The civilian-military Langtou airport is close to the border between China and North Korea, east of the Yalu River, and south of the Yalu River's entrance to the Yellow Sea, where the Volunteer Army's first airplane took off in 1951, starting the first air war between the United States and China. The old battlefield, border towns, and distant views of North Korea ...... during the epidemic, visitors to the banks of the Yalu River harbor none of these visions.
I in addition to this, but also more of the same curiosity: the Tang Dynasty Du You in the "Tongdian" recorded "water color like duck head", the Song Dynasty Lu You in the "out of the plug song" written "but back to shoot the geese Yalujiang River, arrows flying geese up clouds black", in the end, what kind of scenery.
Driving in the rain, along the State Gate Avenue east toward the Yalu River. Close to the river, the car and the highway bridge over the Yalu River in China and North Korea, the approach bridge, and the bridge eventually flew across the river to go, we can only stop on the west bank of the river.
I don't know if it's because of the epidemic or the weather, but the riverbanks are quiet and deserted, and the Yalu River is shrouded in a hazy rain, with the current lapping at the lush green grass along the banks. The white cable-stayed bridge towering over the water is China's longest cross-border bridge, the main bridge was completed many years ago, but because of delays in the construction of the North Korean side of the approach road, the bridge has not been able to open to traffic. My vision slowly blurred as I followed the empty bridge into the distance. Equally blurred were the trees on the other side of the river, which only showed greenish-gray silhouettes in the rain and fog. A bird of prey swept across the river toward the distant trees, one of the few beings that could come and go freely between the two banks at this moment.
The Yalu River Boundary Highway Bridge between China and North Korea (Lai Jin/picture)
The river flows into the sea, and I'm traveling upstream along the river. As the houses and people became denser, I came to Dandong City. Can't cross the river like a bird, the tourists are crowded in the river side of the standing boundary monument to look at the other side, the most lively place is of course, the only half of the broken bridge. This iron bridge was the first bridge over the Yalu River, built by the Japanese colonial government in 1911, the most special feature is the use of a rare open and closed beam structure, with the No. 9 cylindrical abutment as the axis can be rotated 90, easy to navigate through the ship. 1950 November, the U.S. Air Force will be the bridge cut off by the waist, the original 944.2-meter-long 12-hole iron bridge is only left on the Chinese side of the 477-meter.
Today, the mechanical structure of the opening and closing beams can still be seen at the piers, and the dust and rust on the gears are mottled, so it is impossible to imagine the scene of the opening of the bridge when thousands of sails passed by. On the observation deck at the bridge break, people's astonished eyes swept over the twisted steel bars, iron beams with bullet scars, and torpedoes with chains tied to them, and they reached out to the rain and wind under the cloud with their teeth and claws.
Twisted steel bars and bullet scars remain at the break of the broken bridge over the Yalu River. (Lijin / photo)
North of the Broken Bridge is the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, also built by Japan, the construction time is later than the Broken Bridge, the two are only a hundred meters away from each other. It also served as a transportation link between the front and back of the troops, and was subjected to devastating bombing by the U.S. Army. On the day the Broken Bridge was bombed, this bridge was also severely damaged and could not be opened to traffic. In April 1951, the bridge was again bombed to the point where the rails were bent and the bridge shifted. The Andong Railway Bureau repaired the bridge for four days and nights, put up temporary bridge stacks and laid rails for military trains to pass.
If it weren't for the epidemic, the China-North Korea Friendship Bridge would be filled with trains every day carrying curiosity-seeking tourists to the mysterious neighboring country, while the trains from the other side of the border back to Dandong are loaded with North Korean-selected laborers. Almost every hotel in this small border town has a view of the Yalu River as a selling point, and the owner, while selling me a room with a view of the river, will enthusiastically tell me which restaurants have a view of the beautiful North Korean girls performing songs and dances.
