According to incomplete statistics, the main engineering technicians engaged in Yunnan-Myanmar Highway are: chief designer, deputy chief engineer, deputy chief engineer, acting foreman li wenping (Tangshan Jiaotong University, now Southwest Jiaotong University, class 1935), deputy director of Yunnan-Myanmar Highway Bureau Lu, director of Works Bureau, chief engineer Gong (Tangshan Jiaotong University, class 1923), and director of Engineering Department Li (. 1class 923), bridge director Qian, chief of design unit of bridge engineering department (Tangshan Jiaotong University 1937), chief of technical works section of Shimonoseki General Administration Zhou Zanbang (Tangshan Jiaotong University 19 1), engineer Wang (Shanghai Jiaotong University1class 935) Yin (Tangshan Jiaotong University 1933 class), Xu In addition, Zhao Zukang (Tangshan Jiaotong University, 1922), Xu (Fudan University, 1928), Xia Shunshen (Harbin Institute of Technology, 1930), and Comprehensive Highway Management of the Ministry of Communications.
The General Office of Yunnan-Myanmar Highway trains some young intellectuals who have drifted to Kunming to learn about geography and geology in a short time, learn how to speed up the progress of highway engineering, smooth the road surface with gravel, slowly pull the curve into a straight line, reduce sharp bends and steep slopes, improve the drainage system, and how to build a bridge with a load of not less than 10 tons. This kind of crash training is amazing. But in that urgent era, young people with high passion for the war of resistance against Japan produced amazing learning efficiency. Later, they honed into technical backbones in the construction of the Yunnan-Myanmar highway and created miracles on the Yunnan-Myanmar highway. Later, groups of technicians crossed the enemy-occupied areas, ventured through the Japanese blockade, and traveled long distances to Kunming in the mountainous areas of Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan. Many people have run out of money halfway and pawned their carry-on luggage and clothes all the way to Kunming. Some people died of fatigue and weakness during the journey.
Another obvious problem is the lack of mechanical equipment, which makes the project more dependent on the manual operation of tens of thousands of workers. Because of the tight time and the deterioration of the war situation, the original construction project had to use the most primitive methods. On almost all sections of the road, laborers carry dirt and stones with baskets brought from their own homes. On the 959.4-kilometer-long road section, this way of ants moving is often adopted. At the end of 1937, about 200,000 laborers from nearly 30 counties along the Yunnan-Myanmar Highway were recruited to the highway. Most of these people are old people, women and children, because most young and middle-aged people have been recruited into the army. This is probably the strangest road-building army in the world. There are all kinds of nationalities here. They are dressed in blue homespun, and only a few men are strong laborers. Others are women, the elderly and many children. Children bring their own pets: dogs, chickens and parrots with long tails. In Dai areas, children who come to work with adults will also take monkeys.
Because of the urgency of the construction task, the national government put forward the policy of "getting through first and then doing well" It is strictly forbidden that all counties along the highway must start construction before the end of 1937, and a simple highway that can barely be opened to traffic will be built within three months.
At the end of August, 1938, with the efforts of 200,000 people, the world-famous Yunnan-Myanmar Highway was finally opened to traffic. On September 2nd, Yunnan Daily published an editorial entitled "Yunnan-Myanmar Highway Completed". At that time, almost all the newspapers in the Kuomintang-controlled areas reported this extremely exciting news, which also shocked the whole world. The American ambassador to China once said after going to Chongqing via the Burma Road: It is admirable that the Kuomintang government in China can complete this arduous project in a short time. The construction of Yunnan-Myanmar highway is extremely short of material conditions, first of all, the lack of machinery, and second, purely relying on human development. It all depends on the fighting spirit of the people along the way, which is beyond the reach of any nation in the world.
Road suppression process
During the war, the roller was a big stone roller. The height of the stone mill is about 1.8 m, and its weight varies from place to place, generally between 3-5 tons. If the quarry is nearby, people will make wood from the land. But more is to go far away to find stone production. In this case, how to make the stone run on the road itself is very difficult. Many stone mills are pulled out of the jungle and mountains by laborers pushing and pulling their shoulders.
It is easier to master the stone roll when going uphill. However, due to the huge inertia generated when the stone mill went downhill, many terrible accidents occurred; Workers who have no time to escape are often crushed to death by uncontrolled stone mills. Occasionally, children are crushed to death. After more than half a century, it is hard to see this kind of big stone roller along the Yunnan-Myanmar highway.
Repair process
During the three years from 1939 to 1942, more than 13000 cars were rushed back to China on the Yunnan-Myanmar highway. With the car, the problem of serious shortage of drivers is highlighted. At this time, overseas Chinese living in Southeast Asia extended a helping hand to the motherland. The leader of overseas Chinese at that time was Mr. Chen Jiageng. Chen Jiageng is the most admired overseas Chinese in the 20th century, largely because he made extraordinary contributions to the motherland during his stay in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. After the outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Chen Jiageng has repeatedly donated huge sums of money to buy war materials. He also used his influence in the overseas Chinese community in Southeast Asia to raise a large amount of funds and materials for the Anti-Japanese War, and organized a large number of overseas Chinese youths to return to China to participate in the war.
