Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
In Chinese, this big stone bridge is called “Lugou Bridge”, which was after the
original name of the Yongding River. Now the name of the river itself has long been
changed, but the bridge across the river as well as its old name has always remained
unchanged, and well-preserved.
Here I'd like to mention one thing in passing. It is at “Lugou Bridge” that the
Japanese imperialists launched their aggressive war against the Chinese people on
July 7, 1937. That is the famous “Lugou Bridge Incident”.
The ancient ferry-place on the Yongding River, running under the present
“Lugou Bridge”, provided favourable conditions for the development of a city.
However, it had its disadvantages to the growth of a city at this very point as well.
That was the threatening fl oods of the Yongding River. This is the reason why
people altered the name of the river into “Yongding”, whose literal meaning is
“Tranquility Forever”, showing the hope that the river would always remain tran-
quil and never overfl ow its banks.
The Yongding River, as a big river, had an unsteady rate of fl ow. In the rainy
season, the Yongding River rose higher and higher, swelled by the water running
from the mountainous areas which were to the northwest of the Beijing Plain.
Such ancient ferry-place as the crossing site where the present Lugou Bridge is
situated stood in the way of the seething and rolling waters. The fl oods formed a
constant menace and an incessant danger to the crossing point in the old times.
The ancient people decided that they shouldn't build their city in such a place.
They should have their city built up in a place which was close to the crossing site
and free from the threat of fl oods. The place they found was the site of the original
settlement which later turned into the city of Ji. As it was located at a hub of com-
munications linking the north and the south, this place had more favourable con-
ditions than its neighbouring settlements. That is why it could develop into a city
at a greater speed.
Besides, the original settlement of Ji also had its own local and regional favour-
able conditions which enabled it to grow up smoothly in its early stage. For
instance, it was positioned on a ridge of the alluvial fan formed by the ancient
Yongding River. Moreover, it was situated to the east of a belt of overfl owing
phreatic water near the alluvial fan. In this area, there were rich sources of water
underground. To the west of the city of Ji there was a lake formed by the overfl ow-
ing phreatic water. It was called the West Lake in the past and is now called the
Lotus Pond. The lake led to a stream which ran through the southwest part of Ji
City. The small river provided a good source of surface water for the early devel-
opment of the city of Ji.
From the analysis made above, we can see that the rise of Ji City depended not
only on the decisive factors for the social and economic development, but also on
the favourable geographical conditions of its own. As these geographical conditions
existed objectively, their analysis is possible. If we ignored these geographical con-
ditions, we would fi nd it diffi cult to explain why the original settlement of Ji should
have risen up in this very place (Fig.
1.2
).