The Yalu River Broken Bridge on the left and the Sino-North Korean Friendship Bridge on the right. （
But that day, I just wanted to see one more bridge, an "invisible bridge". About 5 kilometers north of the Broken Bridge, there is a secret passageway across the river hidden in the current: the volunteers put wooden stakes in the water and built a pontoon bridge to connect Rwan Sang Island on the other side of the North Korean coast, and the bridge is submerged in the water at high tide, and is exposed to the water when the tide goes out, so that in addition to a large number of troops crossing the river from this point onwards, the supplies are also mostly entering the front line of the North Korea through this bridge.
On the Yalu River, the anti-U.S. and North Korea have used the bridge in Dandong, there are four, respectively, the Yalu River Broken Bridge, the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, Hekou Broken Bridge (Qingcheng Bridge), on the Hekou Yalu River Railway Bridge. In addition, the anti-U.S. aid to North Korea also used three bridges not in Dandong, respectively, Ji'an Yalu River Bridge, Linjiang Yalu River Bridge, Changhui Bridge. As for the pontoon bridges, they were built and demolished and dismantled back then, and it is impossible to determine how many ......
The Volunteers built two pontoon bridges in April 1951 alone, except for this one connecting Rwan Sangdo, and the other railroad pontoon bridge, located in the eastern part of the city at the mouth of the Shah River, which was dismantled after the war because it was in the main navigation channel. The first pontoon bridge for the Korean War was built in September 1950, one kilometer downstream of Shanghekou Village in Kuandian County, and was dismantled and built every day to ensure its secrecy: the bridge was erected two to three hours after dusk, and engineers guided the troops to cross the river in secret, and then dismantled one hour before dawn. As for the common historical photo of "crossing the Yalu River", it was taken at the pontoon bridge in Mashicun, which was the only place for the volunteers to cross the river on foot from the highway bridge into North Korea to participate in the war. After the war, the bridge was destroyed by floods. Today, the only trace of a pontoon bridge that people can find is the one connected to Rwansang Island.
Unfortunately, the rain has caused the river to rise, so I have no way to see it, and can only speculate from the change in current where some of the remaining piers of the pontoon bridge are located. This section of the river is much narrower than the downtown area of Dandong, and the lush green fields and trees on the other side appear to be very close. The traces of the war were drowned by time and water, only the memory of history is still like a misty rain, lingering on the Yalu River.
Where the pontoon bridge is located, the piers are located under the current. (Lai Jin / photo)
The road north of Dandong is close to the river bank, and some sections of the road are separated from the river by barbed wire, constantly reminding me that the Yalu River is the boundary river between the two countries. The rain washed the grass more and more verdant, both sides of the refreshingly pleasant green, lush color with the flat terrain spread out, until the Yalu River and tributaries into the river at the confluence of a mountain peaks, a distant view of the top of the mountain trees covered with enemy buildings, is to the Tiger Mountain Great Wall.
As early as the Liao Dynasty, the Yalu River on both sides will be inhabited by female Zhenren, they are the descendants of the Black Water Mohe people who migrated here. After Wanyan A Bongda unified the female true ministries, he expelled the rule of the Khitan, established the Jin Dynasty, and invaded the Song Dynasty to the south. Lu You made the "out of the plug song" has "the long go tiger Qilian North" "but back to shoot the Yalu River" line, Qilian Mountains, Yalu River at that time are the Song and Jin confrontation of the border, the poem is written that is the anti-Golden generals galloped, shooting and hunting of the fighting life.
And then the Mongols destroyed the Jin Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty and overthrew the Yuan Dynasty. The river and the mountains changed, the dynasty changed, only the river flows endlessly. The Ming Dynasty built the Hushan Great Wall along the Yalu River in the fifth year of the Ming Dynasty, which is the easternmost part of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall. The original purpose of the Great Wall built by the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong was to prevent the restoration of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, but with the rise of the Jianzhou Jurchen, which threatened both the Ming Dynasty and Korea, the target of defense of this land became the Jurchen again.
As the rain almost stopped, I ascended the gatehouse and walked along the Great Wall towards the higher ground. The summer rains have nourished the rich grass and trees, and a greenish-gray stone wall lies between the lush greenery, almost indistinguishable unless you look closely. The Great Wall extends along the ridge toward the high side, vines climbed all over the wall, such as green velvet carpet on the stone, so that this section of the Great Wall is not old show some vicissitudes of life.
