Chapter 185 Headway (1/2)
The development in Yahong Bridge in that era was not anyone could easily comprehend. The city today was but a mere shadow of its former glory, which could well be attributed to the auspicious aura given off by the Dragon-slaying Blade when it was kept by Bian Dashou there. But on the other hand, one had to give the old historian great credit for his detailed and meticulous work.
Some of the records even documented various miscellaneous events. Merchant Dong Sixiang moved to rejoin his kin Dong Siyuan at Yahong Bridge after moving from Tonghua Village of Pujiang County in Zhejiang during the reign of Qianlong Emperor. He started a pawnbroker business and opened a shop named Xingshun Pawnshop.
The Three Wang Brothers from Shanxi came to the town of Yahong Bridge during the reign of Daoguang Emperor, bringing with them printing methods and vinegar brewing technology, and they operated three stores named Jin Tai, Jin Yuan, and Jin Cheng. The Cao Clan from Hedong District later came to Yahong Bridge and introduced the tanning method.
In the notes made during the second and third years of Guangxu Emperor's reign, there was an entry about repairs made at the Temple of the Fire God. The entry also mentioned about three long-standing enterprises of the Cao Clan of Hedong, three stores selling fur pelts called De Shun, Wan Shun, Yong Shun. These three trading establishments closed around 1987 when China carried out the reform and opening-up policy. In total, they had a history of 150 years.
The second economic surge for Yahong Bridge came in the early twilight years of the Qing Dynasty, beginning from the Opium War when commodities and products from both the East and the West began flowing into the markets of Yahong Bridge from Tianjin. Prominent goods and commodities introduced from the West included kerosene used to fuel oil lamps, candles, matches, flour for food, foreign currency, socks, even cotton napkins, etc. The bazaars of Yahong Bridge slowly became an agora of blending cultures where West met East, and stores that formerly only retailed began to wholesale items and wares, too, providing storage services in addition to logistical solutions. These stores turned into huge goods depot for merchants from abroad.
By the second year of Guangxu Emperor's rule, Yahong Bridge had various goods depot specializing in grain namely the Dongshenglong, Kuishenglong, Fushun, Yongshun, Gongxing, Fuqing, and many other depositories. Fushun, the depot which was started by Jiang Hao, a prominent veteran of the Revolution, sold at least 700 shi (42,000 kg) of grain yearly. Western influences slowly seeped into Yahong Bridge; a Wan Family from Lijiaqiao town near Beijing came and started a pharmacy that sold both Western and Eastern medicine, and a clothing store was furnished with brick and mortar, a method used only by Western buildings in those days. Churches began to open in the city and the sight of foreigners walking the streets soon became a common scene.
The third economic boom for Yahong Bridge then came during the First United Front. The leaders of the city turned the market into a battlefield of political ideals. In the fall of 1928, a meeting held at the Temple of the Fire God in Yahong Bridge by several communist members from Yutian County pointed out five main points. Out of the five points, the third was about using the huge crowds at the bazaars of Yahong Bridge to spread the awareness for the masses to launch a protest to cut rent, cut interest rates, and cut taxes while opposing the notion of raising taxes and rents to finance military expenditure.
Local political groups used the tremendously crowded market population to incite laborers and dock workers on a strike against low wages. Five to six thousand people from Yahong Bridge and neighboring towns came together as one to protest against taxes and triumphed. Their victory attracted many local lower- and middle-class landowners to invest into the development of Yahong Bridge by purchasing real estate. Before long, stores selling pottery, porcelain, glassware, as well as other modern aesthetical decorations began to appear. Books stores selling New Year woodblock prints, erotic illustrations, stationary too opened not long after. Another enterprise started by a family of brothers called Zhang would then move to Yahong Bridge, bringing in the trade of seafood and coloring dyes.
Even Muslims migrated to Yahong Bridge; a Muslim family called Ma was famous for owning the Taihexuan Restaurant. Another Muslim family, Xu, was also well-known for their Lanting Restaurant too. Zhang Baifa, First Deputy Mayor of Beijing once mentioned about his childhood in Yahong Bridge. He was particularly fond of his memories enjoying the fragrant smell of food from the restaurants that lined the street outside his childhood home.
The fourth would come after the economic reforms, when the contract responsibility system was introduced to allow part of the population to thrive following the devastation of the Cultural Revolution. More Western merchandise was seen in Yahong Bridge such as sofas and women's handbags. It marked the beginning of the country's industrialization spurt as factories began to open everywhere and jobs at the factories were readily available for everyone.
The bazaars at Yahong Bridge evolved due to this change in trend; their markets expanded, catering wholly for the entire nation rather than just their local community. Trade activities blazed so expeditiously that there were at least three thousand vendors and merchants operating at the bazaar. The name of Yahong Bridge began synonymous with the prestige of national and even international wholesalers as their network began to stretch beyond China's border's and this was shown in various nomenclature of local infrastructure and products. Futuristic brand names bearing the words ”Galaxy,” ”Space,” ”Shuttle,” and many more began to appear, and streets began to sound more modern and avant-garde, namely, the Zhongyang Dajie (Central Avenue), Fuxing Jie (Restoration Street), Xianggang Jie (Hong Kong Street), Wenhua Lu (Cultural Road), Zhengfa Lu (Lawful Road), Wuzhou Shangmao (the Five Continents Trading Company), Guoji Shangmao Cheng (International Trade City), and so forth. Everyone looked towards the future with hope and fervor and no one was hardly unproud of the stature of Yahong Bridge across the entire country.