113-430: The Baoji–Chengdu railway , Baocheng railway or Baocheng Line was formerly designed as a rail line that connects Tianshui and Chengdu called Tianshui-Chengdu railway ( simplified Chinese : 天水—成都铁路 ; traditional Chinese : 天水—成都鐵路 ; pinyin : Tiānshuǐ Chéngdū Tiělù ) or Tiancheng railway ( simplified Chinese : 天成线 ; traditional Chinese : 天成線 ; pinyin : Tiān Chéng Xiàn ). The line
226-581: A novel basing on his interview and experiences at the construction site of the line in 1955 autumn. The work was once copied to Mandarin Chinese textbooks in some regions. In 2008, Fengxian transformed the abandoned tunnels after the 1980s flood to scenic spots for tourism. Xujiaping, a town in Lüeyang County, cooperates with China Railway Xi'an Group to transform ruins of tunnels and railroads for cultural zones. The ruins now have been listed as
339-769: A taxi in Baoji to enter Guanyinshan railway station of the line on 20 May. Police officer in the station, along with station operators, found them 2 suspicious and brought them back to the duty room. The 2 criminals suddenly shot the 3 in-station workers and fled into the mountains. Public Security Bureau in Shaanxi made immediate urgent plans after receiving the call of help and ask for the assistance from counterparts in Sichuan and Gansu. The 2 wanted got arrested at 3.45 p.m. on 22 May in Baoji and all firearms are handed out. China Railway Xi'an Group intended to preserve only 2 trains on
452-614: A General Staff report commissioned by deputy chief Yang Chengwu which evaluated the distribution of Chinese industry, noted that they were primarily concentrated in 14 major coastal cities which were vulnerable to nuclear attack or air raids, and recommended that the General Staff research measures to guard against a sudden attack. Major transportation hubs, bridges, ports and some dams were close to these major cities. Destruction of these infrastructures could lead to disastrous consequences. This evaluation prompted Mao to advocate for
565-577: A Party Work Conference in May 1973 resolved to re-direct state investment efforts from the Third Front to the northeast and the coastal regions, the Third Front was no longer the country's most critical economic objective. Agriculture and light industry became more important priorities. As Reform and Opening Up began in 1978, China began to gradually wind down Third Front projects with a "shut down, cease, merge, transform, and move" strategy. In 1984,
678-800: A lake formed from heaven, which would remain the same size year round. Tianshui is located in the valley of the Jie River, a major tributary of the Wei River , and on the boundary between the Loess Plateau and Qinling Mountains . The city has a monsoon -influenced, cool semi-arid ( Köppen BSk )/ humid continental ( Dwa ) climate, with four distinct seasons of comparatively equal length. Winters are cold but dry, with January 24-hour average temperature of −1.5 °C (29.3 °F), while summers are warm and somewhat humid, with July 24-hour average temperature of 23.2 °C (73.8 °F). Much of
791-498: A means necessary for socialist development given the level of China's development at the time. In mobilizing and recruiting workers for Third Front Projects, the Party instructed recruiters to "take Mao's strategic thought as the guiding principle, teach employees to consider the big picture, resolutely obey the needs of the country, take pride in supporting Third Front construction ... and help solve employees' concrete problems." In
904-485: A plan about the provincial multi-layer rail transit system in 2021 and mentioned that a total length of 24.1 km and 10 stations on the Baoji-Chengdu Railway would be transformed to fit for a metro-styled operation, with trains traveling with smaller coaches but shorter intervals. This plan also mentioned that the maximum speed of the line's Chengdu-Qingbaijiang section would be increased to 160 km/h owing to
1017-463: A provincial site for preservation.China Railway Xi'an Group also built museums and theme parks regarding the line near Qinling railway station on 18 May 2022. Baoji Locomotive Maintenance Factory held the 2nd National Stamp Collecting Exhibition on Rail Cultures with the aim of celebrating the 65th anniversary of the line's official operations in April 2023. The exhibition was also intended to celebrate
1130-512: A race against time with American imperialism and Soviet revisionism." Policymakers adopted military-style thinking, framing project selection in the rhetoric of "choos[ing] the proper targets to attack" and "concentrat[ing] forces to wage wars of annihilation" on a focused number of projects. Workers themselves often linked their tasks to broader conflicts, for example describing the drilling of tunnels as an act in opposition to "American wolves," thereby advancing "the people of Vietnam's war " with
1243-531: A strategic rear for retreat, and we should be prepared to go into the mountains [to become guerilla]. We need a place like this. The "Big Third Front" ( da sanxian ) included the Northwest and Southwest provinces like Qinghai, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan. In comparison, the "First Front" was composed of the major cities from Manchuria down to the Pearl River Delta and the "Second Front" referred to
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#17327719572201356-400: A total length of 1,439 m and 10 culverts of 657 m had been built in Sichuan until late 1957 to improve the before-operation situation. Xi'an Group, Chengdu Group and Lanzhou Group of MOR, in line with the principle of "opening first and then consolidating, taking care of the future", took measures to restore and reinforce the damaged bridges and roadbeds along the line after the 1981 flood on
1469-579: A war, while China's population and industries were concentrated on the east coast. As one of his inspirations for the Third Front, Mao cited the negative example of Chiang Kai-Shek 's failure to establish sufficient industry away from the coast prior to the Second Sino-Japanese war , resulting in the Nationalist government being forced to retreat to a small inland industrial base in the face of Japanese invasion. In April 1964, Mao read
1582-636: A writer from Hebei , published The Rainbow Bridge ( simplified Chinese : 《彩桥》 ; traditional Chinese : 「彩橋」 ; pinyin : Cǎiqiáo ), a 1500-row narrative poetry in July 1957 basing on stories of bridge construction in the Baocheng Line. In 1958, Du Pengcheng, another domestic writer, published A Night Walk in Lingguanxia ( simplified Chinese : 《夜走灵官峡》 ; traditional Chinese : 「夜走靈官峽」 ; pinyin : Yèzǒu Língguānxiá ),