Hushan Great Wall, the wall is hidden in the green bushes. (Lijin/Photo)
In the late Ming Dynasty, Nurhachu established the Later Jin Dynasty to control Liaodong. After the Battle of Salhu and the Battle of Songjin, the devastated Hushan Great Wall, like the other Great Walls of Liaodong, lost its significance as a military defense and has been abandoned ever since. After the Qing Dynasty came to dominate the Central Plains, the northeast of this "place of emergence" as a restricted area, abandoned part of the Great Wall of Ming Liaodong was inserted willow branches, transformed into "willow edge", as a symbol of the restricted area. Many people thought that Shanhaiguan was the starting point of the Ming Great Wall, and the Liaodong Great Wall was forgotten for many years. Today, the wall under my feet is the end of the 20th century in the site on the basis of the restoration and reconstruction of the scenic area proudly at the entrance to write: the eastern end of the Great Wall of China.
Dandong, a restaurant staff this day is the Great Wall of the group building, a dozen people have a large part of the Hushan Great Wall, although it is known since childhood, but the first time to climb. The Great Wall below the "step across" they have been there, where the river is very narrow, as if a step from the rural areas of northeast China into the farmland of North Korea. However, the epidemic has closed the "one-step" and all of them can only climb to the top of the Wall to see the neighboring countries.
The leader of the group carried a speaker in his hand, and the stirring melodies of old favorites such as "On the Songhua River" and "Lubinghua" urged people to move toward one enemy tower after another, higher up. To the top of the enemy building has a very narrow, steep steps, people are tightly squeezed between the rocks, looking up at a line of cloudy sky, hands and feet to climb up. When one reaches the top, panting, one realizes that there is a longer, wider but still steeper flight of stairs waiting at the top. The stereo sang louder, the staff cheered each other on, and I followed in their footsteps to the highest point of Tiger Mountain and climbed up to the enemy tower to look out.
From the top of Tiger Mountain, the enemy tower looks out over the Yalu River to the south. (Lai Jin / Figure)
Tiger Mountain again, rekindling the fire is the end of the Qing Dynasty. During the Sino-Japanese War, Japan by sea and land lines directly into China, and Korea across the river from the Tiger Mountain has become one of the important battlefield. Qing troops along the Yalu River defense, generals climbed to the Tiger Mountain field view, more than 1,000 soldiers according to the mountain defense; Japanese troops on the other side of the North Korean Yizhou fortress. 1894 October 24, both sides across the river to start the artillery battle, the Japanese in the upper reaches of the Anpyeong estuary swam across the river, will be the Qing army's defenses to open up a gap. However, this was a sound attack, the Japanese intended to confuse the Qing army in order to secretly prepare materials for the bridge. Tiger Hill line of the river due to sediment alluvial formation of sandbars, the current is shallow. That night, the Japanese set up two pontoon bridges in the river flow under the Tiger Mountain, the Qing army did not find. 25 early morning, the Japanese launched an attack on the Tiger Mountain Qing army position, the Qing army suffered heavy casualties and was forced to withdraw. The Japanese army occupied Hushan and transferred its headquarters there. 26th, the Japanese army further occupied JiuLianCheng and Andong County on the lower reaches of the Yalu River.
"In that green mountains and green water next to the two big poplars in front of the door, neatly fenced yard, a small straw room ah ......" The old songs of the anti-Japanese period melodious, although not the Songhua River, but the Yalu River is also a green mountain and water, the river island and the other side of the flat farmland, neat village. The river island and the opposite bank are flat farmland, neat village houses stand in between, lush trees embellish the field scenery. Rain again pattered down, the river and clouds in the sky connected. The people of Dandong are used to seeing the Korean landscape, and soon went to take shelter from the rain with their songs. The mountains returned to silence, leaving me still in the wind and rain, recalling the Great Wall past.
From the enemy tower at the top of Tiger Hill overlooking the river island and the other side of the river. （
I didn't pay attention to when the fog rose after the rain, just all the way to the north, gradually can't see the turquoise color of the river, the thin fog like clouds like smoke caged in the green trees, covered in the river. When I stopped the car, the white fog has been blanketed.
