Editor's note: Transportation is the key to rejuvenating the country and the foundation of a strong country. Whether it is the national and provincial trunk lines extending in all directions, or the rural roads that cross the mountains and mountains, the increasingly perfect transportation environment and services have brought the most real benefits to ordinary people, so that people can not only break into the world, but also return to their hometowns.
From now on, Chongyang County Highway Development Center and Jingchu Network (Hubei Daily) will launch a series of reports on "Chongshan Junshui Leads to Happiness" to see how Chongyang S259 copper antennas are connected into a piece, and the vast countryside in the Mufu Mountains along the line will be built into a Chongyang version of the "Fuchun Mountain Residence Map" of "seeing the mountains, seeing the water, and remembering the nostalgia".
Driving on the S259 copper antenna. Photo by Huang Zheng
Jingchu.com (Hubei Daily) News Reporter Huang Zheng Correspondent Liao Xuebin Zeng Bo Shen Liang
The 2024 three-level cadre meeting of the county party committee of Chongyang County proposed to "take care of a mountain" and build the vast Mufu mountain area into a thick land for industrial prosperity, a pure land that everyone yearns for, and a hot land for the future.
Without perfect infrastructure, it is impossible to talk about the construction of beautiful villages. The difficulty of rural travel is a key bottleneck that restricts the development of agriculture and rural areas in mountainous areas, and it is the first difficulty that needs to be solved urgently in rural construction.
The S259 copper antenna is an important part of the Mufu Mountain Tourist Highway, and it is also an important channel for residents in the Mufu Mountain area and Qingshan Reservoir area to communicate with the outside world. On September 20, the reporter came to the Chongyang County Highway Development Center to explore how the people of Chongyang Traffic Highway can maintain this beautiful highway and be the "pioneer" of rural revitalization.
Overcoming many obstacles
Brave the hardships and dangers to open up the road to prosperity in the mountainous areas
Chongyang County is located in the south of Hubei Province, at the junction of Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi provinces, and has been known as "Jiangxia Nanping" since ancient times. This mountainous county, which is "half water and half fields with eight mountains", is regarded by the soldiers as "Chuwu Pass" and "Hunan and Hubei throat".
The majestic Mufu Mountains and the Qingshan Reservoir have brought valuable ecological resources, but have also become major obstacles to local development.
Open the road in the mountains and build bridges when encountering water. In 2012, Chongyang County decided to gather the strength of the whole county to build a road out of the mountain.
The road on Makufu Mountain is a network. Photo courtesy of correspondent Ying Chenzhuang
Since 2013, the Mufu Mountain eco-tourism road network, with the S259 copper antenna and the S246 phoenix boundary line as the horizontal and vertical "aorta" and the rural highway as the branch "capillary", has been rolled out in the county, laying a solid foundation for the development of mountainous villages.
"Don't say that it was difficult to take this line back then, even if it was to repair this copper antenna, it was very difficult." Wu Yuelong, a member of the General Party Branch of Chongyang County Highway Development Center, is one of the builders who once built the S259 copper antenna.
Wu Yuelong told reporters that the construction of the highway began in 2013 and was not opened to traffic until 2016. The rocks and special soil quality of the mountainous area brought great challenges to the construction.
"At that time, I was on the project of the section of the road from Yiyuan Village to the border with Tongcheng County, and I had to build it all the way to the top of Huangpao Mountain. The basic conditions in that area can be said to not meet the requirements of road construction at all, and the technical difficulty is very great. ”
Road construction is generally made of local materials, and the area of Huangpao Mountain is one of the few black soil in Xianning City, although the soil is fertile, but the water content is high, and it is not suitable for the construction of highway materials, and it is necessary to transport earthwork to fill the foundation in other places.
"At that time, in order to ensure the progress of the project, the materials of this section once had to be hauled near Panshan and Chichong. At that time, there were no roads at all, and it was not easy for trucks to meet each other, and it was very dangerous to be close to cliffs and water along the route. Recalling the hard years, Wu Yuelong slapped his thigh.
The S259 copper antenna near the cliff and water is now beautiful. Photo courtesy of Chongyang County Rong Media Center reporter Huang Lanzhan
In addition, due to many factors, the blasting operation is also facing great challenges, and can only adopt the mode of manual drilling and filling blasting. "At most, there are more than 100 workers a day."
