Iranian Miscellanies Episode 4 Magical Land-Hu Ze Stein Bank

Hu Ze province in Iran is located in the southwest of Iran, bordering the Persian Gulf in the south and the Mesopotamian plain in Iraq in the northwest-the middle and lower reaches of the famous Tigris River and Euphrates River in Sumer, Elam, Babylon and Assyrian civilizations, also known as the two river basins, and half of the estuaries are in this magical land of Khuzestan.

During my stay in Iran, I have been to Hu Ze twice. The first time was in the summer of 1990, not long after the Iran-Iraq war, and I just arrived in Tehran. At that time, our company and the Capital Iron and Steel Company formed a consortium to discuss with the Iranian Ministry of Industry the technical transformation project of a continuous casting workshop in Ahvaz, the capital of Hu Ze. At that time, Shougang sent a high-level technical delegation composed of more than ten people to Tehran, and then went to Avas for on-site inspection. My company representative accompanied me all the way to Avas. I went there by plane that time.

Awas is close to the Persian Gulf and is located in the two river basins, namely, the Tigris River and the Euphrates River. It is already very hot, and it is summer. When I got off the plane, a hot and humid air quickly wrapped me, making it difficult to breathe. I remember a person in charge of Shougang delegation quietly told me: it's so hot here, it seems that the quotation is a little high, at least including a little heatstroke prevention and cooling fee, right? I couldn't help laughing at his serious face.

Due to its proximity to the Persian Gulf, hot and humid weather is an inevitable climate feature in Hu Ze. But to my surprise, when I went out for a walk at night, I saw several bearded Iranians lying on the stone table in the flower bed in the square outside my hotel wrapped in robes. I don't know what the temperature was at that time, but I feel that my sweat pores are all hot, which is estimated to be at least 37-38 degrees Celsius. This shows that local people are not afraid of heat.

Before I went to Ahvaz, I knew that the Iranian province of Hu Ze Stan was located in the crescent zone of Sumerian civilization, where there were many relics of ancient civilization, so I also thought that if I had time or opportunity, I would visit these monuments, which was a good way to think about the past. Regrettably, when I went to Ahvaz, I spent almost all my energy accompanying the Shougang delegation to discuss the technical cooperation of the project with the Iraqi side. Besides, Shougang's engineers are not interested in those ancient sites at all. As soon as the inspection was over, I flew back to Tehran in a hurry and returned to Beijing two days later to prepare the technical transformation plan. As the business representative of this project, I had to leave Hu Ze Stein with them. But a kind of regret rises in my heart.

Why do I feel sorry for that trip to Avas? To tell the truth, firstly, there was a splendid ancient civilization in this magical land of Hu Ze Stan, which is located at the mouth of the two river basins, leaving some rare historical sites. Many people don't know that as early as the 6th century BC, before Cyrus II established the Achemenid Persian Dynasty (that is, the Persian Empire that originally established the ancient city of Susa, which will be mentioned later-the author's note), Iran had an older civilization-Elam civilization, which was more than 3,000 years BC, that is, about 5,000 years ago. This is also one of the earliest splendid civilizations after the ancient Egyptian civilization (some studies say that Sumerian civilization was earlier than the ancient Egyptian civilization-the author's note), and it is just as famous as Sumerian civilization, and its birthplace is in Hu Ze Stan province. In this respect, I have been longing for it.

Aerial view of the ancient city of Susa

Secondly, and more importantly, the first water conservancy design project undertaken by our company in Iran-the Karquet Valley where No.0 dam of Kerkai River is located is also not far north of Ahvaz, Hu Ze. This No.0 dam is the largest dam in Iran's history, with a height of 1.27 meters and a length of more than 3,000 meters. This is an earth dam with clay core wall. After the completion of the dam, the reservoir can store more than 7 billion cubic meters of water and generate 400 megawatts of electricity, which will also increase Iran's fresh water reserves by 30% and irrigate 340,000 hectares of farmland. It can be said that this dam is very important for Iran, which is in urgent need of reconstruction after the Iran-Iraq war.

Local map of calka River No.0 dam after completion

In the early 1990 s, Tehran was very short of electricity, and power outages at night were common. In addition to buying several rechargeable flashlights or portable lamps at home, we also buy a big bag of candles every time we go to the supermarket in case of power failure at night. Moreover, due to the long-term water shortage, Iran's wheat production plummeted (this is described in detail in the second episode of Miscellanies of Iran-the author's note), which shows how important this dam is to Iran after the war.