Upon learning that there was an urgent need for a large number of automobile drivers and repairmen on the Yunnan-Myanmar Highway, Chen Jiageng immediately published the Sixth Passage of the South Overseas Chinese Federation on February 8 1939, calling on young overseas Chinese drivers and technicians to return to China to serve and join the motherland in the war of resistance. This announcement soon spread all over Southeast Asia. At that time, 365,438+092 drivers and repairmen from overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia volunteered to serve in China. They are known as the "South Overseas Chinese Technician Returning Service Group". From February 1939 to August 1939, Nanqiao technicians went to the motherland in nine batches. All the Nanqiao mechanics who returned to China have been trained in Kunming Panjiawan Automobile Training School for two months, learning geography, politics, military affairs, air defense and other courses.
The road in Yunnan is difficult to walk. It used to be famous all over Nanyang. In the past, most of these drivers drove in cities. After coming to Yunnan, especially on the Yunnan-Myanmar highway, overseas Chinese drivers have to learn how to drive on rugged mountain roads from scratch. The Yunnan-Myanmar Highway has promoted the prosperity of the transportation industry in the rear area. At that time, the Southwest Ministry of Transport had a transport brigade above 10 regiment with nearly 10,000 vehicles. They mainly transport military materials, such as weapons and ammunition, vehicle machinery, gasoline, supplies and military clothing. They are the main transport forces on the Yunnan-Burma Highway. On this life line of the Anti-Japanese War, there are thousands of government units, private transportation companies and even three or four families buying a truck to run and transport.
With a large number of mainland government agencies, industrial and commercial enterprises, universities and countless refugees retreating to the rear area, Kunming has developed rapidly, and governments of various countries have also opened consulates in Kunming. Kunming, an ancient and quiet city, suddenly became the most prosperous and international metropolis in the Kuomintang-controlled area.
Numerous transportation companies have sprung up along Kunming and Yunnan-Myanmar Highway almost overnight. These companies have bought a large number of cars and put them into busy transportation business. They imported a lot of cotton yarn, cloth, auto parts and all available consumer goods from Myanmar and shipped them back to China. Profits are quite rich, which is the golden age of businessmen. At that time, cars on the Yunnan-Myanmar highway rushed to transport materials around the clock, forming a very rare tense transportation situation in which every second counts.
At that time, there were many kinds of vehicles driving on the Yunnan-Myanmar highway, and almost everyone often heard such a term; Three tons of Chevrolet, three tons of Ford, 3.5 tons of Dodge, 4.5 tons of Grand International and so on. These are all trucks produced in the United States that year. The golden age of the Yunnan-Myanmar Highway did not last long. From the beginning, the Japanese deliberately wanted to cut off the Yunnan-Myanmar highway. By cutting off this international communication line, China's material supply can be cut off, forcing the National Government to surrender.
1940 During the Japanese occupation, the entire Yunnan-Myanmar highway based in Vietnam was bombed. To this end, the Japanese army also established the "Burma Road Blockade Committee".
From 1940 to 10. In less than six months, the Japanese * * * dispatched more than 400 sorties to bomb these bridges. After each bombing, the engineering repair team stationed on the bridge will repair the bridge in time. Many of these people who are responsible for repairing bridges are engineers and technicians who built bridges in those years. Sometimes the bomb is still exploding, and they start to repair it before the air raid is over.
194 1 year 65438+1on October 23rd, Japanese planes bombed Chang Gan bridge for the fourth time, and the bridge was completely destroyed. To this end, Radio Television Tokyo proudly declared: "The Yunnan-Myanmar Highway has been cut off and there is no hope of opening to traffic within three months." Many people in China heard about it on Japanese radio. The whole rear area was immediately alarmed, and the engineers and technicians of the Ministry of Communications of the National Government rushed to repair the Yunnan-Myanmar Highway day and night, so that it should be opened to traffic as soon as possible.
But a dramatic scene appeared. Shortly after the urgent telegram sent by the Ministry of Communications, a telegram was received from the bridge repair team, saying that the motorcade on the Yunnan-Myanmar highway once again crossed the choppy Lancang River, and the whole road remained unblocked.
It turned out that as early as two months ago, local engineers and technicians predicted that the bridge might be completely destroyed by the increasingly frequent Japanese air strikes. They found some empty petrol cans, and every 70 empty petrol cans were connected together and covered with wooden boards, which became a simple ferry. After the car goes up, the ferry pulls back and forth on both sides with steel cables until the bridge is repaired.