Text: Yu Yu
Edited by Yu Yu
Preface:
Half a century ago, China's railway, known as Africa's main transportation artery, was completed, and it became the focus of the world as soon as it came out.
So where does this great railway go from here?
China-Africa friendship on the railroad tracks
In the sixties of the last century, African countries began to become independent movements and became members of the United Nations, including Tanzania and Zambia.
However, independence is easier said than development, and the leaders of the two countries quickly realized that without infrastructure, how can the economy take off?
A bold idea was born between the two countries: to build a railway that would become the lifeline of the landlocked country to the sea in Zambia.
However, the ideals are very full, the reality is very skinny, and the lack of money, technology, and talent are all huge obstacles facing the two countries.
In desperation, the leaders of the two countries had no choice but to turn to Western countries for help, but the colonizers who had called for wind and rain in Africa not only did not lend a hand, but also poured cold water on it: stop dreaming, it is impossible for this kind of railway to be built in Africa.
These words were tantamount to a slap in the face to the leaders of the two countries, and just when they were at a loss, an unexpected helping hand reached out.
That was the same poor China at the time, and in 1965 Chairman Mao met with Tanzanian President Nyerere and Zambian President Kaunda in Beijing.
What the two presidents did not expect was that Chairman Mao agreed to the request to help build the railway without saying a word.
Chairman Mao's words stunned everyone present: Your difficulties are different from ours, we don't build the railway ourselves, but we will help you build this railway.
They can't understand why a country that is itself poor would do anything to help African countries thousands of miles away.
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Some people ridicule and question, and some people secretly make stumbling blocks, but the Chinese have proved with practical actions what is the true spirit of internationalism.
The construction of this railway is not only a project, but also a diplomatic war without gunpowder, which declares to the world that China and Africa stand together to fight against the pride and prejudice of the West.
A steel dragon forged by hard work
Dense jungles, steep mountains, hot and humid swamps, every step is full of challenges, and some have described it as a paradise for the world's most dangerous animals, the most venomous snakes, and the most ferocious mosquitoes.
This is not an exaggeration, but a bloody reality, with malaria, yellow fever, sleep sickness, these tropical diseases are invisible enemies that threaten the lives of workers at all times.
In those days when medical conditions were extremely limited, every fever could be the last countdown to life.
The Chinese workers, however, were undaunted, saying, "Since they have come, they have come to fight, not to enjoy."
The project was far more arduous than anyone could have imagined, with 320 bridges and 22 tunnels to be crossed, which meant carving a way out of the cliffs.
Once, while building a bridge, a group of Chinese workers jumped into the rushing river and used their bodies to build a human wall to protect the hard-won project when a sudden torrential rain caused a flash flood and the piers were about to collapse.
This spirit of sacrificing life and forgetting death has touched countless African brothers, and they have joined the army of road construction.
However, efforts are always accompanied by sacrifices, according to incomplete statistics, during the construction process, more than 70 Chinese workers are forever buried in a foreign land.
Some of them have been bitten by venomous snakes, some have contracted incurable diseases, and some have lost precious lives in accidents.
In the dead of night, his wife would always look at the dark night sky and imagine if her husband was somewhere in heaven, watching the railroad he had built with his life.
For example, they completed a 160-meter-long bridge in just 100 days, which was unheard of in the history of African engineering at the time.
Finally, in 1976, the eight-year Tanzan Railway was completed, with a total length of 1,860 kilometers, crossing 320 bridges, 22 tunnels and 93 stations.
It is not only a line of transportation, but also a road of friendship paved with sweat and life.
As the first train slowly passed, Africans rejoiced, knowing that this was not just a railway, but a path of hope for a better future.
This railway is a monument to the painstaking efforts of the Chinese and civilians, and an eternal testimony of China-Africa friendship, which proves to the world that as long as there is firm conviction and unremitting efforts, even the most difficult projects can be completed.
Boom and Fall: The ill-fated Tanzan Railway
When the railway was built, it was like a steel dragon that injected vitality into the land of East Africa, and towns along the railway sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, and trade became more and more frequent.
Every day, trains laden with goods run the tracks, transporting Zambia's mineral resources to the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, and from there to the rest of the world.
An old worker who used to work on the railroad recalled: At that time, the platform was always bustling, with people carrying all kinds of goods, and some even carried a live sheep on the train.
The train is like a flowing market, full of life and vitality, and the prosperity of the railway has brought a significant boost to the economies of both countries.
