The Story Behind the Cable Bridge (Legend)

Legend of Qiang nationality about cable bridge

The earliest cable bridge in Gansu was built by Qiang people.

According to legend, when the ancestors of Qiang people first came to Longnan, it was very difficult to communicate with the outside world because of the turbulent river and steep banks. At this time, an old man with a good face came out of the forest and guided them to build a cable bridge. Since then, they have built many cable bridges with abundant local plants such as bamboo, rattan and hemp, and the cable bridge construction technology has been popularized and applied in Qiang tribes. During the Warring States Period, when Li Bing and his son were building Dujiangyan, they used the rich bridge-building skills of the local Qiang people to build a bamboo cable bridge inside and outside the Minjiang River. Since then, cable bridges have gained popularity in southwest and south China, becoming the representative bridge type of ancient bridges in China.

Suspension bridge supported by bamboo rope

Since ancient times, Qiang and Di people have lived across the valley, and the relationship between tribes is not close, and their dependence on transportation facilities is not high. History rarely involves the construction of cable bridges in Gansu during the Qin and Han Dynasties. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the influence of Miao Yang gradually increased, and the country, the martial capital country and the country were established successively. , opened up the Qiang side road connected with Yin Ping Road and Zhong Qiang Road. Many cable bridges were built at this time. In the Tang Dynasty, with the continuous strengthening of road management by local officials and the further improvement of crossing facilities, a large number of bamboo cable bridges and rattan cable bridges appeared on Longshu Post Road. When Du Fu entered Sichuan, he walked through many such cable bridges and left a poem "Ode to the Bridge". The so-called "long" is a rope woven with bamboo strips. In the early Ming Dynasty, a large number of immigrants moved to Longnan, and a large number of bamboo cable bridges were built when Gu Dao was opened. After the founding of New China, 30 bamboo cable bridges were reinforced and maintained in Longnan counties. By 2000, the last bamboo cable bridge in Gansu, Huanglushan Bamboo Cable Bridge in Wenxian County, was demolished.

Chain bridge

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Longnan's economy was relatively developed, represented by Bikou in Wenxian County. It has become a distribution center for major materials such as dragon tree medicine and salt, with merchants gathering and adjacent pavements. It was one of the four major commercial towns in Gansu in Qing Dynasty. In order to meet the needs of economic development and traffic growth, the government began to build large-scale iron cable bridges instead of bamboo cable bridges.

Tiesuo Bridge on the Western Han River is located in Da Qiao Township, 45 kilometers southwest of Xihe County. Legend has it that it was raised by Taoist priests and built before the Ming Dynasty. According to the inscription, it was rebuilt five times after 1398. After the founding of New China, it was reinforced many times. In the 1980s, steel wire suspension cables were added for maintenance, and they are still in use today.

In the 23rd year of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (1864), another bridge was built in Linjiangguan, northwest of Wenxian County, named Linjiang Bridge. Later, it moved to Haozichuan in the lower reaches of Linjiang 10 km, and the wooden beam was changed to iron rope, named Yongji Bridge, and the overseer was Yang Qingxian, the military attache of wen county. The bridge is 67 meters long, with a clear span of 50 meters and a width of 2.7 meters, with 9 main cables. The banks of Yongji Bridge are narrow and choppy, surrounded by high mountains, and the Tang Yang River flows into Bailong River not far upstream. The dangerous terrain of this bridge is really the throat of Ganchuan. The bridge was demolished many times by warlords. 1949 The Kuomintang was defeated and the chain was cut. After the founding of New China, it was restored.

The Legend of Pingbao Cable Bridge

The Yellow River runs through central and eastern Gansu, with a drainage area of 6.5438+0.445 million square kilometers, which is divided into the main stream of the Yellow River and six major water systems: Taohe River, Huangshui River, Weihe River, Jinghe River and Beiluo River. At present, there are 9 1 cable bridges in the flow field of the Yellow River, with a total length of 96 17. 13m ... The main stream of the Yellow River is the natural barrier of Longxi and Hexi, and the waves are big and the current is fast, so it is generally large in scale and difficult to build cable bridges on it.

