The mysterious history of Baoji

Baoji, called "Chencang" in ancient times, is the origin of the allusion of "building a plank road in the Ming Dynasty and darkness in Chencang". By the middle of the Tang Dynasty, there was an auspicious sign of "stone chicken crow". As soon as the emperor was happy, he changed the name of Chencang to Baoji.

Geographically, Baoji is located at the western end of Guanzhong Plain, at the junction of Shaanxi, Gansu, Sichuan and other provinces, and is an important traffic fortress connecting the Central Plains and Southwest China in the northwest region. However, before the opening of the Longhai Railway, Baoji was only a small inland county in the middle of Guanzhong.

After the Longhai Railway was built in Baoji, Baoji gradually became a gathering place for industry and commerce in the northwest and developed into an important city in the west of Guanzhong. 1937 after the outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, with a large number of industrial and commercial enterprises in the east moving inward along the Longhai Line, Baoji accelerated its development and gradually became a transportation hub and industrial center in the rear area of the Anti-Japanese War. It is one of the typical representatives of the rise of China railway transportation hub city in modern times.

194 1, many cars stopped on both sides of Baoji Street.

First of all, the construction of Longhai Railway in Shaanxi established Baoji's position as a transportation hub in Guanzhong and even the northwest. The newly-built Baoji Station of Longhai Railway has 4 station lines and 2 freight lines. 1937 officially put into operation on March 1 day, with a pair of passenger and freight trains from Baoji to Xi' an every day.

By the middle of the Anti-Japanese War, Baoji Station operated two pairs of passenger cars and mixed passenger and freight trains 1 pair every day. After the opening of Baoji-Tianshui branch line 1945 in February, the passenger and freight volume further increased. By 1949, Baoji Station will have two pairs of passenger and freight trains every day, with 9 passenger cars and about 20 trucks.

According to statistics, the annual passenger traffic of Longhai Railway 1935 was18.95 million passengers. After Baoji Station was put into operation the following year, the passenger traffic of Longhai Railway surged to 2.786 million, which greatly facilitated the exchange of personnel and materials in Guanzhong area.

Relying on the large-scale transit capacity of Longhai Railway, Baoji quickly became an important material distribution center in the west of Guanzhong. In 1930s, goods from West Road were concentrated in Baoji and then transported to the East. East Road goods first landed in Baoji, and then sent to Sichuan, Gansu, Singapore and other places. This also broke the traditional pattern of Fengxiang as the freight distribution center in the west of Guanzhong. After the full-scale outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Baoji, as the western end of the Longhai Railway, has become a material turnover hub connecting the Central Plains and North China in the east, Sichuan and Yunnan in the south, and Gansu, Ningxia and Qinghai in the northwest.

Secondly, the opening and operation of the west line of Longhai Railway also promoted the prosperity of Baoji city's industry and commerce. Before the west line of Longhai Railway was opened to traffic, there were only sporadic workshops in Baoji city, and the production mode was still dominated by traditional manual production. After Longhai Railway 1936 arrived in Baoji, Luoyang Locomotive Repair Shop was immediately moved to the south of Chengguan Railway in Baoji City and transformed into Baoji Locomotive Repair Shop, which became the beginning of modern Baoji machinery industry.

After 1937, Baoji became one of the main destinations of eastern factories and mines because of its convenient railway transportation. For example, Shen Xin No.4 Textile Mill and Fuxin No.5 Flour Mill in Hankou moved to the north of Baoji Railway Station. At that time, people also had high hopes for this: "Since the opening of Longhai Railway and the relocation of Hankou Shen Xin Cotton Mill, most people thought that this province (Shaanxi) was expected to become an industrial zone in the future." Baoren is also quite conceited about the future of Wuxi, Jiangsu. "

Since then, Hongshun Machine Factory in Hanyang, Daxin Flour Factory in Luohe, Henan, Yuhua Cigarette Factory in Xuchang, Taichang Match Factory in hua county, Shaanxi, and Runji Auto Repair Department in xi 'an have moved to Shilipu and Baoji successively. Xi 'an Military Supplies Bureau and Huaye Iron Works also set up factories in Shilipu, and Shilipu in Baoji has gradually developed into a new industrial zone where various factories and mines gather.

According to statistics, by 1949, Baoji had more than 500 factories and mines, involving nine categories such as machinery, textiles, tobacco, power generation and paper making, with a total industrial output value of 31140,000 yuan. With an annual output of 200 boxes of cigarettes, 26 14 tons of cotton yarn, 8.36 million kwh of power generation, 432 tons of machine-made paper, 65,438 tons of raw coal and 309 tons of lifting equipment, Baoji has established its position as an emerging industrial city in Guanzhong.

During the Republic of China, there were many hawker shops outside Longhai Hotel in Baoji, which was very lively.

In the commercial field, Baoji's urban commerce has developed rapidly since the west line of Longhai Railway was connected. At that time, Ta Kung Pao pointed out that "before the arrival of Longhai Railway, Baoji was just an ordinary county town, which was extremely humble, but there were more than 100 firms with meager capital in the city". From 1944 to 1030 and from 1946 to 1350. At this time, Baoji not only gathered merchants, but also became an important financial center in western Guanzhong.

Before the railway was opened to traffic, Baoji only had an office set up by Shaanxi Bank to engage in local financial business. By 194 1 year, Baoji had six banks: Central Bank, Bank of China, Bank of Communications and Bank of China. By 1948, there were as many as 17 new banks and private banks in Baoji, gradually forming a regional financial system centered on the four major state-owned banks.