1695-531: Is a prefecture-level city in Gansu province , China , and is the province's second-largest city (behind the provincial capital Lanzhou ). Located in the southeast of the province, the city strides along the upper reaches of the Wei River and at the boundary of the Loess Plateau and the Qinling Mountains . As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,984,659 inhabitants, of which 1,212,791 lived in
1808-586: Is a mixed single- and double-track , electrified , 676-kilometer railroad in China between Baoji in Shaanxi province and Chengdu in Sichuan province. The line finished construction on 12 July 1956 and the operation began on 1 January 1958. The rail line is also the first one throughout China to get electrified. The Baoji- Guangyuan section of the line is under the control of China Railway Xi'an Group , and
1921-592: Is located near the built up area. Tianshui is currently serviced by Tianshui railway station on the Longhai Railway . The railway station is connected to downtown by the Tianshui Tram . A new high-speed railway station, Tianshui South railway station , opened in 2017. The Tianshui–Longnan railway is currently under construction and will add a north–south link to the county. The Lianyungang–Khorgas Expressway connects Tianshui to Baoji/Xi'an in
2034-428: Is reflected in the slogans at the time such as “Choose the best people and best horses for the Third Front," “prepare for war, prepare for famine, for the people” ( 备战备荒, 为人民 ; bèizhàn bèihuāng, wéi rénmín ), and "dig tunnels deep, store grain everywhere, never hegemony." Incomplete statistics show that between 1964 and 1970, 380 large projects, 145 thousand workers and 38 thousand units of equipment, were moved from
2147-486: The Daqing oilfield and use revolutionary spirit to overcome all difficulties." The Party did not attempt to hide the challenges of working on the Third Front, however, and told local officials to "speak clearly about the difficulties, not boast, and not make empty promises." Because Chinese policymakers believed that the risks of invasion from foreign powers were imminent, Third Front workers were instructed to "engage in
2260-742: The Emperor Wu of the Han separated the region as the Tianshui Commandery in 114 BC as part of his expansion towards the Tarim Basin . The general Li Guang came from the city. The Han conquests and explorations eventually resulted in the development of the Northern Silk Road : Tianshui formed its junction with the Wei River , after which it followed the road past Mount Long to Chang'an (present-day Xi'an ). Nearby are
2373-708: The Maijishan Grottoes , filled with thousands of Buddhist sculptures representing figures such as Buddha and the original male form of Guanyin , produced between the Wei and Song dynasties by monks travelling along the road and by local Buddhists. During the Northern Wei , the city was known as Hanyang and was the center of the Hanyang Commandery. During the Western Wei , this name
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#17327719572202486-687: The Nationalist government , preparing for the Second Sino-Japanese War , drafted a policy to move industries to Northwest and Southwest of the country, in particular to develop the mining and heavy industry. Although the policy laid the seeds of industrial development in the Northwest, during the Civil War development eventually died down. After the failure of the Great Leap Forward , China's leadership slowed
2599-561: The Third Five-Year Plan should “solve the problems of food, clothes, and other life necessities” (jiejue chichuanyong). Zhou Enlai , in his report of the State Council on March 28, also reported that “[the government] should put agriculture in the primary place of the nation's economy. The economic planning should follow the priorities such that agriculture comes first, light industries comes next, heavy industries have
2712-576: The Third Front and played a key role in the fundamental supplies for the cities within the plan.The openings of Xi'an-Chengdu Highspeed Railway on 6 December 2017 made the number of passenger trains on the start-from-Baoji line decrease to roughly 20. In Baoji, the line meets the Longhai railway , on which trains can travel east to Xi'an and the Central Plains or west to Lanzhou and
2825-641: The northwest , and Baoji-Zhongchuan railway. At Yangpingguan , the line intersects with the Yang'an railway which branches eastward along the Han River Valley. In Chengdu, the line connects with the Chengyu Line to Chongqing, Chengqian Line to Guizhou, and Chengkun Line to Kunming. The line meets Xi'an-Chengdu Highspeed Railway and Lanzhou-Chongqing railway in Guangyuan. The Baocheng line
2938-475: The subgrade sink which was caused by the mountain shifts. The construction finished in 1986. On 21 June 1984, a seat coach was attacked by 3 rocks that fell from a mountain in Wangjiatuo-Lesuhe section, as 5 passengers got injured and coach windows got demolished. 2008 Sichuan earthquake denied Tunnel No. 109 on the line, in which an oil tank coach exploded after being hit by a falling rock due to
3051-401: The 1965 to 1980 period was 20.52 billion RMB (the equivalent of the equivalent of US$ 2.5 billion). From 1964-1974, China invested more than 40% of its industrial capacity in Third Front regions. Ultimately, construction of the Third Front cost accounting for more than a third of China's spending over the 15 year period in which the Third Front construction occurred. The Third Front was
3164-596: The Economic Commission issued regulations for projects which were being relocated to the Third Front, mandating that all relocated projects had to be approved by the central Party and that none could be approved by local governments themselves. Administrative changes occurred in February 1965, as the State Council further consolidated central control of the Third Front construction. It converted
3277-622: The First Front, that new projects should be built concealed in the mountains, and that industrial enterprises, research institutes, and universities should be moved to the Third Front. Every Third Front project was a state-owned enterprise. The most significant Small Third Front Project was Shanghai's. At its largest, the Shanghai Small Front had 54,000 workers, 17,000 families, and 81 work units. The "rear base" in Anhui
