Tianmen River Hydropower Plant is one of the buildings selected into China's industrial heritage protection list. In addition to the long history of the hydropower station, the two generators in the station also played a major role in winning this honor. In March 2006, two villag

Tianmen River Hydropower Plant is one of the buildings selected into the China Industrial Heritage Protection List. It won this honor. In addition to the long history of the hydropower station, the two generators in the station also played a major role.

In March 2006, two villagers in Tongzi County, Guizhou Province accidentally discovered two generators when they accidentally entered a cave. They found that the two generators seemed to be worn out, but they could still continue to work.

After that, they reported the situation to the government, and then the government contacted experts to find out.

By analyzing the signs on the generator bodies, experts finally discovered the true identities of the two generators. These two generators were produced in 1942 and were products developed by the American General Company.

What makes people even more surprised is that there is such a record in the construction history of Tianmen River Hydropower Station: the two generators were materials provided by the United States to aid my country's Anti-Japanese War during World War II.

So why did the American company ship these two generators to China during World War II? What happened to the two generators? How did we end up at the Tianmen River Hydropower Plant?

Strategic shift, the birth of Tianmen River Hydropower Station

On July 7, 1937, Marco Polo Bridge Incident broke out, and the Japanese army launched a large-scale attack on our country. However, the huge disparity in military strength made every battle of the Chinese army extremely difficult, and the supplies on the front line It is also in very short supply.

In December 1937, the Japanese offensive became more fierce, and the war going south gradually threatened the Nanjing government. During this period, most of the arsenals were gradually transferred to Tongzi, Guizhou, so that the arsenals would not be destroyed by the Japanese army and ensure the supply of weapons and equipment to the front line.

However, moving the arsenal inland is still the first step. Although the safety of the arsenal is now guaranteed, there is still one most important issue, which is to support the operation of many arsenals, which requires a large amount of power supply.

However, Tongzi did not have that back then. So much electricity is used to support the arsenal, and in such an embarrassing situation, how can we keep the power station operating without electricity?

At this time, many people proposed to build a hydropower station here to ensure the operation of the arsenal. After the Nanjing Massacre, the Japanese army also implemented the "Three Lights" policy in China, not only threatening to kill all Chinese people, but also using the air force to conduct large-scale air raids on all facilities wherever it went.

The Kuomintang, which transferred important facilities to Guizhou, summed up its experience and decided to build hydropower stations underground in order to prevent Japanese air raids.

In this way, many large-scale infrastructures were able to avoid the indiscriminate bombing of the Japanese army, and the supply of materials on the front line of the war was not completely cut off.

Based on this idea, in 1939, the Kuomintang and a group of skilled craftsmen built the Tianmen River Hydropower Station. This was also the first hydropower station in Tongzi. It not only provided power for important equipment such as arsenals, but also brought a new way of generating electricity to the local people in the future.

The choice to build a hydropower station on the Tianmen River was also decided by the engineers at that time after careful consideration. The exact location of the hydropower station was located in an underground cave.

Looking around the cave, it was surrounded by mountains, uninhabited, and dense vegetation, making it easy to hide. Only one river naturally flows through this hydropower station.

We have to admire their wisdom in building a natural hydropower station in such a dangerous scene.

The Tianmen River Hydropower Station was built mainly to provide power to the arsenal. However, when it was actually put into use, people discovered that they did not have a suitable generator to power the large arsenal that came from all over the country.

If this problem is not solved, Then the hydropower station will not be able to participate in actual work.

At this moment, the United States extended a helping hand to China and shipped two generators to China.

The lifeline during the Anti-Japanese War

During World War II, the United States gradually threatened its own interests and security due to the wanton expansion of fascist forces in Eurasia.

The United States gradually gave up its attitude of watching the fire from the other side and decided to resolutely attack the fascist forces and at the same time attack the Soviet Union and China. Provide material assistance.

In 1941, the Japanese army launched a larger-scale attack. In order to force the Chongqing National Government to surrender, the Japanese army adopted more crazy bombing operations to speed up the end of the battle in the Pacific region and the smooth reunification of the other two Axis powers.

While frantically attacking China, the Japanese army also carried out a double blockade of China on sea and land in an attempt to cut off China's possibility of obtaining assistance from the outside world and accelerate the collapse of the Chinese army.

Under this situation, in order to alleviate the pressure on China's material supplies, in 1942, China and the United States negotiated and cooperated to open up an air route across the Himalayas to ensure China's material supply. This route is also known as " hump route ".

The entire "Hump Route" was not easy to travel.

At that time, the actual flying height of the aircraft was limited. Places like the Himalayas were very dangerous, let alone crossing here. Ordinary pilots simply could not perform it. Sending well-trained veterans to fly carefully close to the undulating mountains,

the entire process is accompanied by huge life dangers, and has both physical and psychological tests for the pilots.

And even if it is possible to fly safely across the Himalayas, the Japanese troops near the mountains are still a huge threat. Being arrested by them is basically a dead end.

Even in such a harsh environment, the U.S. government at the time still planned to take a chance and use the "Hump Route" to provide material assistance to China. This batch of materials also included two generators produced by General Motors.

The United States first dismantled the supplies, shipped them to India in batches, and then transferred them to China. They sent the supplies to Kunming through the "Hump Route".

Arrival in Kunming was only half done. After that, they had to cross the mountain that had been ambushed by the Japanese army. The Burma Highway transports materials to other places in China, such as Guizhou, where the Tianmen River Hydropower Station is located.

