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.

從前的日色變得慢，車，馬，郵件都慢，一生只夠愛一個人。——歌曲《從前慢》

每個人都有屬于自己的記憶。在江城武漢，這座因水而生的城市，江與橋，成為很多人的共同記憶。

作為萬里長江第一橋，武漢長江大橋成為武漢人的驕傲。橋面上，不論嚴寒酷暑，總有人在橋面上迎風遠眺，在浩瀚的長江上感受城市飛速發展。他們或是熱戀中的情侶，或是歷經滄桑的中年人，或是滿頭銀發的老者。他們經歷不同，但對這座國際化城市、這座大橋的感情同樣深厚。

前幾天，我見到一位精神矍鑠的老人。她驕傲地告訴我：“你信不信，我今年77歲，從長江大橋武昌橋頭堡走到漢陽橋頭堡，只用40分鐘。”驚訝中，我得知，這位叫劉玉珍的老太太，就是武漢長江大橋的建造者之一。那時候，她才16歲，用單薄的肩膀扛100斤重的石子鋪筑橋面。如此雄偉的大橋，有自己一份汗水凝結，她有理由感到自豪。直到現在，她還保持著每年至少步行一次長江大橋的習慣。

如今，武漢的長江江面上，已經飛架起武漢長江二橋、鸚鵡洲長江大橋、二七長江大橋等十座連接江南江北的大橋，但很多人還是像劉玉珍老人一樣，對武漢長江大橋情有獨鐘。上世紀五六十年代，武漢長江大橋建成、通車期間，很多武漢人蜂擁而至，后來武漢人特喜歡以“橋”為名來紀念這一歷史時刻，“建橋”“漢橋”“大橋”“友橋”等名字隨處可見。在他們心里，這座橋，意義非凡。

武漢被長江和漢江天然地分割成武昌、漢口、漢陽三部分。上世紀中葉，武漢長江大橋建成前，輪渡幾乎是人們往來三鎮唯一的交通工具。

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.

“那時候，不僅自行車、汽車過江要靠輪渡，就連火車都不例外。每列火車過江前，先分成幾段，由輪船載過江，再由車頭牽上岸。一列火車穿過長江，需要幾個小時。”今年61歲的唐浩先生曾在中鐵大橋局設計院擔任技術員，他的父親唐寰澄就是大橋橋頭堡的設計者。唐浩先生告訴筆者，那個時候只有京漢鐵路、粵漢鐵路。直到大橋建成通車后，兩條鐵路線才得以連接，成為完整的京廣鐵路。而火車通過長江的時間，也由幾個小時縮短到只需要幾分鐘。

“一橋飛架南北，天塹變通途。”變通途的，不僅是天塹長江，更是武漢的發展之路！

我不是地道武漢人，但也保持一個習慣：每年總會有幾次，特地來到武昌中華路碼頭，坐輪渡到對面的江北漢口。感受微涼的江風，聽聽低沉的汽笛聲，讓急促的腳步慢下來。當輪船從長江大橋下面緩緩穿過時，我幾乎能感受到橋上那飛馳的列車正向著新的明天邁進。

“從前的日色變得慢，車，馬，郵件都慢，一生只夠愛一個城。”從碼頭出來，我不由輕輕哼唱。◆

武漢長江大橋橋墩施工The construction of bridge piers of Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge

武漢長江大橋通車情景Scenes of Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge after completion

Spetacular ceremony of Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge when opened to traf fic長江大橋通車盛況

（本文圖片由中鐵大橋局提供））

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年后看大橋

文/劉冬莉 譯/Sam Bowden