3390-641: The Guiyang-Kunming lines linked all southwest provincial capitals using rail for the first time. The Xiangfan-Chongqing and Hunan-Guizhou connected the central and western provinces by rail for the first time. Chinese policy-makers determined that vehicle manufacturing should be advanced, and therefore the First Automotive Works transferred a third of its workforce to develop the Second Automobile Works as part of
3503-617: The PLA's enforcement of political discipline and suppression of the factions that had emerged during the Cultural Revolution. Those who did not return to work would be viewed as engaging in "splittist activities" ( fenlie huodong ) which risked undermining preparations to defend China from potential invasion. The perceived necessity of rushing construction in preparation for foreign invasion, along with constraints on resources, resulted in defects in many Third Front projects. Among
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3616-494: The Party established centralized organizations to direct the Third Front construction. The highest Third Front-specific administrative body was the Third Front Construction Support and Examination Small Group , which was tasked with providing physical and financial resources for the building of the Third Front. This Small Group was led by Economic Commission Vice Director Gu Mu . It also formed
3729-523: The Planning Commission recommended that the First and Second Fronts no longer view supporting the Third Front as their "primary task," instead downgrading the Third Front assistance to an "important task." The Planning Commission also stated concerns about the amount of Third Front funding leading to neglect of heavy industry elsewhere, as well as insufficient investment in agriculture. After
3842-641: The Small Third Front). Other key leadership, including Deng Xiaoping, Liu Shaoqi , and Li Fuchun, did not fully support the notion of the Third Front. Instead, they continued to emphasize the coastal development and consumer focus pursuant to the Third Five Year Plan. In their view, small-scale commerce should be emphasized to raise the standard of living. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident on August 2, 1964, however, quickly changed
3955-717: The Southwest Railroad Construction headquarters to oversee railroad development. Another body, the Southwest Third Front Preparatory Small Group, was established to oversee regional construction and planning. It was led by Li Jingquan . It in turn established a planning group to administer the industrial complex being developed in Panzhihua and another planning group to administer conventional weapons production around Chongqing. On December 1, 1964,
4068-651: The State Council issued a report concluding that 48% of Third Front enterprises still had marketable products and favorable business prospects. In the Seventh Five-Year Plan between 1986 and 1990, Third Front plants not making a profit were allowed to shut down. Some Third Front plants moved out of the mountains and caves to nearby small and medium sized cities where the geography and transportation were less difficult. Plants with workshops spread across many places gathered in one place. Third Front plants, especially military plants, were encouraged to produce for
4181-608: The Third Five Year Plan, consistent with its changing focus to preparations for the possibility that "the imperialists [would] launch an aggressive war against China." The hallmark of the Third Front Movement was a strategic shift to China's interior. On August 12, 1964, Zhou Enlai approved enormous industrial development in southwest China: Panzhihua Iron and Steel (in Sichuan), Liupanshui coal mines (in Guizhou), and
4294-837: The Third Front Preparatory Small Group into the Southwest Third Front Commission and required it to work with central ministries in fulfilling needs for labor, equipment, and building materials. The State Council put this Commission within the Economic Commission's supervision and then within the jurisdiction of the Infrastructure Committee when it was created in March 1965. In an August 19, 1965 report, Li Fuchun , Bo Yibo and Luo Ruiqing suggested that no new projects should be constructed in major cities in
4407-444: The Third Front construction, the fourteen largest cities in China's potentially vulnerable regions included approximately 60% of the country's manufacturing, 50% of its chemical industries, and 52% of its national defense industries. In particular, the northeast was China's industrial center. China's population centers were concentrated in eastern coastal areas where they would be vulnerable to attack by air or water. In constructing
4520-477: The Third Front railroad projects built between 1969 and 1971, all but the Chengdu-Kunming railway suffered from major defects. Three such projects were completed in the early 1970s but still not fully operational until the late 1970s. The primary achievement of railroad construction during the Third Front construction was the building of ten new interprovincial lines. Building the Chengdu-Kunming and
4633-607: The Third Front region. More than 1,100 large and medium-sized projects were established during the Third Front period. With large projects such as Chengdu-Kunming Railway , Panzhihua Iron and Steel , Second Auto Works , the Third Front Movement stimulated previously poor and agricultural economies in China's southwest and northwest. Dozens of cities, such as Mianyang , Deyang , Panzhihua in Sichuan, Guiyang in Guizhou, Shiyan in Hubei , emerged as major industrial cities. However,
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4746-505: The Third Front slowed during 1966. As the Cultural Revolution ignited leftist extremism, Lin Biao , Chen Boda also replaced Li Fuchun, Peng Dehuai , and Deng Xiaoping as the actual leaders of the Third Front Movement. By comparison to the rest of the country, Third Front work was less disrupted by the Cultural Revolution, consistent with the broader pattern that central officials acted to protect national security-related work units throughout
4859-801: The Third Front, China built a self-sufficient base industrial base area as a strategic reserve in the event of war with the Soviet Union or the United States. The campaign was centrally planned. It was carried out primarily in secret, and was only mentioned in the People's Daily for the first time in 1978. China built 1,100 Third Front projects (encompassing 1,945 industrial enterprises and research institutions) between 1965 and 1980. Major universities, including both Tsinghua University and Peking University , opened campuses in Third Front cities. The overall cost of Third Front projects during
