Chongqing is a city of bridges. Two great rivers the Yangtze River and Jialing River flow through and make the essence of the special city.
Among these numerous bridges, the Baishatuo Yangtze River is a forgetten one.
The Baishatuo Yangtze River Railway Bridge is the second bridge over the Yangtze River, which is located between Baishatuo and Luhuang in the southwestern suburbs of Chongqing.
the north shore, Baishatuo
In 1952, Deng Xiaoping proposed to build a bridge to connect the Chengdu-Chongqing railway and the Sichuan-Guizhou railway. In 1953, the first Yangtze River Bridge in Chongqing was designated between Baishatuo and Luohuang.
The bridge has been in service for more than 50 years. It is one of the most important bridges in the Southwest China. Once there were a class of soldiers at the bridge, but the guards were revoked several years ago. Residents there can pass through the bridge. Although it's very dangerous, there are still many people just because they can easily commute between Luohuang and Baishatuo.
Location of the Baishatuo Bridge
At the end of 2017, the new Baishatuo Yangtze River Railway Bridge was completed and the old bridge is about to be under demolition.
This bridge has preserved many memories of the local people. When I traveled Chongqing in 2011, I visited this bridge. In November 2017, I went to Chongqing to make a special shot of this meritorious old bridge.
I was on my third railtravel to Chongqing from Beijing in 2011. My cousin had been on business in Chongqing for 10 years. He suggested my visiting the first Yangtz River bridge in Chonging — Baishatuo Bridge. Then I make preparation for that.
I took the train #5629 Chongqing-Zunyi arrive at Luohuang. Luohuang Station is a very small station but it is the south end of the Chongqing Railway Hub.
Chongqing Railway Station, Caiyuanba 2011
The new bridge was not in construction at 2011.
tunnel under the bridge
SS3 electric locomotive outside the Luohuang Station
Due to the new bridge in use, the old one is about to be demolited. So I went to Chongqing to make a special shot in November 2017.
There were still railway workers at the bridge. They took on the task directing the trains. I talked with an old worker called Comrade Yang happily and he told me that he would retire 2 years later. He was assigned to the Luohuang Station 10 years ago. He often worked for more than 10 hours a day. I paid my respect to him for his hardwork.
workers at the bridge.
the south shore, Luohuang
under the bridge
The old and new Bashatuo Yangtze River Bridge
Though the old bridge will be demolited in the future days, I put it in my memory.
重庆不仅仅是山城，更是万桥之城。长江和嘉陵江两条大江赋予了重庆独特的禀赋。
重庆有各式各样的桥，不过白沙沱大桥确实被遗忘的那个。
白沙沱大桥是万里长江第二桥，也是重庆长江第一桥。她位于重庆西南郊大渡口白沙沱和江津珞璜镇之间。1952年，西南局书记邓小平提出要在重庆建一座桥，沟通成渝铁路和川黔铁路。1953年，经过反复论证，大桥最终选址在小南海车站附近的白沙沱。
白沙沱大桥至今已经服役超过50年。她是西南地区最重要的一座大桥。曾经在桥头有解放军人把守，但六七年前这些卫士就撤走了。从此，附近的居民可以自由上桥。尽管十分危险，但还是有不少人图方便并不理会。那里的大爷大妈对老桥的感情很深，最重要的是这座桥会为他们剩下往返6元的过江轮渡费。
2011年中秋节前后，我搞到一张去重庆的乘车证去那边玩。我有一个表哥在重庆做生意，他建议我去珞璜看看白沙沱大桥。虽然我之前也去过几次重庆，但是还真没有关注过这个大桥。我查了查情况就去那里。
去年看报纸知道新白沙沱特大桥要竣工投入使用，我知道老桥很快就会被拆除，11月我又去重庆拍大桥。
我也很不解，为什么不能像哈尔滨滨江桥那样把老桥保护起来呢？后来才知道附近的水电站要投产，老桥的净空不够，无奈只能拆除。虽然很多不舍，但这就是发展的代价。
愿那里的人们越来越好！
Thanks for reading, I'm @rail-life! Hugs from China!