According to statistics, Zambia's copper ore exports have increased by nearly 50% in the decade since the railway opened, while Tanzania's agricultural exports have doubled.
The population of the towns along the railway line grew rapidly, and new factories and schools were built.
With more modern equipment and more flexible operations, these new routes began to divert cargo from the Tamzan Railway.
At the same time, due to poor management and poor maintenance, the railway's facilities began to deteriorate, train breakdowns were frequent, and the running speed was much worse than before.
One passenger said helplessly: "When you take the train now, you have to bring your own dry food and water, because you never know how long you will have to stop for the next breakdown."
What's even more heart-wrenching is that some criminals began to attack the idea of railroads, they secretly dug up cables, dismantled equipment parts and sold them for money.
Some sections of the cable were even dug up in the whole section, leaving hideous scars, which not only caused huge economic losses, but also seriously affected the normal operation of the railway.
By the 90s, the operation of the Tanzan railway had deteriorated, with passenger traffic plummeting and freight traffic plummeting.
An old railway worker couldn't help but burst into tears when he looked at the increasingly abandoned railway: How many Chinese brothers have worked this railway, and seeing it like this is what it is, my heart is more uncomfortable than a knife.
However, the decline of the Tanzania-Zambia railway is not an isolated case, and it reflects the common dilemma faced by many developing countries in terms of infrastructure construction and maintenance.
How to maintain the continuous operation of infrastructure under limited capital and technical conditions is a worldwide problem.
The fate of the Tanzania-Zambia railway is also a wake-up call, reminding us that construction is important, but subsequent operation and maintenance are equally critical.
Nevertheless, we should not be pessimistic about the future of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway, because the blood of China-Africa friendship has always flowed on this railway.
As long as this friendship exists, there will always be hope for revival, as one African poet said: as long as there is hope in the heart, the barren railroad tracks will eventually come back to life.
Reinvigorating Strength: China-Africa Railway Cooperation in the New Era
Just when many people thought that the Tanzania-Zambia railway would become a thing of history, a new force crept in, and China, an old friend who helped African brothers build the railway half a century ago, once again reached out to help.
In 2016, with the help of the Chinese government and enterprises, Tanzania completed the renovation of the Dar es Salaam-Morogoro section.
The refreshed railway has been revitalized, with thousands of passengers using it every day, and a local resident excitedly said: "Seeing the train running again is like seeing hope."
In Zambia, China has also been involved in a number of railway renovation projects, and a Chinese engineer proudly said: "We want to not only make the Tanzania-Zambia railway run again, but also make it run faster and better."
This is our commitment to our predecessors and to our African friends, but this cooperation is qualitatively different from half a century ago.
China is no longer a mere donor, but an equal partner, and Chinese companies not only bring capital and technology, but also focus on cultivating local talent to ensure the sustainable development of the railway.
An African engineer involved in the project said: "The Chinese have not only taught us how to build railways, but also taught us how to operate railways, which is the real teaching people to fish."
China-Africa railway cooperation in the new era is not only limited to the Tanzan Railway, but also helps build a standard gauge railway connecting the capital Nairobi to the port of Mombasa in Kenya, which is known as the backbone of Kenya.
In Ethiopia, the Jakarta-Djibouti Railway, which China is involved in building, became the first cross-border electrified railway in Africa.
These newly built railways are in the same vein as the Tanzania-Zambia Railway half a century ago, and they all carry the weight of China-Africa friendship.
However, they have a new connotation, that is, the concept of mutual benefit and win-win and common development, and the rebirth of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway is not only the revival of a railway project, but also the opening of a new chapter in China-Africa relations.
It tells us that sincere friendship can last forever across time and space, as one African scholar put it: the Tanzania-Zambia Railway is like a bridge connecting Central Africa, and although it has gone through storms, the foundation is still strong.
As long as we work together, we will be able to build a better future, and in the China-Africa cooperation in the new era, we see hope, opportunity, and mutual support between the two ancient civilizations in the process of modernization.
Come to an end:
This railway tells us that sincere friendship can cross thousands of mountains and rivers, that it is easy to build but more difficult to maintain, and that international cooperation should be built on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.
As President Xi Jinping said, China will always be a good friend, partner and brother of Africa, let us work together to create a better tomorrow for China-Africa relations.
Resources:
On June 25, 2024, Guangming.com published "Special Article丨Seeking "Quality" to "New" - China-Africa Cooperation Helps Africa's Industrialization Process
Foreign Media Attention: "Railway Diplomacy" Helps China-Africa Cooperation Deepen, published on May 23, 2024