Letter to Gao Gang〔1〕 on the Issue of the Railway Line to be Built to Fujian
(March 14, 1953)

Comrade Gao Gang:

Please discuss and review this document〔2〕 with the comrades from the Ministry of Railways and inform me of the results. In my opinion, as long as there are no particularly serious engineering difficulties, it is better than the originally proposed Nanchang-Fuzhou-Ruijin-Xiamen line, as it can satisfy both northern and southern Fujian. However, it seems that no survey materials were left from the Kuomintang period for the Guixi-Pengkou line, so it will have to be redone, and the completion time may be extended a little.

Mao Zedong
March 14

Published according to the manuscript.

Notes
〔1〕 Gao Gang was then Chairman of the State Planning Commission of the Central People's Government.
〔2〕 Refers to a report dated February 18, 1953, from Zhang Zhen, Deputy Commander of the East China Military Area Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, to Nie Rongzhen, Acting Chief of the General Staff, and Huang Kecheng, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. The report stated that regarding the issue of the railway line to be built to Fujian, the original line proposed by the Ministry of Railways was: starting from Nantang, south of Nanchang, passing through Nancheng, Nanfeng, Guangchang, Shicheng, Ruijin, Changting, Pengkou, Longyan, Zhangping, and Hua'an to Songyu, with a total length of 920 kilometers. The East China Military Area Command proposed another line: starting from Guixi Station on the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line, passing through Guangze, Shaowu, Shunchang, Nanping, Shaxian, Yong'an, Liancheng, Pengkou, Youyan, Zhangping, and Hua'an to Songyu, this line being about one thousand kilometers long. Comparing the two plans, the one proposed by the Ministry of Railways is far from the coastline, has greater depth, and is less susceptible to the effects of war. The plan proposed by the East China Military Area Command passes through most areas of Fujian, takes into account Fujian's inconvenient transportation situation, is closer for military support operations from East China, and is also closer for the future extension of the railway to Fuzhou. Please review and instruct which line would be better to build. The railway to Fujian was later built basically according to the plan of the East China Military Area Command, which Mao Zedong endorsed in this letter.