Li Entai, 76, has lived in Suifenhe all his life, a small town on the border between China and North Korea. He never imagined that this "century-old port" located in the northeast border would be "famous" in this way, even louder than the story of changing a thermos for fish.
1987, the first transaction between suifenhe city and the Russian city of Pogranich was completed with two pieces of white paper and carbon paper. 1 0,000 autoclaves and 65,438+10,000 Jin of apples were exchanged for 30,000 Jin of flounder and 50,000 Jin of Pacific fish. Since then, the town has become a dazzling "pearl" on the Sino-Russian border.
When the COVID-19 epidemic struck, this small Sino-Russian border town, once dubbed as "you need a magnifying glass to find it on the map", suddenly became the focus of the world's attention: from March 27th to April13rd, 2,497 people entered through Suifenhe port in Heilongjiang, of which 322 were diagnosed in COVID-19 and 38 were asymptomatic. Once, this small town with a permanent population of only 70,000 became an epidemic prevention town.
Where is Suifenhe? Why Suifenhe? The birth and development of this century-old port is full of all kinds of accidents and all kinds of inevitability. Let's find the answer from several selected fragments in the long river of history.
Be born of adaptation
At about 9: 30 every morning, there will be a "green skin" train slowly leaving Suifenhe Railway Station. Like most "green leather" trains, its interior is ordinary, but the national emblem of China is hung on the front of the train, which shows its status as an international train.
The train will run for about 5 minutes and pass a railway bridge engraved with "Made in 1903". This Russian-style railway bridge, once known as "the first bridge in the Far East", has experienced many vicissitudes.
In a few minutes, it will pass through the century-old Suifenhe Railway Station, where there is a high dome and a Russian-style window corridor, pass through Caves 3 and 2, cross the border, and sail to the Russian station Grodet Kewo not far away. ...
1903 65438+ 10, the Qing government established the "Prime Minister Suifenhe Railway Negotiation Bureau", and Suifenhe first appeared on the map as a city.
If there were no railways, there might not be this city at all. At first, the town had no connection with the railway.
/kloc-at the end of 0/9, Russia built a "Middle East Railway" on the territory of China, with Harbin as the center, Manzhouli in the west and Suifenhe in the east, connecting Vladivostok.
At that time, the railway was originally planned to be built at Sanchakou, Dongning County, and the station name was Suifenhe, a water system in Dongning. During the construction, the staff found that the local geological structure was not suitable for the construction of the railway, and the railway had to move more than 50 kilometers to the north, that is, suifenhe city where the Suifenhe River does not flow today. At that time, the town was built on a wooded hill, and it is still difficult for us to find more accurate records about its previous history in the literature.
Middle East Railway 1903 completed. Due to its unique geographical location, it is 6 km away from Bogran Nikko Port10 in Russia and 2 km away from Vladivostok, the largest port city in the Russian Far East. It has quickly become a "golden channel" connecting Northeast Asia and heading for the Asia-Pacific region, and has also laid the foundation for transportation, communication and trade in Suifenhe region, enabling it to cooperate with Vladivostok and Vladivostok.
According to the official historical records of suifenhe city, in March, 1923, suifenhe city Branch was established in the Chief Executive's Office of the East Special Zone; 1in April, 927, the National Government established suifenhe city, a special administrative region of East Province; 1In July, 933, Suifenhe Office was established, which was subordinate to the office of Pseudo-Beiman Special Zone. In 1930, envoys and businessmen from Russia, Japan, Korea, Britain, France, Italy and the United States gathered here. Cultural and economic exchanges are extremely prosperous and active, and colorful flags are everywhere in the downtown area. It is called "flag town" and "border commercial city" and has won the reputation of "window of East Asia". Suifenhe is also the first place in the northeastern border of China where trains and buses were opened and electric lights and telephones were available, which made it a "center of civilization". At that time, there were more than 10000 mainland and multinational businessmen who traveled between Suifenhe and Vladivostok all the year round and engaged in border trade, which was called "Runwaizi".
At Suifenhe old railway station, which has been transformed into the Middle East Railway Memorial Hall, we can get a glimpse of the prosperity brought by the railway to this border town through old photos. In the old town of Suifenhe, Russian-style architecture also recorded the prosperity of this town.