Taking into account the danger of this trip, in order to ensure that the supplies could be delivered smoothly, the US military arranged for the airport director Calder to personally escort the supplies. This batch of supplies also traveled over mountains and ridges, and finally arrived in our country smoothly. This created a problem for the power generation of the Tianmen River Hydropower Station. Brought hope.

In order to open up this life channel, the pilots who traveled through this lifeline all made great sacrifices. The American " Times Magazine " described it this way:

"In the deep mountain canyons and snow peak glaciers that are more than 800 kilometers long, fragments of these aircraft are scattered along the way. On sunny days, these lead pieces are shining in the sun. The sky is shining brightly, this is the famous 'Aluminum Valley' - Hump Route."

General Tenner, a survivor who crossed the air route at that time, recalled the scene of flying over the hump, saying that he relied entirely on himself to observe the wreckage of the plane below without aeronautical charts, weather forecasts, mountain elevations, and ground command. The marker flies forward.

During the flight, I was often surrounded by sudden heavy rains and strong air currents. I flew in and out of the vast icy peaks and snow-capped mountains, and the canyons with vast ravines and abyss. I climbed over mountains and ridges, and faced dangers one after another. Finally I found Kunming.

Later, he recorded his feelings at that time in his diary, "...the route was indeed extremely difficult, and flying was like wandering in hell..."

The total weight of this batch of materials at that time was about one hundred tons, and the center of the generator alone The axle weighed three tons, setting a record for the highest weight in the history of air transport under such severe conditions at the time.

And these, relying on the difficult transportation of the "Hump Route", supported China's rear during the war of resistance, and also maintained the lifeline of the East Asian battlefield and the world.

The second half of the life of the two generators

After the surrender of Japan in 1945, the arsenal originally located in Tongzi gradually moved to other places.

With the development of society after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Tianmen River Hydropower Station faced major changes. Due to the transfer of personnel, the person responsible for Tianmen There are also fewer and fewer personnel doing daily maintenance work at Hehe Hydropower Station.

Gao Peide was once an employee involved in the maintenance of hydropower stations. He officially retired in 1992. He recalled an incident in February 1953.

That year, he and other colleagues maintained the power station because the new manager did not operate it properly. , causing serious damage to some equipment, the power station will soon be unable to operate, and there is a risk of being forced to stop production at any time.

Fortunately, our country took corresponding measures in a timely manner and temporarily alleviated the crisis.

Gao Peide was also a member of the emergency repair work. He would never forget this incident in his life. At that time, many people still had other opinions about the emergency repair work. They believed that the entire hydropower station had lost its meaning of existence. Since it was about to stop operating, it would be better to directly Forget about shutting down.

Gao Peide ignored these. He devoted himself to studying maintenance technology, constantly tried, guessed, and even boldly replaced some parts of the generator with domestic ones.

This was very ridiculous to others, because many people thought that American products With such high precision, China may not be able to provide good parts to repair it.

Faced with doubts, Gao Peide and other staff who were planning to repair the machine concentrated on continuing the repair. Until the final overhaul, the objections dissipated with the sound of the machinery running.

Gao Peide insisted on his own idea, believing that Chinese craftsmanship would not Worse than abroad.

However, even if enthusiastic people like Gao Peide insist on maintaining it, the aging of the hydropower station itself is still inevitable, and tinkering still only treats the symptoms but not the root cause.

Over time, due to the increasing shortage of managers and improper operations by operators, the coils of the generator sets were severely damaged, and the hydropower station was temporarily shut down. In order to prevent accidents, the relevant person in charge chose to shut down the two generators.

Now, 80 years have passed, the two generators that have been resurfaced are still working after simple repairs, and can still deliver direct current continuously.

According to local villagers, they have always known about the existence of hydropower stations, but they did not know that the machines used came from the other side of the distant ocean, let alone that the two "old antiques" have such a long history. The two generators can be said to be still in use today. Artifacts that function normally.

In 1995, after General Motors learned that the generators produced by its own company could still work normally, it immediately contacted the Tongzi government department and the company expressed its willingness to buy back two generators at a high price.

Considering the significance of the two generators, the Tongzi government rejected GM's request. The American company negotiated repeatedly and even planned to offer a higher price. However, the Tongzi government did not only consider money,

because this was not money. Things that can be solved, behind the two generators is a history that cannot be forgotten.

Today, the Tianmen River Hydropower Station no longer generates electricity. In the recent development of the tourism industry, the Tianmen River Hydropower Station has transformed into a red tourism base. With a new look, more tourists can visit the internal structure and let more people understand it. The historical significance behind the two generators has attracted many tourists to visit and learn about the historical stories.

Summary

Although the two generators are foreign objects, they are still of great significance to our country. They are witnesses to the history of our country’s hard struggle. They have brought great help to our country in times of crisis and have witnessed the development of our country over the past few decades. The development and changes are of great historical significance.

also proves that our good life today is hard-won. As Chinese people in the new era, we should cherish it. The good life is obtained by the blood of countless ancestors.

In fact, Guizhou has developed into many hydropower stations. Large hydropower stations include Hongjiadu, Yinzidu, Dongfeng, Suofengying, Wujiangdu, etc.

There is no other hydropower station in Guizhou with a strong sense of history like the Tianmen River Hydropower Station.

But the reason why Tianmenhe is so attractive is probably not because of her appearance, but because of her connotation.