As a popular Chinese saying goes, "Don't forget the well-diggers when you drink from this well." March 22 marks the 30th World Water Day and the first day of the 35th "China Water Week" which lasts till March 28. It has been nine decades since Chongqing people gained access to tap water for the first time.
Today, we will take you to learn more about the Daqiangba tap water plant at Qixinggang, Yuzhong District, which represents the first tap water plant in Chongqing's central urban area.
The original appearance of the Daqiangba tap water plant. (Photo provided to iChongqing)
A landmark of Chongqing's old urban area
Due to the unique mountainous landform, there were only a small number of wells and ponds to reserve water in Chongqing before the Daqiangba tap water plant. As for the necessity of water, locals used to rely on porters who went out of the town every day to fetch water from the river and sold it to residents.
In 1926, Pan Wenhua, head of Chongqing Commercial Port Supervision Office, proposed to build a tap water project. In March 1929, a ceremony marking the start of the construction of a tap water plant was held at Guanyinliang, Daxigou. After nearly three years of construction, the Daqiangba tap water plant was put into trial operation, marking the birth of Chongqing's and even western China's first tap water plant. Since then, Chongqing people started to gain access to tap water.
Back then, the newly built Daqiangba tap water plant was well equipped with a raw water tank, sedimentation tank, sand filtration tank, pure water tank, (rinsing) water tower, and other major facilities. With a daily water supply of 10,000 cubic meters and a raw water pipe length of 2,080 meters, it was able to supply water for about 300,000 residents living in the old quarter from Chaotianmen to Tongyuanmen.
The original appearance of the sedimentation tank of the Daqiangba tap water plant. (Photo provided to iChongqing)
After the Daqiangba tap water plant was completed, the water tower inside soon become a landmark of Chongqing's old quarter.
Water tower of the Daqiangba tap water plant in Yuzhong District of Chongqing. (Photo provided to iChongqing)
Featuring a French design style, the water tower consisted of four parts: base, mount, body, and spire. On the base stood 18 stone pillars forming a circular colonnade. On the mount made of dressed stones, there was a small door that led to the top of the tower. The tower body was in the shape of the cylinder and the tower spire looked like a helmet.
Known for its unique shape, the Daqiangba water tower was printed on the five yuan banknote issued by the Farmers Bank of China in 1937. Now, it enjoys the distinction of being listed as a great modern and contemporary structure and a unit for cultural heritage protection.
Chinese technicians lead design and construction
According to Liu Yonggang, Party branch secretary and head of the tap water plant of Yuzhong District, building a tap water plant in a city was a huge and arduous project in the 1920s. Back then, the tap water plant projects in Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Wuhan, and other places were all led by foreigners.
But Daqiangba tap water plant was led by domestic technicians throughout the process from planning and design to construction and management, which has been the first time in China's modern and contemporary water supply engineering history.
"Back then, there was no power plant in Chongqing and self-generating equipment cannot supply power to distant places. Therefore, the designers set the power-driven equipment at Daxigou to take advantage of the geographic location of the Daqiangba tap water plant which was located at the highest point of Yuzhong District so that the tap water can flow naturally to the supply area due to gravity."
Liu Yonggang added that as homemade construction materials were of bad quality, most process engineering facilities, even those precision ones such as rapid filtration tank, high-pressure water tower, and pure water tank whose surface was arched with dressed stones, adopted the dressed stone structure. In more than 50 years that followed, the facilities were in use, which proves the excellence of the construction techniques.
The daily water supply of about 40,000 cubic meters
People may wonder, can the water plant built 90 years ago be still in working order? Can the water quality be ensured?
Daqiangba tap water plant. (Photo provided to iChongqing)
According to Liu Yonggang, as time progresses, the Daqiangba tap water plant has undergone many technological innovations, introducing modern industrial equipment and replacing water purification and disinfection medicament.
"Except for some old buildings and tank rails we gave a facelift, we basically kept our workshops and tanks unchanged. Whist protecting heritage, we renovated the parts that have the most importance and realistic value. Meanwhile, we strengthened communication and coordination with the local government and developed a tourist attraction for industrial culture and tourism, thereby injecting new and fresh blood into the industrial heritage."
Now, the Daqiangba tap water plant is still in good working order with a daily water supply of about 40,000 cubic meters and can meet the water needs of residents living in the surrounding areas, said Liu Yonggang.
"We hope through the Daqiangba tap water plant, Chongqing people can learn more about the development history of Chongqing's water supply, realize that the tap water we use every day is hard-won, and become more aware of protecting water resources."