4972-450: The Third Front, for example, required structural reinforcement for the caverns into which they were built and tunnels to allow exhaust to escape. As Planning Commission Director, Li Fuchun set design rules stating that Third Front projects should not attempt to be "big and complete" or incorporate major administrative, social service, or other buildings not involved in production. Instead, project leaders were directed to make do with what
5085-426: The Third Front. Rural recruits were inclined to view it as an advancement from work in the countryside to better compensated industrial work. These material benefits helped ease the family separations that could occur as a result of Third Front work assignments. Urban recruits who already worked at state-owned enterprises in more developed coastal areas were more likely to be apprehensive because they already received
5198-498: The United States. Third Front factories often assigned workers to read the classic Mao speeches Remember Norman Bethune , The Foolish Old Man who Moved Mountains , and Serve the People . After Nixon's China trip in 1972, investment to the Third Front region gradually declined. Rapprochement between the United States and China decreased the fear of invasion which motivated the Third Front construction. In August 1972,
5311-556: The Zhenbao Island incident as part of broader pattern of aggression. Perceiving the border clash in connection with the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, Chinese policy-makers became concerned that the Soviet Union might view the Chinese domestic turmoil during the Cultural Revolution as a reason for similar military intervention. The central Party's efforts to accelerate Third Front work in June 1969 also became entwined with
5424-431: The achievements China P. R. have reached and to stimulate the patriotism of the public. Descendants concluded the superb spirits of workers on the line as the "Baocheng Spirit" ( simplified Chinese : 宝成精神 ; traditional Chinese : 寶成精神 ; pinyin : Bǎo Chéng Jīngshén ), which stands for "Say no to quit, say no to surrender, say no to equivocate" and got passed down to nowadays. Tianshui Tianshui
5537-674: The annual rainfall occurs from June to September, and the annual mean temperature is 11.44 °C (52.6 °F). With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 34% in September to 50% in December, the city receives 1,911 hours of bright sunshine annually. Due to the mild climate, Tianshui is a large producer of fruits, in particular apples . It is also a major industrial centre in Gansu province, especially regarding electronics. Some major industries include: Tianshui Maijishan Airport
5650-412: The benefits of working at such enterprises. If such urban recruits declined a Third Front assignment, they would lose their Party membership and right to work at state-owned enterprises. Third Front workers did, however, receive a "subsidy to keep secrets" ( baomi fei ). According to academic Covell F. Meyskens's analysis of remuneration based on Third Front work unit gazetteers, approximately 75% of
5763-402: The building of railroads to connect Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou. The Third Front construction was primarily carried out in secret, with the location for Third Front projects following the principle of “close to the mountains, dispersed, and hidden” ( 靠山, 分散, 隐蔽 ; kàoshān, fēnsàn, yǐnbì ). This principle was motivated by national defense considerations; plants were required to be hidden in
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#17327719572205876-407: The built-up (or metro) area made of the 2 urban districts of Qinzhou and Maiji . The city and its surroundings have played an important role in the early history of China, as still visible in the form of historic sites such as the Maijishan Grottoes . Qin , whose House of Ying were the ruling family of the founding dynasty of Imperial China, developed from Quanqiu (present-day Lixian ) to
5989-403: The campaign. In Sichuan province, China developed an integrated nuclear sector which included uranium mining and processing facilities. Electronics manufacturing expanded during the Third Front and by 1980, inland China accounted for more than half of the country's electronics production capacity and work force. Major production facilities were built in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Guizhou, with
6102-504: The capacity got greatly improved after its finish on 26 December 1999. The second track in the Yangpingguan- Qingbaijiang section is also the first additional in-mountains track among China's electrified railway lines.From 2008 to 2009, the line completed a seamless transformation; in 2014, the line once again upgraded the profiles and ties on the small radius curve of the main line. The Sichuan government issued
6215-495: The civilian market ( junzhuanmin ). As plants built during the Third Front construction were privatized over the period 1980 to 2000, many became owned by former managers and technicians. As one example, Shaanxi Auto Gear General Works was privatized and became Shaanxi Fast Auto Drive Company; as of 2022 it is the largest automotive transmission manufacturer and its annual revenues exceed US$ 10 billion. Through its distribution of infrastructure, industry, and human capital around
6328-490: The coastal areas to the Third Front region. Most of these firms came from cities like Shanghai , Beijing , Shenyang , Dalian , Tianjin, Nanjing . Approximately 400 state-owned enterprises were re-located from coastal cities to secret locations in China's interior regions. In 1969, Third Front construction accelerated following the Chinese-Soviet border clash at Zhenbao Island. Chinese policy-makers interpreted
6441-406: The concept of the Third Front to locate critical infrastructure and national defense facilities away from areas where they would be vulnerable to invasions. Describing the geographical foundation of the concept, he stated: Our first front is coastal regions, second front is the line that cuts from Baotou to Lanzhou and southwest is the third front ... in the period of the atomic bomb, we need
