The Story Behind Nanpu Bridge 南浦大桥背后的故事

1987年12月10日凌晨，上海浦东陆家嘴轮渡站由于大雾引起了停运，大量上班的人员聚集，造成了踩踏事故，并导致大量伤亡。而在当时，上海浦东浦西每日大约有100余万的人员往来。糟糕的交通状况亟待解决。

In the early morning of 10th December 1987, due to the heavy fog, Shanghai Pudong Lujiazui ferry service station paused its operation. There were so many workers and bicycles being crowded, and a stampede accident looks inevitable which caused more than 60 people died and many injured. In fact, there was a huge demand of cross river transportation as more than one million people need to travel across river for their life and work.

早在改革开放初期，上海市就向国务院递交了关于建设黄浦江大桥工程项目建议书。尽管早在1986年8月14日，国务院就给予了肯定的批复，但是犹豫经费问题和技术问题，桥梁建设迟迟没有动工。而陆家嘴轮渡踩踏事促成了上海市政府在黄浦江两岸修建桥梁或隧道来缓解交通问题。桥梁和隧道都可以满足相关的需求，甚至根据上海投资咨询公司和中国国际工程咨询公司的咨询报告，隧道和桥梁的建造成本差不多。因此政府出于城市形象的考虑而选择了桥梁。南浦大桥的建设就提上了日程。

As early as reform and open, Shanghai government submit a proposal of building a cross-river bridge or tunnel over Huangpu River to the State Department. Even if the State Government gave Shanghai the feedback on 14th August 1986, the fund and the technology were still two big problems, and the progress of building bridge or tunnel was delayed. Lujiazui stampede accident facilitate government’s decision-making process to build bridges and tunnels between the two sides of the Huangpu River and resolve transport problem. Nanpu Bridge’s building progress initiated. Both bridges and tunnels can meet the needs of improving Shanghai’s transportation, and according to a consulting report jointly released by Shanghai Investment Consulting Company and China International Construction Consulting Company, the cost of building a bridge or a tunnel really do not have a difference. Therefore, the Shanghai government chose the bridge for the consideration of city image.

接下来的问题更棘手。价格无力承受，按照1986年的项目计划，总投资需要4.2亿元。到了1991年建成的时候，总花费超过了8.2亿元人民币。前期费用由上海市政府承担，工程费用同意通过国外贷款解决，这在当时也算是破例了，特事特办。去国外贷款，首先要进行技术审查，通过以后才能进行商业谈判。我们国家当时设计费只有1%-2%，国外是7%，几千万就没了。

The fund issue was even severe. The price was too expensive, based on the plan, we need 4.2 million yuan. Based on the project proposal, the general investment would be 420 million RMB and the government could not afford it. When the construction was completed by 1991, the whole cost surplus 820 million yuan. In terms of the investment, the Shanghai government has paid for the preliminary investment, and the central government agreed to have the foreign loans to pay for the rest of the money. This was an exception. Back then, both Chinese people and the government were not allowed to apply loans from a foreign agency. To get a foreign loan, the project would have to go through a technical audition and can only move to the business negotiation stage if the audition has passed. In mainland China, the design cost normally accounts for 1-2% of the whole budget, whereas the overseas proportion is around 7%, which is dozens of millions difference.

最后选择向亚洲开发银行贷款，他们进行技术审查和商业审查时也提出：“你们到底要多少年能把桥建起来?” 南浦大桥的跨度423米，建成时世界第三，国内第一。在提出计划3年建成通车时，受到不少质疑。第二位的印度胡格里桥跨度457米，8年还没有合拢。在勇于担当，敢于创新的改革精神激励下，南浦大桥的建设攻坚克难，仅用2年又10个半月竣工，比预计提前了45天，省了525万元。

At last, we chose to apply the loan from the Asian Development Bank. When they are having the technology audition and the business audition, the ADB officer asked about “how many years do you guys need to finish your construction?” The length of the Nanpu Bridge is 423 meters which is the longest bridge in China as well as the third longest bridge in the world. Many people doubted if the project can be completed on time. Their doubt is reasonable, as the second longest bridge, India’s Vidyasagar Setu which spans 457 meters, did not complete after 8 years of construction. With the reform spirit of taking responsibility and dare to be creative, the workers of the Nanpu bridge project, completed the whole construction with just 2 years and 10 months, 45 days less than the original plan and saved 5 million yuan.

