How good are the Chinese for building bridges? Just go to Tibet and see ...
Open every road, bridge across the water.
Tibet, known as the roof of the world, "Asian Water Tower"
The mountains are heavy.
Simultaneously,
There are many rivers in Tibet,
Owns the Yarlung Zangbo River, Nu River,
Jinsha River, Lhasa River, Niyang River and other big rivers.
Thousands of gullies and water erosion,
This has made Tibet's journey difficult since ancient times.
Overlooking Linzhi Niyang Valley in Tibet from the plane.
Published in the 1930s
The "Tibet Summary" describes the transportation into Tibet as--
"The rocks are crisscrossing, there is no road to the road, it is hard and dangerous, and it is indescribable."
The picture shows the road condition of Tongzhi section of Linzhi, Tibet on Sichuan-Tibet Highway in 2013.
This section is called "Tongmai Natural Insurance".
Looking at the famous "72 Tianlu" on Sichuan-Tibet Highway,
You can intuitively feel the difficulty of traveling in Tibet.
Even in the relatively developed Lhasa area,
The terrain is also uneven.
It is recommended to watch horizontally ↓↓↓
The topography of the valley in the middle reaches of the Lhasa River.
In 1951,
Peaceful liberation of Tibet,
Opened the prelude to modernization.
The first step towards a better future and towards a new socialist Tibet,
It is from the beginning of bridge construction.
Starting from the 18th Army of the People's Liberation Army entering Tibet to build the Sichuan-Tibet Highway (formerly known as the Kangzang Highway),
By 2020,
For nearly 70 years,
How many highway bridges have been built in Tibet?
The answer given by the Transport Department of the Tibet Autonomous Region is:
11945 seats, 481345.33 extension meters.
Among them, there are 43 extra large bridges, 743 bridges, 2453 middle bridges, and 8715 small bridges.
Today Xiaoxin takes you to take a look at the story of Tibetan bridges.
Bridges around Lhasa
On the Sichuan-Tibet Highway Lhasa Bridge, in the distance is the Potala Palace.
The Lhasa Bridge was opened to traffic in 1965 and has a total length of 533 meters. It is the earliest cement bridge in Lhasa. Before the Liuwu Bridge was opened to traffic in 2007, it was the only bridge between the two sides of Lhasa.
The self-driving Sichuan-Tibet line generally enters the city through this bridge to the Potala Palace Square.
Lhasa Liuwu Bridge was completed and opened to traffic in 2007, mainly connecting Lhasa's main city area with Lhasa Railway Station in Liuwu New District.
Liuwu Bridge is the second bridge across the river in the Lhasa River City section.
It is worth mentioning that before the Liuwu Bridge opened to traffic, there were still ferries in the nearby river section, responsible for the passage of people in the western suburbs of Lhasa and Liuwu Village on the opposite bank.
In the past, Liuwu Village grew into the current Liuwu New District, and the bridge is indispensable.
The Liuwu Bridge overpass is the first modern overpass in Tibet.
With the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and the commissioning of the Liuwu Bridge, the ferryboats in the Lhasa River section withdrew from the stage of history.
The "blockage" of people and logistics in the mainland from reaching Lhasa has been further opened up, and the city area is constantly expanding, which also puts forward higher requirements for transportation across Lhasa.
Bridges are being built more and more.
The Lasana Golden Bridge, which was completed and opened to traffic in 2013, was the highest tower cable-stayed bridge in the world at that time.
Lhasa Yingqin Bridge, which connects Xianzu Island and Cijuelin area on the south bank of Lhasa River.
It is reported that after Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty entered Tibet, the family members from the mainland were placed in Cijuelin. Therefore, the name of the bridge is also related to Songzanganbu and Princess Wencheng.
The picture shows the Yingqin Bridge in the early morning after snow.
Gate 3 of Lhasa River project, gate 3 also has the function of bridge traffic, is an important part of the "river to lake" project in Lhasa, the distance is Drepung Monastery in Lhasa.
Lhasa River Liudong Bridge, the "latest" bridge in Lhasa, was opened to traffic in 2019, connecting Lhasa South Ring Road and West Ring Road.
In addition to the cross-river bridge in the city section of the Lhasa River, there are the Dazi Bridge, Qushui Caina Bridge, and Lhasa River Bridge.
Lhasa Qushui Caina Bridge, the old bridge pier on the left.
The picture shows the Lhasa River Bridge, connecting Gongga Airport Expressway with National Highway 318.
Bridge over the Yarlung Zangbo River
Among the large rivers in Tibet, apart from the Lhasa River, the most well-known is the Yarlung Zangbo River.
The Lhasa River and Niyang River are all tributaries of the Yarlung Zangbo River.