6554-520: The country to go and taste the dish. The numbing sensation of spiciness forms the "soul flavor" of Tianshui spicy hot pot. This "soul" comes from local specialty ingredients in Tianshui – Maiji peppercorns and Gangu chili peppers. The viral phenomenon has been compared to the 2023 spring festival Zibo BBQ craze. Third Front (China) The Third Front Movement ( Chinese : 三线建设 ; pinyin : Sānxiàn jiànshè ) or Third Front Construction
6667-462: The country's interior. Mao objected to the preliminary proposal because ”[t]he Third Five-Year Plan […] need[s] to set basic industries in the Southwest.” He said that agricultural and defense industries are like fists, basic industries are like the hip. “The fists cannot be powerful unless the hip is well seated.” According to Mao's judgment, there was possibility that China would be involved in
6780-412: The country, the Third Front created favorable conditions for subsequent market development, private enterprise, and township and village enterprises . Once remote regions that were part of the Third Front continue to benefit from the influx of specialists during the Third Front construction and many enterprises, including many private ones, are legacies of the movement. Because each plant built during
6893-410: The country. Panzhihua, for example, was less impacted by the Cultural Revolution. Besides newly built large projects, many Third Front plants were spinoffs or entirely moved from existing plants in other parts of the country. In a document issued in early 1965, plants in the First and Second Fronts were required to contribute their best equipment and workers to the Third Front Movement. This priority
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#17327719572207006-546: The creation of a heavy industrial zone as a safe haven for retreat in the event of foreign invasion during State Planning Meetings in May 1964. Subsequently referred to as the Big Third Front, this inland heavy industrial base was to be built up with the help of enterprises re-located from the coast. At a June 1964 Politburo meeting, Mao also advocated that each province should also establish its own military industrial complex as an additional measure (subsequently named
7119-448: The day.He Long started the ceremony with a speech which was followed by ones from Teng Daiyuan , the minister of MOR, Zhao Shoushan , the governor of Shaanxi Province, Huang Zhengqing, the vice governor of Gansu Province , Li Dazhang , the governor of Sichuan Province, Peskunov, the representative of Soviet experts and other workers, and hosted a ribbon cutting at 3 p.m. An express train left Chengdu for Beijing at 4 p.m., which marked
7232-646: The design, construction and manufacturings of electric locomotives and railroads owing to its role as the first electrified railway line in China, which had pushed forward domestic education regarding electrical engineering . The great benefits that this line had brought also made the MOR convinced that all lines should employ electrical networks afterwards, which spelt an increasing demand on electric operations and therefore an increasing number of related schools in colleges nationwide. This in turn brought more talents for further promotion of electrified railroads in China. Yan Yi,
7345-456: The designs of many Third Front projects were uneconomic due to their location or deficient due to their hurried construction. For national defense reasons, location choices for the Third Front projects followed the guiding principle “Close to mountains, dispersed, hidden” ( kaoshan, fensan, yinbi ). Many Third Front projects were located in remote areas that were hard to access and far away from supplies and potential markets. The Third Front Movement
7458-400: The disaster. A new Tunnel 109 was built on 12 November 2008, which abandoned the former Tunnel 110 for a faster speed of trains. The earthquake also made the entire line's service pause for 12 days. In the afternoon of 19 August 2010, a bridge of the railway in Guanghan was brought down by floods , as 2 coaches of a train on the bridge at that time fell into the river.All 1,318 passengers on
7571-423: The discussion about the Third Five-Year Plan. Mao became concerned that the United States could strike China's nuclear weapons facilities in Lanzhou and Baotou and advocated even more strongly for development of the Third Front. Other key leadership's fear of attack by the United States increased also, and the Third Front received broad support thereafter. In 1965, Yu Qiuli was given the lead role in developing
7684-498: The downhill journey, Qingshiya station was established in the spiral to make the locomotives cool down, as the station is also the highest and steepest station with the smallest radius throughout the line. A 2363.6-meter-long tunnel brings the line to the Jialing River 's drainage basin , and the line starts its 12‰ downhill slope towards Guangyuan with 14 bridges across the river in Qinling- Lüeyang section. The line has 304 tunnels and 1,001 bridges, which collectively account for 17% of
7797-546: The east and Dingxi, Lanzhou towards the northwest and supersedes highway G310 . G310 runs as a motorway within the urban centre. Tianshui's signature dish is Guagua (呱呱), a sticky boiled buckwheat flour meal, seasoned with chili oil, sesame paste, mustard, oil, salt, vinegar and garlic paste. The dish is normally eaten as a breakfast. According to legends it was the imperial food during Han dynasty general Wei Xiao's rule. In early 2024 Tianshui malatang hot pot went viral online in China, attracting many tourists from all over
7910-405: The electrification project of Baoji-Chengdu railway began in 1953. The MOR initially set the catenary to 3 kV DC and submitted the plan to the Soviet counterparts for evaluations in June 1955, but decisions were made again in April 1957 that single-phase electric power of 25 kV with utility frequency should be employed after the knowledge that other countries have been using this upgraded style, and
8023-399: The former one. Construction of the line was added to the First Five-year Plan afterwards. Construction began in Chengdu on 1 July 1952, when Mao Zedong instructed on the opening ceremony of Chengdu-Chongqing railway that "keep going on to turn the Tianshui-Chengdu railway into real", and the construction throughout Sichuan began in 1953, as Track laying work of the railway started from
