Redefining Lanzhou

These dramatic photos were taken in Lanzhou during the Battle of Liberation (August 20-26, 1949), when the Communist army defeated the Nationalists. Over the course of a six-day battle, 8000 lives were lost. As part of the national celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, a film about this ("Lanzhou 1949"《兰州1949》) has just been released.

An additional bit of trivia: a nationalist truck containing explosives ignited and burned down the wooden sections of Zhongshan Bridge, cutting off the north and south banks of the Yellow River. This was first brought to my attention by Bill Schoerner, whose family lived in Lanzhou during the 1940s. He contacted me after an earlier post on this site ("Visitors to Lanzhou in the Early - Mid 1900s") featured his father, Otto Schoerner. He has kindly contributed his recollections:

"At the time of this incident I was four years old and living near the north bank of the Yellow River. My father was the business manager at the Borden Memorial Hospital where I was living with my parents and sister. My older brother was away at boarding school. The Zhongshan iron bridge was the only bridge then and the only route into the city on the other side of the river. One morning in August of 1949, we woke up to much commotion with the news that the bridge was on fire. I remember huge plumes of black smoke and being terrified of the events that were unfolding. While the bridge was being repaired, the only way to cross the river was on a raft made from inflated sheepskins. It is amazing that these photos have been found which confirm my recollections and that this event is being commemorated 60 years later."

In the following photo, you can see the repairs being carried out:

These are just three of over 30 photos that I have mapped onto an online map of Historical Lanzhou, showing how today's sites looked several decades ago. See the History page, for more information.

Photos:
Fighting at Zhongshan Bridge: "Battle to Settle the fate of the Northwest"
Fighting at Shuangchengmen: "60 Years of Photos"
Repairing Zhongshan Bridge: "100 Years of Zhongshan Bridge - 10 Stories" (see page 5)

Thanks to Bill Schoerner (son of Otto Schoerner, mentioned in this earlier post) for finding and passing on this fascinating article about the construction of Zhongshan Bridge (map). In the introduction Bing Chen (陈冰) writes: 

Location: North end of Zhōngshān Lù (中山路), 300m north from the Xiguan Crossing (西关什字 Xīguān Shízì)
Buses: 9, 13, 15, 26, 105, 111, 112, 136, 139 and 142