Under such difficult conditions, Chongyang County Traffic Highway people transported earthwork and stone one by one, and opened mountains and bridges step by step, and finally made the S259 copper antenna successfully opened to traffic in 2016.
"In retrospect, it was a long-term decision to build this road. To this day, there are still villagers who think of us. Like the Peach Blossom Village in Gaoyang Township, it is now very beautiful. If we relied on the original village-level roads, we would not be able to build a new countryside like today. Talking about the reputation of this road, Wu Yuelong is very proud.
"Now, we have achieved full coverage of the security facilities near the water and cliffs, and we have also renovated some high slopes and continued to carry out fine maintenance and improvement. A corresponding management mechanism has been established. Wu Yuelong said that the road repair cannot be left alone. Daily maintenance is a long-term battle, and you can't relax at any time.
Take care of the roads
Lucid waters and lush mountains become the "poetry and distance" at the doorstep of the house
In the roadside parking area of Aoshang Village, Chongyang County, S259 copper antenna, Tan Wei, the head of the Panshan Highway Management Station, is cleaning up the debris and fallen leaves with his colleagues. The reporter found that a number of new charging spaces have been added here.
Tan Wei and his colleagues clean the parking area. Photo by Huang Zheng
In June 2024, Chongyang County carefully selected 49 central villages, famous tourist villages, and transportation node villages among 187 administrative villages, fully considering the charging demand and distribution network carrying capacity, and identified them as the first batch of township charging pile construction sites.
Up to now, 49 new rural public charging stations have all completed the electrification work, and the charging facilities in the parking area of Ao Shang Village are one of the new ones, and a total of 759 charging piles of various types have been built in the county.
Tan Wei told reporters that the S259 copper antenna is an important part of the "Mufu Mountain Tourist Highway", which not only connects Chongyang and Tongcheng counties, but also goes directly to Tianyue Pass in Tongcheng County, which borders Hunan Province, and can also go directly to Jiangxi through the rural road of the branch line.
Such excellent transportation conditions attract many tourists to drive for sightseeing, bringing development opportunities to the villages along the route.
S259 has become an important channel for rural tourism. Photo by Huang Zheng
"The two village committees of Aoshang Village pay great attention to the road environment, and arrange people to clean up the weeds and white garbage on the road every day, and they are very supportive of our work." Tan Wei said.
It is understood that relying on the S259 copper antenna, Aoshang Village will build the lotus pond, Yaowang Valley and other points along the road, so that the industry and scenic spots are strung together, and a development path integrating transportation, agriculture and tourism has been created, and the countryside has a new look.
In recent years, the transportation and highway department of Chongyang County has been a "pioneer" in rural revitalization, continuously improving the service facilities and security system along the S259 copper antenna, providing a "harbor" that can be docked at any time for passengers, and rural tourism with volcanic areas.
"We are coordinating with a number of departments to prepare for the addition of charging facilities in the Panshan parking area." Tan Wei said that during several important holidays this year, the Panshan parking area has become an important place for self-driving camping.
"These tourists are not only from Wuhan, but also from Hunan and Jiangxi. If they see us doing something, some people will come and say that we are doing a good job. Some people later brought their relatives and friends to play here, and this kind of word-of-mouth and recognition made us happier than any award. Talking about the results of the work, Tan Wei said very sincerely.
Road maintenance workers clear roadside weeds. Photo by Huang Zheng
Speaking of the friendship he established with the drivers and passengers, Tan Wei recalled the experience of fighting against ice and snow disasters. On February 24, when freezing rain was falling, Zhao Guozhong, a driver from Jilin City, drove a large truck through Mufu Mountain.
In front of the ramps covered by freezing rain, Zhao Guozhong had almost nothing to do. Fortunately, with Tan Wei and his colleagues guarding the provincial highway and fighting for hours to get the road, Zhao Guozhong and his large truck finally drove out of the mountain safely.
"Brother Zhao also contacted me some time ago to give me the opportunity to go to the Northeast to find him. But we highway people take the station as their home, take the road as their business, and when others are most anxious to go home, it is often when we are the busiest, and it is not easy to find such an opportunity. ”
With the joint efforts of Tan Wei and his colleagues, the S259 copper antenna has become a beautiful highway recognized by local residents and tourists, and is the "poetry and distance" in the hearts of many people.