After our company won the bid, the project was implemented by Anhui Water Resources and Hydropower Survey and Design Institute and Northeast Water Resources and Hydropower Survey and Design Institute of Ministry of Water Resources, and the project manager was Mr. Hu Jiabo, President of Anhui Institute. Mr. Hu is a respected water conservancy expert. He is 9 1 year-old this year (his 60th birthday is in Tehran, and the story about Mr. Hu is described in detail in the book I Play Go in Iran-author's note). Teacher Hu is also my senior three student, that is, a graduate of Luzhou School, the predecessor of Hefei No.1 Middle School, in the early 1950s. He was admitted to Tsinghua University Water Conservancy Department, and then stayed as a teacher. 1957 was beaten to the right because of the injustice of the teacher Mr. Huang Wanli, and was rehabilitated after the Cultural Revolution and became a professor of water conservancy department in Tsinghua University. All the water conservancy projects undertaken by our company in Iran have infiltrated Mr. Hu's hard work.

The design consulting project of No.0 dam on Kakhe River in Iran is the first knowledge-intensive technical consulting project that is contracted internationally by market bidding after China's reform and opening up, which is of milestone significance in the history of foreign economic cooperation and project contracting in China. This project is also called service trade-oriented technology export, that is, the technology exporter not only transfers related patented technology or proprietary technology to the technology importer, but also sends experts, scholars and engineers with these technical knowledge to the project country to complete such projects, and is responsible for training local technicians. Of course, the design will fully consider the needs of the technology transferee and try to use the complete sets of equipment of the designer. This is the case with the Karquet River No.0 Dam Design Consultation Project.

During my stay in Iran, I have successively signed several contracts for water conservancy consulting projects, and I am familiar with the commercial terms of these technical consulting projects (all project contracts signed in Iran are in English and Persian-author's note). At one time, whenever economic and trade delegations from various places or industries visited or inspected Iran from China, the Economic and Trade Office of the Embassy in Iraq always recommended me to them, explaining to them how to bid and undertake relevant technical consulting projects abroad, especially in Iran, as well as the service trade characteristics of this project and other matters needing attention, as well as Iran's economic and trade policies.

Most of the engineers in the design consulting project of Kake River Dam No.0 work and live in Tehran. Shortly after I arrived in Iran, I always wanted to visit the design and location of the dam, that is, the dam site in Hu Ze, in order to increase my direct understanding of the project itself. This time, I came to Stan Ahvaz, Hu Ze, not far from No.0 dam site in Calci. As a result, I failed to realize my wish to visit the website. How can I not feel sorry?

Fortunately, God bless. More than a year later, the opportunity came again in the winter of 199 1. Due to the design needs, our project team had to further explore the geological conditions of the location of the No.0 dam on the Kaerhe River. At that time, a group of exploration engineers, skilled workers and related excavation and drilling equipment came to Teheran from China, and then they drove to the project site not far from Ahvaz.

On that day, Mr. Hu Jiabo told me that the engineers and technicians and drilling equipment of the design and exploration project team of the No.0 dam of the Kaerhe River had arrived in Awas. I have to check it out. Are you going? I immediately said: Of course. However, Ambassador Hua Liming expressed his wish to visit the dam site last time. How about asking the couple to go together? Hu agreed.

The author and his wife (first from the left, first from the right), Ambassador Hua Liming (second from the left, third from the left), Mr. Hu Jiabo (second from the right) and Mr. Tan Bao Guo (third from the right) were photographed in the autumn of 199 1.

Ambassador Hua Liming took up his post in Iran in the spring of 199 1, replacing Ambassador Wang Benzuo who returned to China for treatment due to illness. Mr. Hua Liming is tall, personable and good at English and Persian. After retirement, he served as a special researcher at China Institute of International Studies, and often expressed his views on Iranian and Middle East issues in CCTV's international observation column. At that time, I reported the progress of the project to Ambassador Hua and suggested inviting him and his wife to visit the dam project site in Stan. Ambassador Hua happily agreed.

