Gaoji Causeway

Gaoji Causeway in 2006

The brand new Gaoji Causeway in 1957

Gaoji Causeway (Chinese: 高集海堤) is a 2,212-meter-long causeway that links the Gaoqi in Xiamen island, the downtown area, across the Xiamen Bay to the Jimei District in mainland in Xiamen, Fujian, China. It used to serve as a road and rail link, as well as water piping into Xiamen island. In order to improve the water quality around the Xiamen island, part of the causeway was blasted off and removed, replaced by bridge, and it would only serve as road link.^[1] Completed in 1955, alone with Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, the causeway is one of remarkable constructions in the early history of People's Republic of China. It was Xiamen island's sole link with mainland until 1991. The Gaoji Causeway has a museum devoted to its construction and history founded in 2013.^[2]

History

In early 1950s, Xiamen was on the front line of cold war, as the island was not far away from KMT controlled Kinmen. Chinese Communist Party had an urgent need to build a reliable supply line to the island. In 1951, inspired by Johor–Singapore Causeway, Tan Kah Kee who just came from Singapore suggested to the Xiamen Mayor Liang Lingguang (梁灵光) that a similar causeway should be built to link the Xiamen island and mainland. The suggestion was highly agreed by general Chen Yi, then the secretary of the CPC Central Committee East China Bureau, who wrote three letters to Mao Zedong for the causeway. Mao personally approved the project. In 1953, the construction of the causeway began. During the construction,the building site was harried frequently by hostile KMT aircraft. In January 1955, a boat loaded with workers was attacked by KMT aircraft, killing 76 people. Due to lack of heavy equipment, all works was done by human labor. After the causeway was completed in October 1955, a stela was erected by the side of the causeway with the words "Move the mountain to fill the sea" (移山填海) written by Zhu De in honour of the achievement. In April 12 1957, the first passenger train left the Xiamen Railway Station, heading to the mainland along the causeway, which marked the transfixion of Yingtan–Xiamen Railway.^[3] Before the completion of Xiamen Bridge in 1991, the causeway was the Xiamen island's sole link with mainland over thirty years. However, the embankment cut off the flow of water in the bay, which endangered the ecosystem and the survival of many species, including lancelet.In order to protect the environment,part of the embankment was blasted off in 2010, and a road bridge would be built instead.

Trademark

The trademarks of many products made by local state-own companies are "Sea Dyke"(海堤, pinyin: Hǎidì; Peh-ōe-ji: Hái-thê), which refer to the causeway, to memory the history, including tea, cigarettes and soy sauce.^[4][5]

References