Wuhan, Hubei Province Scenes

9. Yangzi Bridge in Wuhan

The project of building the First Yangtze River Bridge was regarded as one of the key projects during the period of the first five-year plan. The Engineering Bureau of the First Yangtze River Bridge, set up by the Ministry of Railway in April 1953, was responsible for the design and construction of the bridge. The document "Resolutions on Building the First Yangtze River Bridge" was passed in the 203rd conference of State Council on 15 January 1954. The technical conference on the routes of the bridge, was held in Hankou on 15 January 1955, determined that the route from Tortoise Hill to Snake Hill was the best choice. On 25 October, the bridge construction was underway. The same day in 1957 the whole project was completed and an opening-to-traffic ceremony was held on 15 October. The whole bridge was 1670 m long, of which the superstratum was a highway with a width of 22.5 m and the substratum was a double-line railway with a width of 18 m. The bridge proper was 1156 m long with two pairs of eight piers and nine arches with a space of 128 m between each arch. Thanks to the First Yangtze River Bridge, Beijing-Wuhan and Guangdong-Wuhan railways were available and any place could be reached from Wuchang, Hankou to Hanyang. Thus Wuhan was a thoroughfare to nine provinces not only in reality but in name as well.