Unlike my first flight to Avas, Hu Ze, we went by train. At that time, the train in Iran was unique, and the floor of the soft sleeper was actually soft. People walk on it and fall into the trap, as if walking on Simmons' bed, feeling very uncomfortable (I don't know what's going on now-author's note). However, the carriage of that train is decorated both classically and beautifully. My wife and I live in a big box, which is divided into an inner room and an outer room, as well as a bathroom and bathroom. Just like the luxury box in the movie Orient Express, it is elegant and warm. I noticed, and so did the carriage of Ambassador Hua and his wife next door.

Then I asked Mr. Hu why he bought us such a luxurious box. What's the money for? He said that the Iranian train ticket was very cheap (I can't remember the fare clearly, but the impression was really not high-the author's note), and Ambassador China and his wife also went, of course, to buy a better one. Nevertheless, Mr. Hu later managed to reimburse the Iranian partner for the necessary expenses of the consulting project.

A little thing happened while waiting at Tehran Railway Station that day, which was also a question. I always feel that I have to write it down, because it has been in my mind 10 for years.

I remember one day 16 years ago, during the Iranian general election, there was a scene of Mr. Ahmadinejad, the then Iranian president, on TV. At that time, I felt that this person seemed familiar. Later, I saw the face of the Iranian president in various media several times, and the more I saw it, the more I thought I should have seen it somewhere. Come to think of it again, if it is this person, then it may be the time we met while waiting at Tehran Railway Station.

I remember that when we were waiting for the bus at the railway station that day (Ambassador Hua hasn't arrived yet), several young Iranians came to chat. They spoke good English and looked friendly. Among them, the person in charge is of medium height, with a short beard, wearing a dark gray suit and no tie, in his thirties, and looks like a young university teacher. He introduced himself that they were from Tehran University of Science and Technology, and someone interjected that he was our leader. After confirming that we were from China, he said a few kind words praising the friendship between China and Iran, and then politely shook hands with me to say goodbye.

I don't remember the name of the man or what I told him. I remember that he shook hands with great strength and enthusiasm. However, I always felt that meeting was a little ceremonial, which was quite different from all the other experiences I had during my stay in Iran. More importantly, during the conversation, his entourage actually introduced him as a leader (that was the first and only time I heard a foreigner introduce a local in this way abroad-author's note). I felt that he really smelled of leadership, so I was deeply impressed by this person and the short meeting in the waiting room in Tehran.

Later, when I saw the image of Mr. Ahmadinejad on TV, I felt that he looked a little like the person I remember, and both of them had stayed at Tehran University of Science and Technology, but I was not sure if that person was Mr. Ahmadinejad. I told some friends 1-2 times a few years ago, in a speculative tone of course. When writing this article this time, I thought again: whether it is true or not, it is better to write it. What if it was him?

But then again, even Ahmadinejad may have forgotten that meeting long ago. In addition, it is very disappointing that this man, even Mr. Ahmadinejad when he was young, publicly expressed his extreme nationalist remarks such as "wiping Israel off the map" after becoming president. Moreover, more importantly, the Iranian nuclear issue became serious and intensified during his term of office, and in June 20 10, Iran was unanimously sanctioned by the United Nations (China also voted in favor of it that year-author's note). Since then, the Iranian economy has been in trouble, and the life of the Iranian people, which gradually improved after the Iran-Iraq war, has begun to decline and suffered misfortune and suffering.

At that time, trains in Iran were very slow. It took about a day and a night to get from Tehran to Avas. The train started near noon and arrived in Avas the next morning. When I got off the bus, I was suddenly surprised to find that there was a guard of honor standing neatly on the platform, consisting of a dozen people in revolutionary guard uniforms and drums in their hands. Except for a dozen people from China, the doors of other carriages were not opened. I immediately realized that the Iraqi side had prepared a formal welcoming ceremony for Ambassador Hua Liming.

After accompanying Mr. Tan, the translator, to have a brief exchange with the welcoming officials led by the Iraqi side, Ambassador Hua and his wife Ling Sisters took the lead in the drum music of the Iraqi honor guard and slowly followed the head of the honor guard. The leading CEO is holding a command bell about 1 m in his hand, waving it up and down and walking slowly. My wife and I and other people from China followed the couple of ambassadors to China shoulder to shoulder, and walked for several minutes before finally getting out of the station. The welcoming ceremony didn't last long in the station square, then we left by car and finally stayed in one of the best hotels in the area.

Afterwards, I learned that a country's ambassador abroad left the capital to visit other places in the host country and was welcomed by the honor guard, which was almost unprecedented. Ambassador Hua Liming's visit to Stan Ahvaz, Hu Ze as a state guest is almost unique, which seems to show how close the relationship between China and Iran is.

