Hongqi Canal is just a water diversion project in a mountainous county town. There were no famous inscriptions and instructions at first, but it was called "artificial Tianhe", the eighth miracle of the world. It is ranked among the two miracles of New China along with Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge , and Hongqi Canal Spirit ranked 23rd in the first batch of spiritual spectrum. However, the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which has a project volume of several times that of the Hongqi Canal, does not seem to be particularly famous. Why is this?
In the 1960s, the people of Lin County, Henan, who were fearless, used the most primitive tools to dig a red flag canal that stretched for more than 1,500 kilometers on the hillside of the Taihang Mountains of , solving the draft problems of hundreds of thousands of people and the land irrigation problems of the whole county, and re-arranged the rivers and mountains of Lin County.
South-to-North Water Diversion Project is a strategic project at the national level, divided into three lines: east, middle and west. The water sources of the middle and east lines are Hubei and Jiangsu respectively, and the water receiving areas are Henan, Hebei, Beijing and Tianjin. Because the project volume is huge, it far exceeds the ancient Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal . It took a full 50 years from the idea to the start of construction, and the project construction took more than ten years. The Western Front Project is still in the planning stage due to its extremely complexity.
Hongqi Canal Irrigation District has a total of 10 main canals and sub-trunk canals with a total length of 304.1 kilometers; 51 branch canals with a total length of 524.1 kilometers; 290 Dou canals with a total length of 697.3 kilometers; 4,281 agricultural canals with a total length of 2,488 kilometers. The middle main channel of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project is only 1,432 kilometers, most of which are still in the plain area.
First of all, the two are introduced at different levels.
Hongqi Canal is the spiritual product of the self-reliance and hard work of the people of Lin County. Although it received huge financial support from the state in the later stage, it was the financial and human support of the people of Lin County in the early stage, and it was frequently disturbed by external factors and faced unfinished several times. The more difficult it is to cultivate, the more precious it appears.
South-to-North Water Diversion Project is a national strategic project with a long planning time, a large amount of funds, and an astonishing project volume. It affects the whole body with one move. The planning time is very long. However, because it is a national strategy, there is no turning back, so there is no need to worry about the problem of unfinished work.
The second is that the times are different. The idea of the Hongqi Canal sprouted in the 1950s during the period of great steelmaking. It started in a difficult period in three years and was completed in an extraordinary period. It is a tragic fate and life and death are uncertain. Without the persistence of the people of Lin County, it is impossible to achieve it.
South-to-North Water Diversion Project was even earlier. As early as before the First Five-Year Plan was formulated, in 1952, the people's leaders proposed when inspecting Yellow River : There is more water in the south and less water in the north. If possible, it is okay to borrow some water. This is concern for the north. In 1953, he inspected the south again and boarded the "Yangtze River" ship in Wuhan. He asked the local person in charge: There is more water in the south and less water in the north. Can you borrow some water for the north? The whole country is a game of chess, and of course the South is unshirkable. In this way, the strategic policy and ideological preparations for the South-to-North Water Diversion have been done, and everything is ready for the east wind.
It is precisely because of the idea of South-to-North Water Diversion that the builders of the Hongqi Canal dared to put forward the great idea of "rearrange the rivers and mountains of Lin County" and took the lead in implementing it.
The third is that the purpose and function of construction are different.
Lin County's Hongqi Canal is mainly aimed at the countryside, and coordinates the solution of people's draft problems and the irrigation problems of fields. It is a great feat produced under the idea of "living people cannot let their urine die of suffocation", and is a model of self-reliance. The South-to-North Water Diversion is mainly aimed at cities, which coordinates urban domestic water and industrial water, and takes into account agricultural water. There is no water for South-to-North Water Diversion. The drinking water quality of the people in the north is very poor, and industrial and agricultural production is also restricted.
Generally speaking, the Hongqi Canal plays a role in "slow-off charcoal". Without water, drought and famine will occur. The South-to-North Water Diversion has played a role in "icing on the cake". Without water, at most, the standards and levels of production and life will be reduced, but there will be no fatal problems.
The fourth is that the construction model is different.
Lin County’s Hongqi Canal raises funds, designs it, works and works without any professional support, and financial support will only be available in the later stages. It is a typical mass line. The South-to-North Water Diversion is a state-funded design and construction of professional engineering companies, without the participation of ordinary people, so although people are grateful for it, they are not deeply impressed.
The fifth is the impact differently.
Red Flag Canal was completed, and the people of Lin County trained a 100,000 engineering construction army. With this team, they quickly achieved poverty alleviation and prosperity. The South-to-North Water Diversion is more about " using labor for relief " to build water conservancy, and I believe it will also be helpful to the growth of " infrastructure madman".
Everything is difficult to start with. The Hongqi Canal is a monument to the water conservancy construction of New China. No matter how big the numbers of latecomers are, it cannot conceal the glory of Hongqi Canal as a pioneer. No matter where we go, we must not forget our ancestors' spirit of self-reliance and not afraid of hardship. This is the foundation for the survival, development and rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