Finally, the Longhai Railway extended to the Guanzhong Plain, which also promoted the growth of Baoji's urban population and further expanded the urban area. Before the Longhai Railway was opened to traffic, Baoji was only a small county town in Guanzhong area, with a population of only six or seven thousand, and businessmen were only a small part of it. After the opening of the west line of Longhai Railway, Baoji Station handled 2300 passengers a day. With the gathering and transportation of population, the urban population of Baoji began to grow rapidly. Especially after the Lugouqiao Incident, refugees from the East flocked by train.

Baoji, as the terminal of Longhai Railway, has also attracted the party and government organs, factories and enterprises, colleges and universities in the eastern region to move in. Therefore, the migration and growth of population became the main driving force of population growth in Baoji during this period. According to the statistics of 1946, the population of Baoji in that year was 9 1872, including 46,344 locals and 45,528 migrants. Most of them are employees of enterprises and institutions and their families who moved in because of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. At the same time, Longhai Railway has promoted the economic prosperity and population growth of Baoji City, and also promoted the export-oriented development of Baoji City.

Before the Longhai Railway was opened to traffic, the urban area of Baoji was only nearly three miles long, and the urban area was limited to the city wall, and there was no market wall. After the railway access, the new urban area of Baoji Dongmen Railway Station began to take shape. To 194 1, in order to adapt to the influence of urban development, the East Gate and some city walls were demolished, and the main roads in the city were widened. There are many merchants and shops inside and outside Dongcheng, making it the most prosperous business district in Baoji. 1942 after the completion of baoping highway, a large number of businesses and shops have sprung up in the north of the railway station, connecting with the business district in the east of the city, and the urban area has expanded several times.

At the east gate of Baoji City, a rickshaw puller is passing by.

In addition, after the outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, industrial enterprises such as Shen Xin and Daxin moved to Shilipu, east of the old city of Baoji, and soon a new city of Baoji was formed in this area.

By 1949, the urban area of Baoji has expanded to 6.7 square kilometers, and the total length of urban streets is 7.44 kilometers, and public facilities such as street lamps and drainage have been laid. 194 1 year, the famous writer Mr. Bing Xin passed by Baoji and deeply felt the changes in Baoji city. She wrote in the article "Three Days in the Northwest": "Before the Anti-Japanese War, it was a small county town that was unknown, and now it has become the center of northwest industry."

In a short period of more than ten years, because the Longhai Railway extends to the Guanzhong Plain, Baoji has rapidly developed from a small and medium-sized county in Guanzhong to an emerging industrial city in the northwest. Yao wrote in the article "An Overview of Baoji Society":

Since the west exhibition of Longhai Railway, wheels and cities have been everywhere in the county, and operators from all walks of life across the country have come here like crucian carp crossing the river. Therefore, local prosperity depends on traffic, and traffic is more important to local prosperity. ..... Baoji is an important town in the rear area, which is not only the intersection of wartime materials transportation, but also the hub of the whole connection between our capital and the northwest.

In other words, taking advantage of the transportation location brought by the construction of Longhai Railway not only facilitates the exchange of personnel and the distribution of materials in wartime, but also brings new impetus to the development of industry and commerce in Baoji City. It was the opening of Longhai Railway that ushered in the golden age of Baoji's modern industrial development, and the city's functions were also strengthened, which promoted the social and economic development in Guanzhong area.

From the historical experience, since the birth of railway traffic, whether it is the growth of social production, the prosperity of industry and commerce, or the rise and fall of cities, it is closely related to railways. As early as 19 19, Weber, a famous German political economist, clearly pointed out: "Railway is the most revolutionary tool in history". Coincidentally, Dr. Sun Yat-sen once pointed out: "Transportation is the mother of industry, and railways are the mother of transportation". As an advanced new means of transportation, railway not only ensured the social and economic development of modern China, but also promoted the evolution of urban modernization in China.

Longhai Railway, formerly known as Qin Yuhai Railway, has been continuously expanded and gradually extended based on the Bianluo Railway built during Guangxu period in the late Qing Dynasty. During this period, due to the limitation of economic cost, technical conditions and social and political situation, the maintenance has been in a stop state, which is intermittent and difficult to maintain.

It was not until 1927 Nanjing National was founded that the Longhai Railway was built in Lingbao, Henan Province. Since then, under the influence of the wave of "developing the northwest" of domestic intellectuals, the westward extension of Longhai Railway has gradually become the focus of domestic public opinion. For example, Ma Xiaoshi, a famous scholar, believes that to develop the northwest, we must first complete the Longhai route in the shortest time.

Opening Ceremony of West Line of Longhai Railway

With the active propaganda of intellectuals, the construction of the west extension of Longhai Railway was quickly put on the agenda of the people. 1928 10, Nanjing Ministry of Railways officially issued a document and decided to continue to expand the Longhai Railway. From the end of 1930, after eight years of hard construction, to March of 1937, Longhai Railway extended westward from Lingbao Road in Henan to Baoji in Shaanxi. The completion of the west extension project of Longhai Railway is the greatest achievement of northwest traffic construction before the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War.

In the history of modern Shaanxi's economic and social development, the construction of Longhai Railway in Shaanxi is undoubtedly an epoch-making event! It not only changed the traffic pattern in Shaanxi, facilitated the exchange of personnel and the distribution of materials, but also promoted the development of towns along the railway and accelerated the extroversion and modernization of Shaanxi's social economy. Among them, the rise of Baoji City during the Anti-Japanese War is a remarkable example of the extension of the Longhai Line to the Guanzhong Plain, thus enhancing the location advantage of the city.

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Guanzhong (4) Baoji (1) Longhai Railway (1)