8136-444: The foundation of China P. R. when Baoji-Chengdu Railway was built, and the level of economy was not high enough to secure the standard of technologies applied for railway constructions due to lack of facilities. Accidents thus keep occurring from the line's establishment in a high frequency due to the extreme weather along the railway. In 1982, China Railway Xi'an Group determined that route should be changed near Lingguanxia due to
8249-530: The guidance of Soviet experts, China Railway successfully carried out the grand blastings for Guanyinshan Station, which was also the first successful large-scale blasting throughout the history of China's railway construction. The line got connected on 12 July 1956 in Huangshahe Village of Huixian County , Longnan , which was 13 months ahead of schedule, and opened on 1 January 1958. Steam locomotives had been employed since then. The preparations for
8362-470: The line after the storms in July 2018 in search of stabilities and securities for trains' service, but received complaints from residents in Gansu and Shaanxi Provinces. Xi'an decided to withdraw by recovering operations of 6 more trains on the line, but instructed that all these passenger trains must pass the Yangpingguan-Lüeyang section before sun falls . It was no more than a decade after
8475-442: The line was transmitted to Xi'an Group for controls after it was separated from Zhengzhou Group in September 1958. The section was then transmitted back to Zhengzhou after Zhengzhou Group got reunified and got transmitted to Xi'an again after Xi'an Group's 18-March independence in 2005. Opening ceremonies of Chengdu-Mianyang and Mianyang-Guangyuan sections had taken place already on 1 October 1953 and 1 January 1955 respectively, which
8588-503: The line with over 15 thousand workers. MOR decided to divert the high-slope section with limited capacity between Luomiaozhen and Majiaoba in December 1959. The diversion began on 15 February 1960 and was suspended in April 1962. The project restarted in November 1964 and finished in September 1969. Series of large-scale capacity improvements were made later on to meet the demands of economic growth and social development. Another upgrade
8701-509: The lowest priority”. In early 1963, a central planning team (led by Li Fuchun , Li Xiannian , Tan Zhenlin , Bo Yibo ) put “solving the problems of food, clothes, and other life necessities” (解决人民的吃穿用) as the priority of economic works in their proposal for the Third Five-Year Plan. The preliminary draft for the Third Five Year Plan, of which Deng Xiaoping was a major author, had no provision for largescale industrialization in
8814-493: The major type of locomotives after the electrification in Baoji-Fengzhou section finished in 1961. The other 4 sections finished their electrifications respectively afterward before July 1 1975 when the ceremony of celebration took place. The electrification made the line's maximum speed upgraded to 80 km/h , and further improvements on the shape and flexibility of cables were made around 1978. The HXD locomotive series
8927-538: The most expensive industrialization campaign of the Mao-era. Operating on the principle of "choose the best people and best horses for the Third Front," ( 好人好马上三线 ; hǎorén hǎomǎ shàngsānxiàn ) many skilled engineers, scientists, and intellectuals were transferred to Third Front facilities. In this slogan, the "best horses" refers to the best available equipment and resources. Third Front construction methods fused both low-tech and high-tech techniques. In 1937
9040-588: The most widely known electronics factory being Changhong Electric in Mianyang, Sichuan. In the late 1960s and the early 1970s, nearly all work units in China's aerospace industry were established via the Third Front. These Third Front Projects benefitted China's space program through the launch of Dong Fang Hong 1 (China's first satellite) in 1970, expansion of Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center , building Xichang Satellite Launch Center , and building Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center . On September 11, 1964,
9153-617: The mountainous area. The line stretches along the ancient roads and Qingjiang River after entering the Qin Mountains, as the track elevates with the slope of 30‰ in the Renjiawan-Yangjiawan section and the steepest section can reach 33‰. Spiral is applied to make the topographical difficulties within the locomotives' reach by 3 horseshoe-shaped tracks and a figure-8 one, which is stacked in 3 layers and raised up to 817 meters. In avoidance to overheat of brakes during
9266-625: The mountains and were not allowed to be geographically clustered to minimize the damage of air strikes. These priorities reflected Communist Party leaders' revolutionary experiences as guerillas. Because construction of Third Front projects was based on these non-economic considerations, projects were extremely costly. Dispersing new or re-located industry in rugged terrain required major new infrastructure for utilities, communication, and transportation. Facilities such as factories were sometimes built in subterranean complexes which greatly increased costs. The twenty subterranean powerplants built during
9379-460: The mountains is limited to no more than 3000 tons and 2600 tons for the downhill ones. The line began its construction for another track in 1993 and the double-track section came into operation on 26 December 1999. The Baoji-Chengdu Railway was added to List of China's Industrial Heritages for Conservation in January 2018. The rail tracks succeeded in making cities along the line core regions of
9492-460: The official perspective, it was a political privilege to be selected as a Third Front recruit. Among the important recruitment mechanisms were oath-swearing ceremonies or mobilization meetings held at urban work units or rural communes . At these events, local officials exhorted crowds to join the Third Front construction effort. The Party instructed them to urge workers to "learn from the PLA and
9605-487: The pace of industrialization. It invested more on in China's coastal regions and focused on the production of consumer goods. Construction of the Third Front reversed these trends, developing industry and using mass mobilization for the construction of such industrial projects, an approached that had been suspended after the failures of the Great Leap Forward. In February 1962, Chen Yun had proposed that
