhan to do
surveying
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
for a possible bridge location. At the same time, Peking University President
Yan Fu
Yan Fu (, IPA: ; courtesy name: Ji Dao, ; 8 January 1854 — 27 October 1921) was a Chinese military officer, newspaper editor, translator, and writer. He was most famous for introducing western ideas, including Darwin's "natural selection", t ...
submitted the initial proposal for bridge construction to the Department of Transportation. The earliest designs for the bridge were modeled after the
Forth Bridge
The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...
, near
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, which had been completed in 1890. Although their work never proceeded past the planning phase, the area identified in the 1913 surveys proved to be an excellent site, and is the location where the bridge was eventually built.
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
's treatise ''The International Development of China'', published in 1919, emphasized the economic importance of finding a suitable location for building a bridge over or a tunnel under the Yangtze along the Wuhan railway line. At the time, Sun wrote, "There ought to be a tunnel constructed under the first turn of the Yangtze at Wuhan to connect the two banks. Moreover, there ought to be a tunnel or bridge at the mouth of the Han River to link the three cities of Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang together into one metropolis." However, contemporary work on the railway bridge over the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...
at
Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the National ...
sapped China of its limited bridge-building resources.
Construction
In 1949, shortly after the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
's victory in the Chinese Civil War and its founding of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, former Peking University engineering student Li Wenji, by then 63 years old, and bridge engineer
Mao Yisheng
Dr. Mao Yisheng aka. Thomson Eason Mao (; January 9, 1896 – November 12, 1989) was a Chinese structural engineer and social activist. He was one of the most famous Chinese structural engineers, a pioneer in bridge construction, and a socia ...
() submitted a proposal to the new government for the construction of the Wuhan bridge as "a memorial to the success of the new democratic revolution." Li and the others were invited to the first
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...
in September 1949 to participate in discussions on the bridge's construction.
The proposals were accepted, and a bridge committee was created in January 1950. Li was able to participate in the first year of the planning and building work before he became ill and died in August 1951. Between 1950 and 1953, three conferences were held to discuss the plans, designs, and construction of the bridge as they developed. In February 1953,
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
traveled to Wuhan to receive reports on the project's progress, and was taken to the
Yellow Crane Tower
Yellow Crane Tower () is a traditional Chinese tower located in Wuhan. The current structure was built in 1981, but the tower has existed in various forms from as early as AD 223. The current Yellow Crane Tower is high and covers an area of . ...
to view the proposed bridge site. On 1 April 1953,
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...
approved the creation of the Wuhan Great Bridge Engineering Bureau, which was responsible for overseeing the design and building of the bridge, with Peng Min () as bureau chief and party secretary and Wang Juqian () as chief engineer.
Chinese engineers in the 1950s were still heavily reliant on Russian expertise on major projects. Between July and September 1953, Chinese engineers brought a large number of the bridge's plans and blueprints to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
for consultation with
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
engineers. In July 1954, the
State Council of the People's Republic of China
The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the p ...
gave approval for a 28-person delegation of Soviet engineers, led by Konstantin Sergeyevich Silin (1913–1996), to travel to China and assist the Chinese with the bridge's design and construction.
Construction officially began on 1 September 1955. Silin had predicted that using
pressured-air caissons would be impractical due to the Yangtze's unpredictable water level, which made drilling holes for the bridge's supports much more difficult. The
cantilever bridge
A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end (called cantilevers). For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beam (structure), beams; however, large cantilever ...
design was used, and construction proceeded for over two years. Mao Zedong returned to Wuhan on 6 September 1957 to inspect the nearly-completed bridge, and was able to walk from the Hanyang side to the Wuchang side. The bridge formally opened to public traffic on 15 October 1957.
On January 31, 2018,
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
,
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...
, visited Wuhan and took pictures on the Wuchang District side of the Yangtze River at the First Yangtze River Bridge.
See also
*
Wuhan#Completion and opening-to-traffic of the First Yangtze River Bridge
*
Yangtze River bridges and tunnels
The bridges and tunnels across the Yangtze River carry rail and road traffic across China's longest and largest river and form a vital part of the country's transportation infrastructure. The river bisects China proper from west to east, and ever ...
*
List of bridges in China
This list of bridges in China includes notable bridges. China has a long history in bridge construction. The oldest bridge still in existence in China is the Anji Bridge, constructed during the years between 595 and 605.
During the infrastructu ...
References
{{Bridges and Tunnels in Wuhan
Bridges in Wuhan
Bridges over the Yangtze River
1957 establishments in China
Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Hubei
Bridges completed in 1957
Double-decker bridges
Road-rail bridges in China