A small ball, kicked with legs, Malan blooms 21st - commemorating the 59th anniversary of China's first atomic bomb explosion

59 years ago today, a loud bang was heard over Lop Nur in the Gobi Desert in western China, and a huge mushroom cloud rose into the sky. my country's first atomic bomb test was successful. my country became the fifth country to possess nuclear weapons after the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union, and France.

The first atomic bomb test in my country was a top-level state secret at the time, and researchers used a lot of code words to keep it secret. Today, let us take a closer look at that magnificent past through these code words.

1. A small ball, kicked with feet, Malan blooms twenty-one

"Little ball, kick it with your feet, the Malan flowers bloom twenty-one, twenty-eight, two-five, six, twenty-eight, two-five, seven, twenty-eight, two-nine, thirty-one..." Hidden behind this well-known nursery rhyme is the story of my country's development of the first atomic bomb.

my country's first atomic bomb was called "little ball" because of its ball-like shape. "Kicking" refers to a 102-meter-high iron tower at the nuclear test base. At that time, my country's first atomic bomb was not detonated by airdrop, but was placed on this iron tower for tower explosion test.

The nuclear test base is located in the Lop Nur Desert, which is known as the "Sea of ​​Death". There is almost no grass here, but there is a flower called "Malan", so the nuclear test base is also called the "Malan Base".

"Malan blossoms" does not refer to the blossoming of Malan flowers, but to the first atomic bomb in my country that "bloomed" at the Malan base. In addition, the Malan base has another identity, which is the 21st test and training base of the General Armament Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. So "21" refers to the 21st test and training base.

"Kick the small ball with your feet, and the Malan will bloom twenty-one" is said to have been created by the personnel who participated in the nuclear test that year. In order to celebrate the success of the test but also to keep it confidential, they added the secret language used at that time into the nursery rhyme and it was sung all over the country.

2. Miss Qiu is at the dressing table, braiding her hair at 8 o'clock

"Little Ball" has another more beautiful name - "Miss Qiu".

On the eve of the first atomic bomb explosion, in order to ensure the confidentiality of the communication between the nuclear test site and Beijing, Premier Zhou Enlai proposed the use of some code words and codes. Because the "little ball" was very round, everyone decided to give it the code name "Miss Qiu". "Qiu" and "Qiu" are homophones, so it became "Miss Qiu" (in fact, the code word list in the original archives said Lao Qiu, and later he was called "Miss Qiu"); the platform for loading atomic bombs was called "dressing table"; the cable connecting pyrotechnics was as long as hair, called "combing braids"; the assembly of atomic bombs was called "dressing"; the code for the atomic bomb assembly workshop was "living in the lower room"; the working platform hoisted on the tower was "living in the upper room"; the meteorological code was "blood pressure"; the detonation time was "zero hour".

At 18:30 on October 15, 1964, the atomic bomb began to be assembled, and the first codeword was sent to Beijing, "Miss Qiu" moved in.

At 8 o'clock on the 16th, a second code word was sent: "Miss Qiu" is at the dressing table, combing her braids at 8 o'clock.

After the pyrotechnics were inserted, the atomic bomb was slowly hoisted onto the tower, and then the third codeword was sent out, "Miss Qiu" moved into the room.

At 15:00 on October 16, the clouds gradually became thinner, accompanied by a loud bang, golden light erupted, fireballs flew into the sky, explosions resounded through the sky, and mushroom clouds rose into the sky. my country's first nuclear test was a complete success!

3. Black hair turns into snow on the westward journey, and deep affection forges into border love

The explosion of the first atomic bomb was the result of the silent dedication and hard work of countless predecessors.

In the winter of 1958, an epic migration took place on the Jinyintan grassland. More than 6,700 farmers and herdsmen prepared saddles and horses and gave up their ancestral homeland for the nuclear industry. Since then, the grassland's thousand-year silence was broken, and Jinyintan mysteriously disappeared from the map of China for 36 years.

In the same year, builders from all over the country gathered here for the same purpose: to build China's first nuclear weapons research and development base - the state-owned 221 plant. Faced with the harsh environment of 3,200 meters above sea level, high altitude and lack of oxygen, the builders did not scare away and complain, but were full of passion to fight the high and cold, "under the scorching sun, with the bright moon as the tent, eating gravel rice when hungry, and drinking bitter water when thirsty".

After the completion of the 221 base, a large number of returning elites, domestic scientific and technological backbones, and skilled workers responded to the call of the Party and the country and rushed to the front line of nuclear industry construction and nuclear weapons research with strong patriotic feelings. Wang Ganchang, Guo Yonghuai, Deng Jiaxian, Yu Min... Jinyintan Grassland witnessed the deeds of a group of meritorious figures in the nuclear industry.

Generation after generation of pursuers have their black hair turned into snow on the westward journey, and generation after generation of scientists have forged a deep love for the border. The older generation of nuclear industry workers wrote a magnificent epic with their youth, passion and intelligence. The new generation of nuclear industry workers will also continue to struggle, forge ahead and write a new chapter of development.

Produced by Yuanbao Studio

Planning | Ma Shiyu Zhao Mumu

Photo and text | Zhao Mumu

Poster | Pei Ke and Hou Yixuan

Note | This article is published by China Atomic Energy Publishing and Media Co., Ltd. Please do not reprint without permission!