Comments and Annotations on Letter [I]
(October and December 1964)
To Comrade Bo Yibo.
Zhou is right. It is necessary to simultaneously conduct field surveys of underground resources along all three route options—coal, iron, other metals, as well as forest conditions. Mao’s Note
Comrade Bo Yibo:
Your opinion is very correct. Both the resources and the routes require thorough investigation over a period of two to three years. Only when there is solid evidence can a comparison be made. We must not act hastily, nor should we delay or carry out the survey carelessly and without due seriousness.
Mao Zedong
December 14th

[I]
The request report was submitted on October 3, 1964, by Li Jingquan, First Secretary of the Southwest Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and First Secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee, together with Lü Zhengcao, Minister of Railways, to Vice Premier of the State Council and Director of the State Planning Commission Li Fuchun, Vice Premier of the State Council and Director of the State Economic Commission Bo Yibo, and Vice Premier Luo Ruiqing, with copies also sent to Mao Zedong and the Central Committee. The letter was written by Bo Yibo on October 17 of the same year to Zhou Enlai, with copies to Mao Zedong and the Central Committee, concerning the route selection for the Sichuan–Hubei Railway. The request report stated that they fully agreed with Chairman Mao and the Central Committee’s directive to halt construction of the Xiang–Guizhou Railway and instead renovate the Sichuan–Hubei line. In accordance with this instruction, they had collaborated with the Ministry of Railways’ specialized design institutes—the Wuhan Design Institute—to study the route alignment and design plans for the Sichuan–Hubei Railway.
I. There are two route options:
The first option, known as the Yuanjiang Route, would run from Hankou via Changjiangbu (already open to traffic), Yingcheng, Shayang, crossing the Yangtze River at Zhidu, then through Lindao and Changde, following the Yuanjiang River to Yuanling, and subsequently along the Xishui River through Baojing, Huayuan, Xushan, and Xiyang, before continuing along the Wujiang River via Pengshui and Nanchuan to Chongqing. The total length of this route would be approximately 1,300 kilometers. The second option, the Wen River Route, follows the same path from Hankou to Lindao as the first option. From Lindao, it proceeds along the Wen River through Cili, Dayong, and Yongshun to reach Baojing, after which it connects to the first route leading to Chongqing. This alternative shortens the overall length by about 50 kilometers or slightly more. Based on a visual comparison of the maps, the first option appears preferable: it features gentler terrain, making construction easier; the沿线 population is larger, and there are more abundant supplies of grain and other resources. Moreover, it offers closer connections to the Beijing–Guangzhou Railway eastward from Changde and to the Xiang–Guizhou Railway southeastward from Yuanling. However, which of these two routes should ultimately be adopted still requires on-site surveys and detailed comparative analysis before a final decision can be reached. II. The railway standards are proposed to be designed as a Grade I trunk line. III. It has been decided to immediately transfer the technical personnel currently working on the Xiang–Guizhou Railway to assist in expanding and reinforcing the team responsible for surveying the Sichuan–Hubei route. IV. Construction of the section of the Sichuan–Hubei Railway north of the Yangtze River (the eastern segment) could commence in the latter half of next year, while work on the central and western sections may begin the following year once preliminary designs have been completed. V. The working style of the leading bodies must resemble that of military operations: commanders should personally go to the front lines, delve deeply into reality, gain a clear understanding of the situation, fully mobilize the masses, and adopt unified leadership combined with on-site command.
In his letter, Bo Yibo noted that, pursuant to instructions from the Central Committee, he was forwarding a schematic diagram of the Sichuan–Hubei Railway plan. The three routes depicted in the diagram—the Wen River Route, the Yuanjiang Route, and a shortened version of the Wen River Route—were primarily drawn based on aerial survey maps. A fourth route, the Qingjiang Route, had been designed by the Ministry of Railways after 1958. Information regarding local resources was obtained from the Economic Investigation Department of the Ministry of Railways’ specialized design institute, with data on iron ore specifically gathered by the Ministry of Metallurgy. All of these assessments remain preliminary, and no reliable conclusions can be drawn without further field investigations. In my view, it is essential to conduct simultaneous and parallel field surveys along all three routes (considering the first and third options as a single routing scheme). We should avoid the previous practice of subjectively selecting one route in advance under the guise of “route selection,” when in fact such decisions were merely made based on aerial photographs.
[2]
This document consists of: first, Mao Zedong’s annotations on a copy of the comments appended by Li Fuchun, Gu Mu (Deputy Director of the State Economic Commission), and Bo Yibo to the request report submitted by Li Jingquan and Lü Zhengcao concerning the route selection for the Sichuan–Hubei Railway; second, Mao Zedong’s expressed views on a comment written by Zhou Enlai; and third, Mao Zedong’s annotations on Bo Yibo’s letter.

Annotations on Launching a Mass Movement for Design Revolution
(November 1964, Days 1–8)