9718-479: The project was re-schemed soon after. The new design was reevaluated by Moscow in May 1958 and put into practice after the agreement in June. Engineers decided to reduce the demanded amount of the transformers from 6 to 4 for substations due to lack of key ingredients for silicon steel and high prices for imports because of the technological deniances from the Western countries , of which 3 were implemented in
9831-744: The rest is in charge of China Railway Chengdu Group . The line is one of main lines that connects southwestern with northwestern China and a part in Lanzhou-Kunming Corridor of the Eight Verticals . The Baocheng Line runs southwards from Guanzhong Plain to Sichuan Basin and traverses the Qinling , Daba Mountains and Jianmen after leaving Baoji, as the rail line goes through 5 different zones of geological structure (including granite , quartzite , greenschist , conglomerate and slate ) and an aggregate of 80% are in
9944-447: The ride - a collective amount of 2.75 million tons of road materials along with 2.42 million tons of local materials and 3.02 million passengers got delivered before the 1958 official openings. The temporary operations also made the line critical for goods and passengers to leave and enter Sichuan Basin in June 1956, when service of roadways had been dropped due to the 19-day storm season. The 1957 urgent food transmission from Sichuan, which
10057-560: The same time to pass with the pedestrians. Therefore, the line was listed high on the agenda of rail electrification. The line finished electrification in 1976, and has been using electric locomotives until now. Bank engines are still employed so far to secure the abundant power during the mountain climb and brakes for downhill journeys in Baoji-Qinling section with the help of HXD3 locomotives - 1 for passenger coaches and 2 for freight coaches. The aggregate weight of trains to climb
10170-400: The smaller cities located further inland from the First Front. The "Small Third Front" ( xiao sanxian ) referred to rugged or remote areas in more major provinces like Shanxi, Anhui, and Hebei. As with the Big Third Front, Chinese policymakers intended Small Third Front to form a part of a network of military and industrial power that could withstand invasion or nuclear attack. Prior to
10283-593: The south to the north at the Chengdu end in April. The construction featured the technological assistance of over 30 Soviet along with 2 Hungarian experts as well as material supplies from residents along the line. The maximum number of workers involved had reached 140 thousand during the construction. The line got renamed as Baoji-Chengdu Railway on 1 December 1952 and construction in Shaanxi Province started from Baoji in January 1954. On 10 August 1955, under
10396-572: The south. After the invasions of the Rong which unseated the Western Zhou , Qin recovered the territory of Tianshui from the nomads. It became an important region of their duchy and, later, kingdom. Characteristically Qin tombs have been excavated at Fangmatan nearby, including one 2200-year-old map of Qin 's Gui County . Under the Qin Empire , the area was part of Longxi Commandery but
10509-405: The studied work units paid salaries above the national norm for the industrial sector. Aside from material consequences, some urban and rural workers saw Third Front work favorably because it was to express their commitment to building Chinese socialism through bringing industry to undeveloped regions and building an industrial base to help protect China in the event of invasion. Construction of
10622-479: The substations and the rest 1 was placed on a flat wagon that travels among the 3 substations. The decision gave birth to China's first mobile transformer in 1965. MOR kept insisting that electric locomotives should adopt both domestic and foreign production lines, as the domestic 6Y1 prototype of Shaoshan series began its experimental run in the 1960s and 25 imported 6Y2 locomotives [ zh ] have arrived at ports of mainland China, which later turned
10735-498: The total opening of the Baocheng Railway. The train was also the first to-capital train for residents throughout southwestern China . Another ceremony was held to celebrate the finish of the line's electrification on 1 July 1975 in Chengdu railway station. SS1008 locomotive, the first pusher that be named after the type Shaoshan, attended the ceremony. 2 homicide wanted fled from Guangxi on 10 May 1987 and hijacked
10848-484: The total track length. The 4-kilometer Huilongchang Tunnel is the longest tunnel of the line. The line features several sections where slopes are long and steep and have multiple curves, especially the Baoji-Qinling one. The power of steam locomotives was so low that it had greatly degraded the line's transporting capabilities after the line's operation began, and the Guanyinshan Spiral took trains almost
10961-434: The train were evacuated with no one injured The bridge got rebuilt on 21 Augustand the service got restored on 13 October. In July 2024, over 70 places on the line got destroyed by the flood in Baoji. In the midnight of 17 July, a safety maintenance locomotive fall down from a flood-destroyed bridge into river. On 10 August, services of the section got restored. Baoji-Chengdu Railway succeeded in cultivating talents regarding
11074-667: The transformation. China Railway issued a call for a new wave of capacity improvements on 30 May 2024. The Huixian-Chengdu section of the line was once separated into 4 parts for temporary operations, of which the Chengdu- Mianyang section began in October 1953, Mianyang-Zhongba section began in February 1954, Zhongba-Guangyuan section began in February 1955 and the rest began in October 1956. The temporary operation phase mainly focused on deliveries for construction-related materials, and some passengers were also granted with
11187-550: Was a Chinese government campaign to develop industrial and military facilities in the country's interior. The campaign was motivated by concerns that China's industrial and military infrastructure would be vulnerable in the event of invasion by the Soviet Union or air raids by the United States. The largest development campaign of Mao-era China, it involved massive investment in national defense, technology, basic industries (including manufacturing, mining, metal, and electricity), transportation and other infrastructure investments and
11300-421: Was assessed as "qualified and good project" after National Acceptance Committee's check during the stage of temporary operations. The committee also noted that the line featured short duration of construction, low costs, high rate of handing over fixed assets and quick comeback for the previous investments. The Chengdu Group and Zhengzhou Group took control of the line initially. The Fengzhou-Shangxiba section of