Communication and accommodation with neighboring Russia are the innate characteristics of Suifenhe.
Prosperous because of the window
In the corridor of the new national gate of Suifenhe, in the exhibition hall of the old railway station of Suifenhe, and on the display wall of Suifenhe Museum, you will see an old photo about the Lantern Festival.
From 65438 to 0987, the then Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of the State Council granted suifenhe city the authority to carry out economic and trade cooperation with the Soviet Union. The mountain city stands at a new historical starting point. Since then, "international consciousness" has been injected into rural life. So is the Lantern Festival. At that time, the annual Lantern Festival was almost a trade fair.
In the early days of reform and opening up, Suifenhe was still a small town of ten thousand people with "one road, one lamp and one loudspeaker listening to the whole city". With the easing of Sino-Soviet relations, in the late 1980s, suifenhe city began to carry out trade cooperation with its neighbor Pogranich. As soon as the trade opened, Suifenhe quickly became the window to the northeast of China.
In the process of continuous exploration, border trade has developed slowly in Suifenhe. 1October 26th, 1987, the barter trade between Suifenhe and Primorsky Krai officially opened. At the foot of Tianchang Mountain, the two sides set up a cast iron manual barrier to regulate the flow of people and cars crossing the border. This is the first generation of Suifenhe's "national gate", and now this national gate stands quietly on the Sino-Russian border of Suifenhe.
Li Entai, the retired former president of suifenhe city Sino-Soviet Friendship Association, was also willing to go to Suifenhe Gate with his wife to see the third-generation gate that has been officially put into use, and then look at the first-generation and second-generation gates that have been "retired".
"Promoting border trade has made Suifenhe what it is today," said Li Entai.
199 1 year 1 October1day, the second generation of national gates was completed and used, and Suifenhe has a real national gate.
If the first generation of the international gate witnessed the beginning of the modern border trade in Suifenhe, then this building integrating passengers, goods and sightseeing witnessed the rapid growth of Suifenhe Port. From the temporary transit port of automobiles in the late 1980s to the national first-class port of passenger and cargo transportation in 1994, Suifenhe has grown rapidly in trade, and a border town has become a well-known "border merchant".
In August of 20 12, the third generation project of Suifenhe national gate was officially started, and the new national gate was completed at the end of 20 14. The third generation national gate is 5 1.8m high, 8 1.8m long and 54. 1m long, with eight lanes in both directions. The main building of Guomen is divided into nine floors, which is magnificent.
Standing on the new national gate, people can overlook the other side of Russia and the vehicles and personnel shuttling between China and Russia, and they can also see the first-generation national gate of manual transmission and the second-generation national gate that has been "retired".
"From cast iron bars to the second generation of China, to today's magnificent new country, they recorded the development of Suifenhe city and the growing prosperity of Suifenhe as a window for Sino-Russian economic and trade exchanges." Li entai said.
As a window for China to open to the north, it has always been Suifenhe's mission.
Beautiful because of flowing.
Foreigners who have just arrived in Suifenhe often mistakenly think that they have gone abroad.
Here, you can use the ruble as the currency in circulation. Russian signs are everywhere in the street. Blonde Russians can be seen almost everywhere on the street. That ugly old man may also speak a few Russian words.
In Suifenhe, almost everyone has business in mind. If you casually mention the exchange rate to a taxi driver waiting for a red light, he will probably say something casually, because he is likely to run a small trading company.
All this stems from the deep brand left by the market to Suifenhe people.
"Whether in the street or in the shop, adults and children say' owe' when they see foreigners and do business anytime and anywhere." Li Yibo, a businessman from Suifenhe, recalled the scene of that year. In 1990s, the shortage of light industrial products in Russia made Suifenhe's "barter trade". At that time, almost everyone in Suifenhe owed money, and the local people stood on the street to exchange Russian watches, woolen coats, telescopes and other items with light industrial products such as sports shoes and sportswear.
"At that time, one-third of those doing business here were locals and two-thirds were foreigners. Suifenhe has a train back to Russia every day, and the passengers are Russians carrying all kinds of big bags. " Li Yibo said.
