The "crossing" life of the zipline sisters
●The mountainous area of Nujiang Prefecture exceeds 98%. The north-south direction in the territory is distributed with Lika Mountain, Dulong River, Gaoligong Mountain, Nujiang River, Biluo Snow Mountain, Lancang River, and Yunling Mountain, forming the alpine and canyon landform of "four mountains sandwiching three rivers".
In addition to living in poverty, what makes Yu Chunhua and Yu Caimei especially memorable is the zipline
●The photos of sisters ziplining across the river to school have attracted people's attention.
In particular, after the deeds of "the zipline doctor" Deng Qiandui were reported in 2011, the problems of the Nujiang people's difficulty in crossing the river and traveling have attracted social attention.
The state has decided to implement "ziplines to bridges" on the ziplines on the Nujiang and Lancang rivers
●With the bridge, the highway leads to the village, and the problems of students in countless villages in the canyon, such as difficulty in reading, difficulty in seeing a doctor for the elderly, and difficulty in industrial development, have been solved, and the process of agricultural and rural modernization has embarked on a fast track.
Sisters Yu Chunhua and Yu Caimei, like the vast number of villagers on both sides of the strait, have become the beneficiaries of the "zip line to bridge"
Our reporters Wang Changshan, Ji Zhepeng, Zhao Peiran
Fifteen years ago, a photographer recorded such a moment: Yu Chunhua and Yu Caimei from Nujiang Prefecture, Yunnan Province leaned against each other, crossed the Nujiang River on a zipline, and went to school on the other side. Above, the river below is turbulent.
The picture is heart-wrenching and shocking, and it has also attracted the attention of countless people.
Today, the local Hongqiao flyover has turned the moat into a thoroughfare.
One of the two sisters became a nurse, and the other grew grass and fruit at home to develop an industry. Crossing the river either took a car or a motorcycle instead of a zipline.
The lives of the two sisters have achieved a "leapfrog", and the zipline that accompanied them throughout their childhood and adolescence has withdrawn from the "stage" of traffic and has become a "living fossil" for the development of the Grand Canyon by leaps and bounds.
Zipline Years: Heartbreaking
Yu Chunhua and Yu Caimei are cousins. Their home is in the Qiaomaga villager group of Majimi Village, Maji Township, Fugong County, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province.
Once, the zipline connecting the two banks of the Nu River became a lingering imprint in the memory of the local villagers. The sisters' childhood and youth were "hanging" on a pair of steel ropes that went back and forth.
Nujiang Prefecture covers more than 98% of the mountainous area. From north to south, there are Lika Mountain, Dulong River, Gaoligong Mountain, Nujiang River, Biluo Snow Mountain, Lancang River and Yunling Mountain in turn, forming a alpine and canyon landform of "four mountains sandwiching three rivers".
"There is a gap in the sky, and a ditch in the ground. The cattle and sheep eat grass and have no way to walk, and the monkeys cross the cliff to shed tears." Because of the mountains and crisscrossing rivers, it is difficult to travel and cross the river, hindering people's footsteps.
The Qiaomaga villager group is located on the west bank of the rushing Nujiang River, with more than a dozen families scattered on the hillside.
In the past, the villagers lived in simple houses with bamboo strips as walls and thatched roofs, and their life was very tight.
"A piece of clothing can be worn for several years. Many school bags and clothes for school are donated by caring people." Yu Chunhua and Yu Caimei, who were born in 1998, said that they grow some corn at home and often eat corn porridge. They can't eat meat several times a year. , and no income.
In addition to living in poverty, the sisters are particularly fond of the zipline.
The township government is located on the other side of the river. The villagers go to do errands and go to the market. Children have to cross the Nu River to go to school. The villagers on both sides of the river have to climb a mountain road for several hours to meet each other.
At this time, the zipline built by the Nujiang River is a convenient means of transportation. It is used to visit relatives, buy things, go to school, and even to visit doctors.