当时我们不能独立制造建桥所需的钢缆。外商把价格从2000美金一下子提到了11000美金。迫不得已，我们优秀的工程师们苦战6个月，解决了缆索制造技术难题，我们中国人建造的大桥用上了中国人自己的缆索。因此，我们决定自主建桥。因为时间紧，任务重, 当时的上海市长黄菊提出了“三年当中，出结果，出人才”。不仅要把大桥建好而且还要把建造大桥的人才培养出来。

We did not possess the technology of producing the high-quality iron cable for Nanpu Bridge. The foreign provider increased the unit price from $2,000 to $11,000. Our engineers worked day and night for half a year and eventually resolved the technology problem under huge pressures. Nanpu Bridge, the world’s top three cable-stayed bridge eventually completed by Chinese people with Chinese cableway. Consequently, the pioneers back then decided to construct the bridge by our very own Chinese team. Due to insufficient time and heavy workload, Huang Ju, the former Mayor of Shanghai, proposed a three-year development plan to not only have a good result but also develop many talented people for the future. They not only need to make the bridge good, but also need to set up the engineer tank for future development.

在南浦大桥建成后，邓小平亲笔题下了“南浦大桥”四个字。当时很多人传言说邓工把浦字的那一点写在了横的下面，是提醒大家我们距离希望先进还有很大差距。其实这个“浦”字，根本就不是什么错字。邓小平同志于书法颇有研究，深知古人的书写习惯，其“浦”字确有所本。“浦”字的行草书多峻拔一角，所以点往下移才压得住，故历代书家多选择此种写法。邓小平所题“南浦大桥”四字为行书，并非正楷，所以不必拘泥于正楷写法。

After the completion of the Nanpu Bridge, Deng Xiaoping wrote the words “Nanpu Bridge” in his own handwriting for the opening ceremony. Many people rumored that Mr. Deng wrote the dot of Pu character (浦) under the horizontal line, to remind everyone that we still have a long way to go to catch up the West. In fact, the word “Pu” is not a typo at all. Mr Deng Xiaoping has done a lot of research on calligraphy, and he is aware of the writing habits of the ancients, and the character “Pu” has its roots. The cursive script of the word “Pu” often has a sharp corner, so the dot can only be suppressed when it is moved down. Therefore, calligraphers of all dynasties often choose this way of writing. The four characters “Nan南Pu浦Da大Qiao桥 (Nanpu Bridge)” inscribed by Deng Xiaoping are running script, not block letters, so there is no need to stick to block letters.

大桥的建设无疑是成功的。南浦大桥建成以后，有着很好的社会效应。以前靠车轮度，从排队到过江需要三个小时，现在桥建成了，来往黄浦江两岸只需要八分钟！2000年5月，上海市取消了过江隧道和桥梁的收费，南浦大桥包括其中。南浦大桥是黄浦江的第一座现代化大桥，在设计上立意为“盘龙昂首”，宛如一条巨龙盘旋在黄浦江之上，使上海人圆了，”一桥飞架浦江“的梦想，是浦东改革开放和上海经济起飞的象征。更为中国改革开放后的城市化进程做好了技术储备和人才储备。

The construction of the bridge was undoubtedly a success and brought a very good social effect. In the past, it took three hours to go from queuing to crossing the river by car, but now that the bridge has been built, it only takes eight minutes to travel between the two sides of the Huangpu River! In May 2000, Shanghai canceled the toll charges for the tunnels and bridges crossing the river, including the Nanpu Bridge. The Nanpu Bridge is the first modern bridge on the Huangpu River. Its design is intended to be “a dragon with its head held high”. It is like a giant dragon hovering over the Huangpu River, making people’s dream come true, and is a symbol of Pudong’s reform and opening and Shanghai’s economic take-off. It has made a good technical reserve and talent reserve for the urbanization process after China’s reform and opening.