We now continue our special series: Tales Along the Yellow River. In this edition, our reporters traveled to Lanzhou, the capital city of the northwestern Gansu Province known for its noodles.
In our first episode, reporter Cui Hui’ao shows us how Lanzhou’s transportation has evolved across the Yellow River.
Lanzhou, a city with deep ties to the Yellow River. It’s the first major city on the mother river of China, with water flowing through its urban districts from east to west. Zhongshan Bridge, its iconic landmark, is the nation’s first bridge over the Yellow River. Yang Wenjun holds many fond memories with this bridge.
YANG WENJUN LANZHOU RESIDENT “When I was little, my parents always took me to see the bridge. I remember it was packed with traffic. Now only pedestrians are allowed on it. For Lanzhou people, this bridge is even more special than all of the newer bridges, because of its history.”
In 1907, the Qing Government started building this iron bridge for traffic. Before that time, rafts made of sheep skin were the only transportation means for crossing the river. The bridge took three years to build and was in service for over 80 years. Now a century later, the bridge is more of a relic that has witnessed the deep ties between Lanzhou and China’s famous waterway.
LANZHOU RESIDENT “Northwestern China is plagued by drought. But Lanzhou was born with a river. Generations of different ethnicities have been living along the river. And today we still drink its water. We have deep appreciation for this river.”
However, Lanzhou is a city sandwiched between the Yellow river and two mountains, situated in a long and narrow valley. Furthermore, it is an industrial city of about three million people. These factors combined have made transportation here a huge challenge.
HUANG BO ENGINEER “There are only three main roads in the city, which means traffic is always congested.”
Huang Bo, an engineer from Beijing, moved to Lanzhou five years ago to join one of the toughest projects in the world: building the first-ever subway line under the Yellow River.
HUANG BO ENGINEER “There was no precedent. It has to overcome two major challenges: bearing high water pressure, and building it through highly-permeable sandy gravel stratum. And we have to keep protection of the yellow river in mind, so we built it underneath the riverbed.”
With this new subway line, Yang Wenjun now has a much easier time commuting around the city.
He no longer drives as much. And he says he has a new option to travel across the river. From the old bridge to the new subway, for the city of Lanzhou, transportation is evolving. And for its people, life will continue along the Yellow River. Cui Hui’ao, CGTN, Lanzhou, Gansu Province.
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