A few years ago, "debt" reappeared in Suifenhe, and many Russians came to "set up stalls", which evoked deep memories of many Suifenhe people. At first, after all, they are two different languages, so we can't directly communicate how to do business. A calculator is enough. How much will it cost? Just press this number and I can guess. Actually, this is not a problem.
"With' owe', the language will be fine." Li Yibo said.
In order to solve this disorderly trading situation, suifenhe city plans to build a five-story building with more than 3,000 square meters, named Qingyun Market. It was this market with 560 booths that made Suifenhe one of the most active commercial centers in the open border area between China and Russia at that time.
"At that time, the business was too hot, and there were many people with a monthly income of several hundred thousand." Cai Qinghui, a 48-year-old businessman from Zhejiang, was the first businessman to settle in Qingyun market. He recalled that the shopping malls at that time were crowded and noisy, which became the "gold rush" in the eyes of Chinese and Russian businessmen. With the change of traditional border trade between China and China, the commodities in Qingyun market now cover tens of thousands of varieties such as clothing, shoes, hats and daily necessities. It has become the "facade" for China's southern light industrial products and electromechanical products to explore the Russian market. With the help of Russian merchants and accumulated contacts for many years, Qingyun market is marching into the fields of Russian e-commerce, entertainment, catering, culture and tourism. In recent years, the average annual transaction volume has reached more than 654.38 billion yuan.
Before the outbreak, Russian girl Lena liked shopping in Suifenhe very much. "The goods in China are very cost-effective." Lena told reporters that she is from Vladivostok, a Russian coastal city, about 200 kilometers away from Suifenhe River. She often goes back and forth between these two places by bus.
Go shopping first, and then go to Maxim's restaurant for dinner. On weekends, you can watch movies in Suifenhe Cinema and chat in bars. ...
At that time, in the spacious and tidy international waiting hall of Suifenhe Bus Terminal, you can often see dozens of Russian ladies who like China goods like Lina, waiting in line with heavy parcels, such as Vladivostok, Ussurisk and Slavijanka. Suifenhe is a resounding name in these cities. According to the regulations, each of them can carry a maximum of 50 kilograms of goods into and out of the country at a time, and the long-distance buses here are specially equipped with freight trailers.
Action is the natural gene of ports and port people.
Fight because of "great love"
Many Suifenhe people say that this small town is too difficult now, and its small shoulders bear unbearable weight. At the beginning of the epidemic, Suifenhe maintained a record of zero local cases. Nowadays, in the past, the bustling ports have to press the passenger flow pause button.
Suifenhe River is one of the only two first-class ports in China with highway and railway ports, and it is also the largest port in Heilongjiang, a major economic and trade province between China and Russia. After the completion of the expansion and reconstruction of its highway port, there are 24 entry-exit passenger passages and 12 entry-exit passage for goods inspection, with an annual customs clearance capacity of 6 million passengers, 550,000 vehicles and 5.5 million tons of goods. After years of capacity expansion and transformation, the railway port has 33 million tons of reloading capacity.
Although the passenger flow has pressed the pause button, the window function of the port is still playing a role. Suifenhe River is the "vegetable basket" of many cities in the Russian Far East. In recent days, the employees in Suifenhe vegetable greenhouse are still busy under the premise of good protection. The vegetables they grow will be exported to the Far East with the help of Russian transportation companies. As one of the largest railway freight port stations in China and Russia, the train flute, which symbolizes the vitality of this city, still echoes over the small town, and the freight trains entering Russia still carry the economic and trade exchanges between the two countries.
The border town sounded the epidemic alarm, and the relevant departments of the state and Heilongjiang Province acted quickly to "prevent the spread of foreign countries". The National Health Commission has sent a working group and expert group to Suifenhe a few days ago. Some medical staff in Heilongjiang Province who have just returned from Hubei have just finished their rest, put on white "combat suits" and headed for the front line of the port. For the health of their compatriots and the global fight against the epidemic, they will continue to work hard to fight the new "epidemic".
Heilongjiang province implements closed-loop management and graded treatment for all migrants, and Suifenhe city mobilizes all efforts to fight the "epidemic".
Small towns love each other, and spring is warm and silent. The ice flowers on the border have broken the ice and bloomed. After the "epidemic" of war, the century-old port will be reborn in fireworks and noise.
(Source: Xinhua Daily Telegraph)