Mr. Tan Baoguo is the Persian translator in my office and my assistant. He is diligent, practical and capable, and his Persian is excellent, even with a little Teheran accent (this is what several Iranian friends said-author's note). During my three years in Iran, I got great help from Mr. Tan from beginning to end, which led to the signing of several project contracts. After I left Iran, Tan Bao Guo was transferred. 10 years later, I was not surprised when I heard that Mr. Tan had been the general manager of China Offshore Oil Corporation Iran Branch, and I was glad that CNOOC had a good eye for pearls (Mr. Tan introduced and described it in detail in the book I Play Go in Iran). Interested readers can find reading-author's note).

We went to the dam project site that day. I accompanied Ambassador Hua to stand on the top of the hillside next to the valley where Dam No.0 of the Kar River is located, and looked at the gentle and endless mountains and valleys in the northwest bordering Iraq, marveling that the ancient Persian nation could create such splendid ancient civilization in such a barren place. Later, I learned that these so-called barren, in fact, is the misjudgment of future generations. More than 2000 years ago, the climate here was not like this, but very humid and warm, with abundant rainwater resources and fertile soil, which was very suitable for the growth of plants and food. Moreover, under this vast and desolate land, God, or nature, has also given Iran huge oil and gas resources.

1999, people explored and discovered azad Gan Oilfield, the largest oil field in the world in that year, in Hu Ze Stan province, 80km northwest of Ahvaz, not far from the valley where No.0 dam of Kar River is located, with an area of about1400km2 and crude oil reserves as high as 42 billion barrels, or 6 billion tons! This discovery immediately attracted the attention and covet of many countries in the world. Japan, South Korea and many European countries began to flood into Iran to seek more oil benefits.

Limited by its foreign exchange reserves and financial resources, China did not take any measures to develop Iranian oil. It mainly undertakes or cooperates with various engineering or manufacturing projects, such as dams, small complete sets of equipment and steel plant renovation, in order to earn foreign exchange. At the beginning of this century, there were large-scale investment projects such as automobiles and subways, and a large number of Iranian oil was purchased and imported with foreign exchange. For example, in 2007, China's oil imports from Iran increased from tens of thousands of barrels per day to 400,000 barrels per day (at the end of 20 18, China imported as many as 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil per day-author's note). This has also made the bilateral trade volume between China and Iran reach a record $30 billion more than a decade ago, and it has also begun to produce huge investment benefits.

However, in 2006, China's investment in Iranian oil industry changed greatly. After the reform and opening up, China, whose economic strength has been greatly enhanced, began to intervene in the Iranian oil market, which required a lot of money. At the end of that year, Iranian National Oil Company and China Offshore Oil Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding on the development of natural gas fields in North pars.

According to Iran's then Rui News Agency, the project undertaken by PetroChina is one of Iran's largest natural gas development projects, which will include the development of four blocks of southern natural gas fields. According to the agreement, the natural gas produced in the gas field will be converted into liquefied natural gas, which will be shared equally by both parties. China Offshore Oil Company will invest in the upstream and downstream areas of this gas field development project, with a total investment of over 654.38+0.6 billion USD.

North pars gas field is located in the Persian Gulf, 85 kilometers north of South pars gas field, with an estimated natural gas reserve of 80 trillion cubic feet. It is worth mentioning that the memorandum of cooperation was negotiated and signed during Mr. Tan's tenure as the general manager of CNOOC Iran.

Later, at the beginning of 2009, China Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation, namely China Petroleum, also signed a contract with the Iraqi side to develop North azad Gan Oilfield. In August of the same year, the two sides signed a memorandum of cooperation on South azad Gan Oilfield. Moreover, two months before the signing of this big contract, PetroChina also took over the equity of Iranian South pars gas field (which was also the largest natural gas field in the world at that time) transferred by French oil company Total.

Regrettably, at this time, Iran has been severely sanctioned by the United States. During the period of 1996, the US Congress passed the D'Amato Act, also known as the Iran Sanctions Act, which prohibited any enterprise in the world from investing in Iran's oil industry for the first time. But at that time, there were no restrictions on buying Iranian oil. Later, as the Iranian nuclear issue began to ferment, the international call for strengthening sanctions against Iran became louder and louder. At this time, many enterprises in Japan, South Korea and European countries began to retreat. For example, the azad Gan oilfield development project was given to Japan before, but Japan gave it up under the pressure of the Iranian nuclear issue. The same is true of French Total's transfer of equity.