The downstream of the Yarlung Zangbo River looks like this:
A big bend in the Guoguotang of the Yarlung Zangbo River. (Photo by Lu Mingwen)
The midstream is like this:
Build the longest bridge on the widest river.
For example: The Yarlung Zangbo River Zangang Bridge in Shannan, Tibet.
The Yarlung Zangbo River Zagang Bridge, with a total length of 4,507 meters, is the largest span of highway bridges in Tibet. After it was opened to traffic in 2015, the nearby famous Sanye Ferry completed its mission and withdrew from the stage of history.
The Yarlung Zangbo River Bridge, which was built in 2003 and opened to traffic in 2005, has a total length of 3797 meters. Mainly connecting Gala Mountain Tunnel with Gongga Airport, it is the "throat main road" leading to Gongga Airport in Lhasa.
The Yarlung Zangbo River Naidong Bridge connects the Zegong (Zedang to Gongga) Expressway with the Naidong District of Shannan City.
Bridge on Sichuan-Tibet Highway
The most striking part of the history of Tibetan bridge construction is the bridge on the Sichuan-Tibet Highway.
The Jinsha River Bridge at the junction of Sichuan and Tibet is on the opposite side of Sichuan. The steel bridge under the picture is the old bridge body that was washed out during the flood discharge of the upstream dammed lake in 2019.
In the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951, the Eighteenth Army practiced "building roads while entering Tibet" on the way to Tibet, and part of the bridge construction process was called "tragic".
The picture shows the ruins of two bridges before the Nujiang Bridge on the Sichuan-Tibet Highway.
The first generation of Nujiang Bridge retained a pier.
Lu Jibing, the son of Xia Chuan, former Minister of the Propaganda Department of the Eighteenth Army, introduced in an event in Tibet in 2019:
This is a pier and a monument.
Lu Jibing said that when the Nu River Bridge was built, an 18th Army soldier fell into the bridge pier more than ten meters due to fatigue due to continuous work, and the concrete quickly solidified. The comrades tried every means. Failing to rescue him, he finally built him into the bridge pier with tears.
After that, many car soldiers honked their horns when they passed this bridge pier on the Nu River, lit a cigarette, rolled down the windows of the cars, and cast them into the canyon outside the windows.
The soldiers whistle and smoke, remembering the martyrs in the bridge pier.
The picture shows the Nu River Bridge.
In addition to the famous Nujiang Bridge on Sichuan-Tibet Highway, many bridges have been built several times.
The picture shows the Tongmai Bridge in 2013.
The picture shows the Tongmai Bridge in 2020.
The first two generations of suspension bridges are located under the new bridge.
The Yulonggou Bridge on the “Tongmai Tianxian” section of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway.
Today's "bridge-tunnel combination",
Let the former natural hazards become history.
Bridge to Medog
It is worth mentioning that even China's last county with highway access, Motuo County, Tibet, has modern bridges.
Medog Highway. (Photographed in 2013)
Alpine waterfalls and bridges along the Medog Highway.
The Simo River Bridge on the Medog Highway.
In 2013, the Medog Highway was opened to traffic, with a total length of 117.3 kilometers and a total investment of 1.6 billion yuan.
During this period, the builders continued to solve technical problems such as avalanches, landslides, and mudslides, and extended and advanced bridges and highways to Medog, known as "plateau islands."
Steel bridge on the Medog Highway.
The picture shows the suspension bridge in Medog County.
Bridge of Beauty
In addition to the magnificent history of building bridges, countless bridges that cross "natural dangers", the magnificent scenic bridges in Tibet are too numerous to mention. Among them, Lalin high-grade highway is known as "walking Jiuzhaigou" ...
The picture shows the Sandat Bridge on Lhasa Airport Expressway.
Overlook the bridge in Linzhi Niyang River Valley in Tibet.
The night view of Liuwushun River Bridge on Lhasa South Ring Road.
Labut high-level highway Dobut bridge. (Photo by Zhao Lang, China News Agency)
Today, Tibet is building high-grade highways in Lana (Lhasa to Nagqu), Lhasa (Lhasa to Shigatse), and highways such as the S5 line (Lhasa to Zedang Expressway).
Except that the tunnel is a bridge, the high ratio of bridge to tunnel is the main feature of these new highway projects.
Therefore, there are currently many bridges under construction in Tibet.
Bridge under construction on the high-grade highway from Lhasa to Nagqu.
The picture shows the viaduct of the S5 line from Lhasa to Shannan.
The highway viaduct currently under construction in Tibet.
At present, the construction site of the Tibet Thermal Bridge in the Lhasa River City section.
Nearly 70 years of construction,
Tibet, with an average altitude above 4000 meters,
Realized the "Million Bridge Flying Frame",
The sky is changing.
Reporter: Jiang Feibo
The pictures in this manuscript, except for the signature, were taken by reporter Jiang Feibo