Zipline has been with the sisters for as long as I can remember.
When they were in the first and second grades of elementary school, their parents tied the two of them with themselves to zip across the river because of their young age.
In the third grade of elementary school, Yu Chunhua and Yu Caimei only started ziplining by themselves.
"The wind is whistling in my ears, and the river is so high that my heart is in my throat." In Yu Chunhua's memory, when she crossed the zipline for the first time, she was extremely frightened, but in order to go to school, she bravely crossed the river.
Once, when Yu Chunhua was crossing the river, something happened to Liu Bang, and she stopped when she slipped in the middle.
The river wind whistled, the zipline swayed, and the waves were choppy under her feet, and she suddenly hung in the air like this.
There was no way, Yu Chunhua stretched out her hands, clenched the steel rope tightly, and exchanged her hands to pull herself forward and slide forward.
It took her a long time to get to the shore, her hand was pierced by the burr on the steel rope, and she cried in pain.
Yu Chunhua still has a fresh memory of this distress.
Some villagers fell on a big rock in the river while crossing the zipline and broke their waist. At night, the rope broke while crossing the zipline and fell into the river... These sad stories are still unforgettable for the villagers on both sides of the Nu River.
"Because the zipline has low overload capacity and high risk, it is difficult to calculate the loss of personnel and property." A cadre of the transportation department of Nujiang Prefecture said that once a mother and son crossed the river, the mother reached the other side of the river, but the child fell into the river and drowned.
In 2007, 9-year-old Yu Chunhua and Yu Caimei hung bangs on the bank of the river as usual, ready to zip across the river. A photographer recorded the process of zipping across the river.
"I have to slip hundreds of times a year." Yu Chunhua said, the people outside looked very exciting, but actually it was very helpless to cross the zipline. If there is a bridge and a road, who would go on an adventure on the steel rope?
In this way, accompanied by the zipline, Yu Chunhua and Yu Caimei finished elementary school and junior high school...
Hongqiao flyover: on the smooth road
Photos of sisters ziplining across the river to school have drawn attention to Yu Chunhua and Yu Caimei.
In particular, after the deeds of "the zipline doctor" Deng Qiandui were reported in 2011, the problems of the Nujiang people's difficulty in crossing the river and traveling have attracted social attention.
The state has decided to implement "replacement of ziplines with bridges" on ziplines on the Nu River and Lancang River.
Subsequently, the "zip line to bridge" on the Nu River was completed as planned.
In 2013, the Ministry of Transport and the former State Council Poverty Alleviation Office organized a nationwide zipline survey, and decided to implement 309 "ziplines to bridges" projects in seven provinces (autonomous regions) including Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang. , to help people in remote mountainous areas in the west say goodbye to the "zipline era".
With the support of the country and all walks of life, the hometowns of Yu Chunhua and Yu Caimei have also ushered in changes.
With the care and support of Yunnan Daily Newspaper Group, the long-awaited Qiao Ma Bridge was started on March 20, 2018 and completed on December 30 of that year, which completely ended the production and life of Qiao Ma Ga villagers' group by ziplining. The situation of crossing the river.
From the Qiaomaga zip line up the river, there are three river-crossing bridges, including a man-horse suspension bridge, a tractor suspension bridge, and a car suspension bridge, within one or two kilometers, and the road to the village has been hardened.
The zipline that sisters Yu Chunhua and Yu Caimei used to ride on has ceased to be used. Both ends of the rusted steel cable are wrapped and closed by wire fences, and they are also covered by lush bamboo.
"The bridge is open, and the road is repaired to the door. It is very convenient to take a car or motorcycle." Yu Chunhua said, looking at the rusted zipline and the bridge where cars come and go, the zipline has not been used for several years.
In Nujiang Prefecture, 42 pairs of ziplines have been transformed into 36 bridges across the river. "Crossing the river by ziplines" has become history, and the ziplines preserved for tourism experience have become "living fossils" to witness the development and changes of transportation.