The bus goes directly to the village bay
The driver also serves as a "delivery man" and a "commentator"
In recent years, the rural public transportation in Chongyang County has been connected to every administrative village in the Makufu Mountains along the S259 copper antenna.
"The road where our bus ran was all blackened. The road environment has been greatly improved compared to before. Every time we opened a line, the villagers there spontaneously set off firecrackers to celebrate. Xiao Songyang, deputy general manager of Chongyang County Huixiang Bus Service Co., Ltd., said.
Bus No. 15 goes directly to the depths of Makufu Mountain. Photo courtesy of correspondent Liao Zicheng
Thanks to the linkage and cooperation of various departments and the continuous improvement of highway emergency support capabilities, it has become possible for buses to enter the Mufu Mountains.
"In the mountainous area, the hidden danger of geological disasters is very important to pay attention to. In the past, when it was rainy and snowy, not to mention the bus, ordinary cars were not easy to walk. Xiao Songyang introduced that now the transportation department has a special wrecker team, and every time there is a related bad weather or geological disaster, it will respond quickly and solve the problem.
"When it rains and snows, the emergency team goes to the road before 5 a.m. every day to inspect and eliminate dangers, and the results will be available immediately. Our bus company arranges work according to the results to ensure the safety of our passengers. ”
Now, the 15th bus directly leads to the farthest Gaoyang Township in the Mufu Mountains, a total of 16 stations, you can reach the end point in more than an hour, there is 1 bus every 40 minutes, whether it is the villagers to travel or go to the countryside for sightseeing is very convenient, the mode of "passenger, freight and mail transport" also brings convenience to agricultural products into the city and express delivery to the countryside.
Zhou Jianxiong, 57, is a native of Gaoyang Township, and he is also a bus driver driving the No. 15 bus.
"Now the government's policy is good, the elderly do not spend money on the car, and many elderly people take the No. 15 bus to Gaoyang to play." Zhou Jianxiong told reporters that he is now not only a rural bus driver, but also a delivery man in the mode of "passenger, freight and postal transport", and a "tour guide" for these elderly groups.
"In the first half of the year, many people went to Daling Village to see the cherry blossoms. In the second half of the year, many people went to Zhongshan Village to buy tofu. When it comes to cultural and tourism attractions and local products along the S259, Zhou Jianxiong is like a treasure.
Provincial Highway 259 goes directly to Gaoyang Township. Photo courtesy of correspondent Ying Chenzhuang
"Along this road, you can enjoy cherry blossoms in spring, lotus in summer, fish in autumn, and tofu before the Chinese New Year in winter, which is worth visiting all year round." Zhou Jianxiong told reporters that no matter what the season, every time he passed by the vicinity of Panshan Village, outside the car window was Mufu Mountain on one side and Qingshan River on the other.
"If you want to get rich, you must first build roads". The improvement of transportation conditions is the basis for the optimization of the business environment in the Makufu Mountains. The improvement of infrastructure and the upgrading of services have brought traffic to the countryside and made it possible for villagers to start a business and become rich.
Huang Liyun, a 51-year-old villager from Yiyuan Village, Gaoyang Township, used to work outside. After returning to his hometown to start a business, he operated a souvenir shop next to the S259 Tongtian line.
With the coverage of the bus line, more and more tourists come to the village to play, and her business is getting better and better.
"Native products must be sold to outsiders, if no one can get in, things can't get out, then it is impossible to sell at all." Huang Liyun told reporters that in the past two years, express delivery companies and passenger, freight and mail combined transport and other service modes have directly reached Yiyuan Village in the mountains, and transportation costs have dropped significantly.
The reporter and his entourage came to Huang Liyun's store to understand the situation. Photo by Huang Zheng
The continuous upgrading of the S259 copper antenna has increased the income channels of the vast villages in the Mufu Mountains, and the industries for the villagers to get rich have increased.
"Our Chongyang County Transportation and Highway Department will continue to be a 'pioneer' in serving rural revitalization, work together with towns and villages along the route, integrate the concept of co-creation into road repair, greening and maintenance, and take care of beautiful villages with a beautiful highway." Chen Yabin, director of the Chongyang County Highway Development Center, said.