With nothing else like it in the world, the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge is arguably our city’s finest structure. And it’s one with quite a tale to tell.
南京长江大桥可以说是我们城市最好的建筑，世界上没有其他地方能像它一样。 这是一个故事要讲的。
Back in 1916, the initial inspiration for a fixed crossing of the Yangtze at Nanjing was proposed at first by the Sino-British Bank. But after construction of the Shanghai to Nanjing Railway, the new government of the Republic of China chose instead to turn to French bridge experts to conduct a survey and feasibility study. They never received one.
早在1916年，中英银行最初提出了在南京固定穿越长江的最初灵感。 但在上海到南京铁路建成后，中华民国新政府选择求助于法国桥梁专家进行调查和可行性研究。 他們從未收到過一個。
More attempts were made in subsequent years, including the sending of Chinese personnel to both Europe and the USA in 1925 to look at exploiting their experience in train ferries. Later, in 1930, the Ministry of Railways of the National Government hired a foreign, so-called bridge expert, a certain John Walter. His conclusion was that it not be appropriate to build a bridge across the Yangtze at Nanjing.
在随后的几年里，进行了更多的尝试，包括在1925年向欧洲和美国派遣中国人员，以利用他们在火车渡轮方面的经验。 后来，在1930年，国家政府的铁路部聘请了一位所谓的外国桥梁专家，一位名叫约翰·沃尔特。 他的结论是，在南京修建一座横跨长江的桥梁是不合适的。
Watching with unease the progress being made on the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge upstream, built with the assistance of experts from the Soviet Union, and with a rising concern over a melting in Sino-Soviet relations, China chose to rely on its own strengths and rise to the challenge of completing the country’s most significant feat of engineering to date.
不安地看着在苏联专家的帮助下建造的武汉长江大桥的上游取得的进展，以及对中苏关系融化的担忧，中国选择依靠自己的实力，迎接挑战，完成该国迄今为止最重要的工程壮举。
Thus, the-then Bridge Engineering Bureau sought proposals for the design of the bridgeheads. In March of 1960, three designs were shortlisted, out of a total of 57 submissions. Somewhat fittingly, a local design came out on tops, that submitted by Zhong Xunzheng of the Nanjing Institute of Technology, now Southeast University.
因此，当时的桥梁工程局寻求桥头堡设计的建议。 1960年3月，在总共57个提交的作品中，有三个设计入围。 有些恰当的是，一个本地设计出现在顶部，由南京理工学院（现为东南大学）的钟勋正提交。
The winning design featured the now-legendary concrete abutments, each housing an elevator to take people up and and down from the bus stops on the bridge deck, and topped with statues of revolutionary figures, plus giant, distinctive, red steel Chinese flags.
获奖设计以现在傳奇的混凝土基臺為特色，每座都配有电梯，可將人们从桥甲板上的巴士站上下，顶部有革命人物的雕像，以及巨大的、独特的红色中国钢旗。
It is here that a very familiar character enters our narrative. With the navy and the shipping department at loggerheads over the exact clearance necessary to permit the passage of 10,000-ton, ocean-going vessels, then General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Deng Xiaoping, settled the argument; there shall be 24 metres between the river and the underside of the steel spans.
正是在这里，一个非常熟悉的角色进入了我们的叙述。 由于海军和航运部门在允许10,000吨远洋船舶通过所需的确切间隙问题上存在分歧，当时的中共中央总书记邓小平解决了这一论点；河流和钢架底之间应有24米。
Fully 8 years in the making, the Bridge comprised 384,100 cubic metres of concrete and 66,500 tons of steel. Between 1970 and 1993, it received more than 100 heads of state and government, and more than 600 foreign delegations. As something of a pilgrimage for many Chinese, the number of ordinary domestic and foreign tourists who have visited the Bridge is countless. In July 2014, the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge was selected as an immovable cultural relic.
这座桥花了整整8年的时间，由384,100立方米的混凝土和66,500吨的钢材组成。 1970年至1993年间，它接待了100多名国家元首和政府首脑，以及600多名外国代表团。 作为对许多中国人的朝圣之旅，参观过这座桥的普通国内外游客人数数不胜数。 2014年7月，南京长江大桥被选为不可移动的文物。
For the 50th anniversary of the Bridge’s opening, the structure was closed for 2 years for renovation; a strengthening of the grid work of girders that support the bridge and complete repairs of the approaches, together with a thorough makeover that included the removing of 50 years of pollution to restore the icon’s former lustre, and indeed its glory.
为了庆祝大桥开放50周年，该结构因翻新而关闭了2年；加强了支撑桥梁的梁的网格工程，并完成了通道的维修，以及彻底的改造，包括清除了50年的污染，以恢复图标的光泽，以及它的荣耀。