More than 140 bridges across the rivers have been built on the Nu River, Lancang River and Dulong River.
Walking between the canyons, different types of bridges come into view constantly, as if walking into a bridge museum.
Yu Chunhua said, we don't have to cross the river on a zipline, and our children won't be on a zipline anymore. Everyone really has a smooth road.
Poverty Alleviation: The Taste of Happiness
With the bridge, the road leads to the village, and the problems of students in countless villages like Majimi Village in the canyon have been solved, such as difficulty in reading for students, difficulty in seeing a doctor for the elderly, and difficulty in industrial development, and the process of agricultural and rural modernization has embarked on a fast track.
Sisters Yu Chunhua and Yu Caimei, like the vast number of villagers on both sides of the strait, have become the beneficiaries of the "zip line to bridge".
Majimi Village once had 168 registered households with 591 people, and all of them will be lifted out of poverty in 2020.
More than 11,000 mu of grass and fruit are planted in the village, which has become a "golden fruit" for Yu Caimei and other villagers to increase their income.
Walking into Majimi Village, the cement streets are clean and tidy, street lamps are standing in front of the villagers' houses, cars and motorcycles are parked in the yard, and the front door hanging on the outer wall of the house is responsible for the "three guarantees" of environmental sanitation, landscaping and order. The branding attracts attention.
After graduating from junior high school, Yu Caimei returned to the village and now lives in an earthquake-resistant housing on the second floor, saying goodbye to the thatched house.
The husband and wife grow grass fruit and dendrobium, and the family earns 50,000 to 60,000 yuan a year, plus part-time income.
"The boy is less than half a year old, and the girl is more than two years old." Yu Caimei said that her two children have caught up with the good times, unlike when she was a child who had to cross the river on a zipline.
"Life is much better now than before." In her spare time, Caimei Yu swiped her phone, played Douyin, took some scenery to show, and chatted with her sister on WeChat.
She hopes that the grass she grows will bear more fruit, the price will be high, and the life will get better and better.
A small two-story building with brown painted walls and a sign on the door of Majimi Village's e-commerce public service point logistics and distribution point.
Yu Chunhua's home is located high in the village, a few streets away from Yu Caimei's home.
Walking into the house, the large TV in the living room is very eye-catching, the "wedding photos" of the couple in the ancient city of Lijiang are posted on the wall, and a long electric massage chair is placed next to the bed in the bedroom.
"It's a gift from buying a big bed and other furniture." Yu Chunhua was very proud.
Yu Chunhua graduated from junior high school and was admitted to the nursing major of Chinese medicine secondary school.
After graduation, she worked in a clinic in Kunming. Later, she quit her job and returned to her hometown to help her family grow grass and fruit.
In 2018, she passed the entrance examination of the township health center and became a nurse.
That year, Qiaoma Bridge was under construction, she often went to the construction site to watch, looking forward to the bridge's early completion.
"When the bridge opened to traffic, I was at work, and I didn't come to the scene to witness the grand occasion." Yu Chunhua is full of regret when she talks about it now.
After the bridge was completed, Yu Chunhua said goodbye to the zipline, and life took the fast lane.
Now, a large room has been vacated at home, with shelves and computers, and it has become a transit point for express delivery. Her husband, Li Jianquan, is busy receiving and sending goods.
In addition to developing industries such as grass, fruit and medicinal materials, the family also bought a van, and Li Jianquan also took care of sports cars to make money.
Yu Chunhua is in charge of maternal health care and child health care in the hospital. She often rides a motorcycle across the bridge and runs around the villages on both sides of the river.
"Last year, the family's total income was nearly 100,000 yuan. I hope that my family's e-commerce work will get better and better, and I will pass the nurse qualification certificate exam." Yu Chunhua said.
"It's really a life that I never imagined before." In their spare time, the sisters walked across the river holding hands on the bridge, stopping from time to time, leaning on the railing, looking at the old zipline, and blowing the river breeze.