11413-540: Was available, including building rammed earth housing so that more resources could be directed to production. This policy came to be expressed through the slogan, "First build the factory and afterward housing." Potential Third Front workers had to meet physical requirements and had to undergo a political review. The Party forbid recruitment of those whose families were "landlords, rich peasant, counterrevolutionary, bad element, or [...] rightist." Third Front workers had varying reactions to being selected to work on
11526-571: Was busy into the early 1970s; like the rest of the Third Front, its work slowed as China and the United States developed their diplomatic relationship. The Shanghai Small Front office ultimately shut down in 1991. To recruit and develop the labor force responsible for building Third Front projects, the CCP sought to develop a labor force committed to the Third Front campaign as a way to build socialist modernity. The Party emphasized austere living and working, although not as an end in-and-of-itself, but as
11639-520: Was called by the State Council , also made the Baocheng Line involved by delivering all 800 thousand tons of grains. The official operations of Chengdu-Guangyuan section began in January 1955, and Guangyuan-Mianyang section was consigned in October. In January 1958, the Guangyuan-Fengzhou section of the line turned into official operations, which marked the end of the temporary operation period of Baoji-Chengdu railway. Baoji-Chengdu Railway
11752-613: Was carried out in a hurry. Many Third Front projects were simultaneously being designed, constructed, and put in production, ( biansheji, bianshigong, bianshengchan ). After rapprochement with the United States reduced the national defense considerations underlying the Third Front, investment in its projects decreased. Since the reform of state-owned enterprises starting in the 1980s, many Third Front plants went bankrupt, though some others reinvented themselves and continued to serve as pillars in their respective local economies or were developed into successful private enterprises. Mao created
11865-424: Was carried out primarily in secret. "Third Front" is a geo-military concept: it is relative to the "First Front" area that is close to the potential war fronts. The Third Front region covered 13 provinces and autonomous regions with its core area in the Northwest (including Shaanxi , Gansu , Ningxia , and Qinghai ) and Southwest (including today's Sichuan , Chongqing , Yunnan , and Guizhou ). Its development
11978-526: Was changed to Hanyang County. During the Tang and Five Dynasties , the city of Tianshui was known as Shanggui ( 上邽 ). It alternated with Chengji (present-day Qin'an ) as the capital of the province of Qinzhou ( 秦州 ). Li County was separated from Tianshui's jurisdiction during the ninth year of Chenghua (AD 1473) during the Ming dynasty . According to a legend, the name Tianshui ( 天水 ) originates from
12091-481: Was followed by 1940 and 1947 surveys, but the blueprint was still not put into practice. Ministry of Railways of China P. R. managed to conduct further surveys for the Tianshui-Lüeyang section of the 1920 scheme along with a brand-new Baoji-Lüeyang one with the assistance of experts from Soviet Union , and the new one was selected after comparisons of the geological and transportation network conditions with
12204-606: Was followed by a 1956 ceremony for Guangyuan-Lüeyang section on the New Year's Day . The official opening ceremony of the whole line took place at 2 p.m. in Chengdu railway station on the New Year's Day of 1958. He Long, Nie Rongzhen , Kang Sheng , Teng Daiyuan, Huang Kecheng and other political figures in mainland China along with the vice minister of Union of Burma attended the ceremony, while Radio Moscow and major radio broadcasts in China conducted interviews and reports on
12317-405: Was made in September 1990 between Guangyuan and Majiaoba on the automatic block signaling of axle counters , making the punctuality increase by 3.9 percent for freight trains and 0.3 percent for the passenger ones. The line completed its heavy rail upgrade in 1993, the year when the second track construction started on the line. The line's second track lies on its Yangpingguan -Chengdu section, as
12430-875: Was motivated by national defense considerations following the escalation of the Vietnam War after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident , the Sino-Soviet Split and small-scale border skirmishes between China and the Soviet Union. The Third Front campaign industrialized part of China's rugged interior and agricultural region. Between 1964 and 1980, China invested 205 billion yuan in the Third Front Region, accounting for 39.01% of total national investment in basic industries and infrastructure. Millions of factory workers, cadres , intellectuals, military personnel, and tens of millions of construction workers, flocked to
12543-421: Was officially employed on the line after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in pursuit of faster freight transportation with the help of the high power of the new locomotives. Substations started to be replaced by SCADA for smart and automatic controls to ensure continuous and abundant supplies of electricity. MOR established an expert group in accordance to the frequent landslides on the line in 1955. 3 tunnels of
12656-539: Was originally proposed in Sun Yat-sen 's 1913 China National railway plan as part of the Datong–Chengdu railway but failed to put the plan to practice because of the oversized scale. Beiyang government re-suggested schemes regarding a rail line that connects Tianshui with Chengdu in 1920 and the aerial topographical surveys for the line's section in Shaanxi Province were conducted by the project group in 1936, which
12769-418: Was the centerpiece of the project and served as "a multi-function manufacturing base for anti-aircraft and anti-tank weaponry. By 1966, it was producing arms including rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft weapons. Steel mills, chemical plants, instrumentation factories, electronic factories, and extensive road infrastructure were also built in the Shanghai Small Front. The Shanghai Small Third Front
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