Located in Haikou City, Hainan Province, on the Haiyu Middle Route Highway Construction Martyrs Monument, the front of the stele is inscribed with Mao Zedong’s inscription "Strengthen Defense and Consolidate Hainan", and on the back is Zhu De’s inscription "Build the road well, work hard to benefit the people and consolidate national defense." . The north and south sides of the stele are the list of martyrs who built the Haiyu Middle Route. In order to open up the 297-kilometer long north-south passage on Hainan Island, 221 heroes lay there. On average, one road repair soldier or migrant worker died at 1.34 kilometers. This is a glorious avenue built with blood.

Marching for a Thousand Miles to Build Hainan

In 1952, the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea continued. In order to consolidate national defense and build Hainan, the Central People's Government decided to build a national defense and combat readiness highway-Hai (kou) Yu (Lingang) mid-line highway. The Haiyu Middle Line starts at Nanhai Avenue in Haikou City, passes through Chengmai, Tunchang, Qiongzhong, Wuzhishan, Baoting and other places, and ends at Yulin Port, Sanya City, with a total length of 297 kilometers.

Not long after the founding of New China, all industries were waiting to be developed. The first division of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Highway Engineering was the main force in highway construction at that time. The first division of the highway and the technicians from the first engineering bureau of the South China Highway Construction Front Command formed a construction team to start Haiyu. The construction of the center line. Later, the two merged, and after restructuring and reorganization, the First Highway Engineering Bureau of the Ministry of Communications was formally established in 1963, which was the predecessor of the Yigong Group. "After receiving the order to build roads in Hainan, we marched from Guilin and traveled thousands of kilometers to Hai'an, Zhanjiang, and crossed the Qiongzhou Strait by ferry to Haikou." Cui Yun, a retired employee of the Yigongju Group, who participated in the construction of the Haiyu Middle Line Recalling, "The ferry crossing the Qiongzhou Strait was not smooth. It was not only necessary to overcome the extreme discomfort of seasickness, but also to prevent the Kuomintang military aircraft from being harassed from time to time."

In the autumn of 1952, the construction of the Haiyu Middle Route officially started, and more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians, including the First Division of the People's Liberation Army Highway, began an arduous road construction battle. At that time, the living conditions, natural conditions, and construction conditions on Hainan Island were extremely difficult, especially in the sparsely populated central mountainous area.

“The materials used by the troops to build barracks have to be found by themselves. The wood is cut from the mountain, the thatch is cut up to the mountain, and the beds, tables, and stools have to be made by themselves.” Qi Guozheng, a retired employee of the Yigong Group who participated in the construction of the Haiyu Middle Line, recalled. At that time, construction was not like professional construction machinery and equipment. The main construction tools of builders were pickaxes, shovels, poles and dustpans. Except for the pickaxe and the shovel, which were shipped from Guangzhou, all the other tools were taken from the place by the soldiers and woven little by little from the bamboo in the mountains.

In the construction of the Haiyu Middle Line, many inventions and creations adapted to local conditions were also born. "I still remember that a soldier invented the'living hook and soil method' and was commended." Qi Guozheng said. At that time, the soldiers had to lean on their shoulders to carry the earth, and they had to bend down and squat when clearing. The physical exertion was great. The "living hook and soil method" solved this problem well. The soldiers only had to loosen the button to complete it. The soil dumping operation reduces labor intensity and improves efficiency.

The crude construction conditions are just one of the difficulties the soldiers have to overcome. The Wuzhishan area of Hainan Island is a virgin forest. Floods, malaria, locusts and snakes can be seen everywhere. The harsh natural environment is a great test for the builders. In order to prevent malaria, health workers have to stare at the soldiers every day to take yellow anti-inflammatory drugs. After the completion of the project, many soldiers had a noticeably yellowish body complexion.

Don't compromise in the face of difficulties

In the face of the difficult environment, this road-building iron army did not back down. They were high-spirited and motivated, and put forward the slogan of "Let the mountains bow their heads and let the rivers make way." "At that time, New China was just established, and everyone was holding back their energy. They must hand in a satisfactory answer to the Party Central Committee." Liu Jiangxue, a retired employee of the Yigongju Group, who participated in the construction of the Haiyu Central Line, recalled. In order to encourage each other, everyone sang songs and worked together, no matter how hard the conditions were, they didn't feel tired."

The most difficult and dangerous part of the Haiyu Middle Line is blasting. Because there is no pneumatic drill, when the blasthole is drilled, one PLA soldier holds a steel drill with both hands, and the other two soldiers smash the steel drill with a big hammer respectively. When encountering cliffs, the soldiers worked in the air. They used a long rope to tie one end to a person's waist and the other end to a tree on the top of the cliff. After chiseling the blastholes, placing explosives and detonators, and lighting the fuse, people must hung them up quickly. "Some of our fighters died because they were not concealed in time or were not well concealed. They were hit or smashed by broken rocks." Recalling this experience, Qi Guozheng could not conceal his sorrow. "We feel that it is very honorable to accept this task. Everyone has worked very hard to complete the project construction on time and with high quality." recalled Ju Jie, a retired employee of the Yigongju Group who participated in the construction of the Haiyu Middle Line. He was one of the few college students in the team that participated in the construction that year. He graduated from the Department of Architecture of Tsinghua University and served as the deputy head of the engineering group, responsible for the design and construction of the Dongshan Bridge on the Haiyu Middle Line. Ju Jie also met Jin Pingping, a young female experimenter of the project, and gained love during the construction process. Over the past 60 years, the Dongshan Bridge on Haiyu Middle Road has withstood the test of time. Ju Jie lamented: “Although the bridge looks old, it has reliable functions. As a construction participant at that time, although I did not require the construction of the project for a lifetime. Responsibility’, but I have always believed that I have a responsibility to ensure the quality of every project I handle and to be responsible for the people."

Today, the Dongshan Bridge design drawings are still intact in the archives of the Yigongju Group. These hand-drawn design drawings, like those made with a computer, show the rigorous work and professionalism of the builders at that time. It is precisely the spirit of the builders to keep improving in the face of difficulties. 66 years have passed since the opening of the Haiyu Middle Line on December 19, 1954. Many bridges were built on the Haiyu Middle Line, such as Nanjie Bridge and Cao The Haoqiao and Tongshi Bridge, etc., also play an important role.

The Haiyu Middle Route is the third national defense highway after the founding of New China and the first upper-grade trunk highway after the liberation of Hainan. It is also a road to defend the territory of the motherland, and it is also a road to the future. The hard environment has honed a road-building "iron army" that is particularly capable of enduring hardship and fighting. Even though the years have passed in a hurry, the road-building spirit of the First Highway Division’s "hands to open up the southern wasteland" and the scientific attitude to technological excellence are in one place. The public bureau group has inherited each other, and has inspired generations of traffic people to continuously contribute their wisdom and strength to the development of the party and the country.Editor/Xing Wentao