"Wow, wonderland!" A young woman's voice shouted out the exclamation in my heart, I turned around, the woman smiled at me and greeted behind me, "It's so beautiful, come and take pictures." A just stopped van down five or six people one after another, all stood at the riverside, tsked at the fog.
Originally I was planning to go north to find another broken bridge, bridges connecting China and North Korea have been heavily bombed by the U.S. military, and the village of Hekou in Kuandian County was left with a bombed-out highway bridge. This is the Yalu River across the two sides of the earliest highway bridge, formerly known as the Qingcheng Bridge, the Volunteer Army's first group of troops across the river is through. However, the "wonderland" made me forget about the bridge. Along the riverbank, the fog is getting thicker and higher, covering the exotic islands and mountains on the other side of the river with a layer of gray veil. After the rain, the sky is clear, the distant mountains gently undulating, sparse village houses such as floating in the clouds, the fog reflects the grass and trees of the emerald color, so that the Yalu River is finally true to its name, "the color of the water is like a duck's head".
Fog from the river, reflecting the green trees. （
The sign that reads "Where the peach blossoms bloom" stands in the center of the road leading to Hekou, where peach trees are planted all over the village, and in the spring, the peach blossoms embrace the beautiful village, reflecting the clear water of the river, just as the song says. But the summer flowers have long been gone, I was surrounded by clean green after the rain, a large number of clouds floating lightly in the air, and the wide river fog connected to a piece of fishery farming nets floating in the water, the distant dense forest and mountains stained into a blurred piece of ink color.
There is a net box must have fishermen. When the car went through the Peach Blossom Island, which is full of farm houses, I really saw a lonely boat in the center of the river. The boat only stood a fisherman, in the fog in the diffusion of a very rhythmic paddling, in the twilight time do not know to return to the shore. I followed the boat quietly, afraid that the slightest sound will disturb the tranquility of this landscape painting.
The river has several green peaks, but I don't know which shore the fisherman comes from. (Lijin / Figure)
But the car is still much faster than the boat against the water, the fishing boat slowly disappeared in the fog behind the car, the river in front of the Yalu River Railway Bridge stands on the Yalu River broke into my vision. This bridge was also built by the Japanese colonialists, the purpose is for the upstream of the Shuifeng Hydropower Station to transport engineering materials, but after the completion of the bridge was not used. The bridge is also used in the period of anti-American aid to North Korea, the Northeast Military Region will Fengcheng to Kandian railroad extension repair to the upper estuary, and then the upper estuary train station through the railroad bridge and the North Korean Qingshui station connected to the other important channel to transport the volunteer army and materials.
Undoubtedly, this bridge was also subjected to intensive bombardment by U.S. artillery, and the bridge was severely damaged, and was never opened for use after the armistice. But the increasingly dense fog in the evening covered these traces of war, but also covered the piers inserted into the water and the opposite bank of the building (if any), I looked far away, only to see the distant mountains, the bridge seems to be floating in the distant air, connecting the two sides of the clouds and mountains.
Passing through the national gate and boundary monument at the bridge, and crossing the railroad tracks, I parked my car at the tunnel entrance of the 74-kilometer railroad on the Fengshan line. Once every day and night from here to North Korea to transport more than twenty military trains, volunteer soldiers sculpture still gazing at the direction of North Korea raised steps forward. And after leaving Dandong, the other side of the river finally showed a little trace of industrialization, the river seems to be a factory, towering chimneys broke through the fog, straight into the mountains. At this moment, only to realize that I have walked to the edge of the estuary, the original plan to find the broken bridge has been missed. Opening the map, I realized that the landmark of the Broken Bridge was located at the edge of Peach Blossom Island - the remains of the highway bridge had been overlooked in the mist as I watched the river being cut apart and coalesced by oars, and thought about the changes in the people as well.
Looking across the river in the mist, I could see North Korean houses and chimneys. （
When I looked back toward the road, the fog had already reached the road from the Yalu River. As if the brush and ink of the landscape painting suddenly swung, the fog also enveloped me, let me completely immersed in the breath of the Yalu River.
Lijin