There are some legends about the construction of Pingbao Cable Bridge in Jingyuan County. Before Pingbao Cable Bridge was built, people on both sides of the strait crossed the river by ferry. During the summer and autumn flood season, the river swelled and accidents often occurred. According to incomplete statistics 17 years before the completion of the bridge, there were as many as 18 capsizing accidents, 1 14 people fell into the water and 14 people died.

1965, Ran Xu, a local farmer from party member, found a large number of abandoned wire ropes when he was fertilizing in the production team of Baiyin open-pit mine. So, he wants to anchor the steel wire rope on both sides of the Yellow River, and then lay boards to build a cable bridge that can pass through the shelf car. He returned to Pingbao and widely publicized his ideas. With the joint efforts of the broad masses of cadres and people in Pingbao, Gao Hailu, an electrician in Baiyin Open-pit Mine of Baiyin Nonferrous Metals Company, promised to support the waste steel wire rope. Subsequently, Bai Guanghua, a commune cadre, went to the Provincial Highway Bureau for help, and the Provincial Highway Bureau sent Su Yu to investigate and determine the bridge site. Later, Ran Xu and Gao Hailu also brought their own dry food to Xinyang Town, Tianshui to learn the construction technology of cable bridges, and established a "Bridge Construction Committee" in conjunction with six surrounding villages. In the process of construction, steel, wood and cement are very scarce. In addition to some subsidies given by the province, there are still many materials that need to be solved by themselves. They organized three groups of people to ask for help everywhere, found more than 40 factories and mines, and got a lot of help. Pingbao Cable Bridge Project fully embodies the principles of "civilian-run assistance" and "migrant workers are diligent". After more than two years of construction, Pingbao Cable Bridge was completed and opened to traffic on April 27th. 1970. More than 30,000 local people attended the opening ceremony, and many people cried when they stepped onto the bridge. The completion of Pingbao Cable Bridge was a sensation in the whole country at that time, and it was known as "the first bridge for farmers in China".

Hexi Corridor, where the inland river basin flows, is flat and rich in aquatic plants. There are 15 cable bridges on Shiyang River, Binggou River and Liyuan River, with a total length of 809 meters.

The originator of cable bridge-Liusuo

The zip line is the originator of the cable bridge and one of the most primitive tools for crossing the river. Commonly known as zip line, southwest minorities call it "bucket of river" and "zip line", and ancient literature often calls it "collision" The so-called "hanging and colliding with cables" and "crossing the bridge to find colliding cables" all refer to zip cables. Crossing a river or stream with a rope is called "slipping".

The zip line should have appeared in the early agricultural civilization when people lived along the river valley. At that time, in order to facilitate communication, people used rattan to connect and "bump" when passing through deeper and narrower ditches and streams. Later, crossing the river in various forms was gradually improved. The zip line has also developed from rattan to bamboo, kudzu vine, animal skin and other materials, and has become a heavy rope through weaving and winding. This kind of rope was originally tied to trees or boulders on both sides of the river, and later tied to wooden stakes buried by people themselves. For the sake of safety, people crossing the river put themselves on the rope in a certain way and slide by inertia. Later, auxiliary facilities such as pulleys and sliding baskets were added to the zip line.

There are two kinds of sliding rope: flat rope and steep rope. The height of both ends of the former is almost equal. After the runner slides to the middle, he must put his feet on the slider and climb to the other side with his hands on the slider. The latter is different in height between the two sides of the strait, and can be felt from top to bottom when sliding. When you want to go back, you need to find another zip line, which is the same as sneaking back. Therefore, smooth can go back and forth, and steep can go back and forth in pairs. Of course, it can't be too far apart.