In fact, the development contract of azad Gan Oilfield signed by PetroChina and Iran was not perfect, and the developer, that is, the Chinese enterprise, had to pay all the pre-development expenses (about 2.5 billion US dollars) in advance, which indicated that Iran was already short of foreign exchange at that time. * * * We have to exploit 185 oil wells, and then when the oil production reaches a certain scale, Iran will reward PetroChina with a part of its oil share according to the contract proportion. To tell the truth, the market value of this kind of contract is not large, and there is still a great trade risk, that is, if the oil price in the international market is very low when the oil well is divided, China may have no profit at all or even lose money on this project. At this time, considering the Iranian nuclear issue and the international political risk cost of international sanctions, PetroChina did not implement it. Shortly thereafter, Iran took back the exploitation right of South azad Gan oil field from PetroChina on the grounds of its breach of contract.

It was a few years when President Ahmadinejad was in power, and he was tough on the outside world. Iran's insistence on nuclear-weapon-grade uranium enrichment has been unanimously condemned by the international community. The following year, on 20 10, the UN Security Council also unanimously voted to adopt the "most severe" sanctions against Iran, forcing Iran to return to the negotiating table. It is also interesting to say that Iran, with such rich oil reserves, is determined to develop nuclear weapons, and as a result, it has no money to develop. At that time, Iran, which liked to toss, seemed to be a beggar with a golden doll, which was incredible in every way.

Under the unanimous pressure of the whole world, in 20 15, six countries on the Iranian nuclear issue, including China, the European Union, the United Nations and Iran, finally reached the the Iranian nuclear deal, and this matter came to an end. At this time, French, German, Italian and other European countries tried to return to the Iranian oil and gas market, and Europeans who went to Stan Ahvaz, Hu Ze began to flow in an endless stream.

But it didn't last long. Because of its insistence on exporting Islamic revolution to the Middle East and the adjustment of American Middle East policy, the United States actually withdrew from the the Iranian nuclear deal only three years after it was signed in the Iranian nuclear deal, that is, in 20 18, and once again offered a magic weapon to sanction Iran. This move not only hit Iran, but also had a great impact on enterprises in European countries. For example, after signing the South pars oil and gas field development 1 1 phase project in the Iranian nuclear deal in 20 15, the French company renegotiated with the Iranian side, but three months after the United States withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal, it withdrew from this project again.

However, God always seems to favor Iran. At the end of last year, that is, in 2065438+2009, 1 1, while the US sanctions were in full swing, Iranian President Rouhani announced on TV that another oil field with a crude oil reserve of even 53 billion barrels had been discovered in Hu Ze Stan province in southwest Iran, which was larger than the world's largest azad Gan oil field that year, and called it "a good gift from the government to the people. The discovery of this big oil field is indeed a good gift, but how can Iran, which has been sanctioned and has no foreign exchange funds, achieve it?

However, in the winter of 199 1, what we saw on the hillside near No.0 dam of calka River in Stan, Hu Ze was desolate. In our best imagination, that place was at most a blue artificial lake, which may have appeared after the dam was built and stored. How do we know that after only 7-8 years, the largest oil field in the world has been discovered continuously under this vast and desolate land, and there is more than one! Hu Ze Stan, you are a magical land!

Hu Ze Stein's magic doesn't stop there. That time in Avas, I finally found my free time. Tuoba project team borrowed a car from Iraq, drove with Tan Xiaoxiao, and took my wife and Mr. Hu Jiabo and his wife to the nearby Elam civilization and ancient Persian civilization sites for a short but very rare search. Our first stop is the ancient city of Susa.

Susa wrote "Shu Mountain" in the Bible. This is really a beautiful name. It is said that it has a history of nearly 6,000 years, more than 3,000 years before Cyrus II founded Persia. It used to be an important holy city of Elam civilization, rich and magnificent. Herodotus, the father of history, once said, "Whoever owns the wealth of Susa can compete with Zeus." The famous code of hammurabi stone pillar (promulgated in 1800 BC, unearthed in 190 1 year BC, and now the Louvre in France-author's note) was also unearthed here. But when we went, Susa was a dilapidated town, probably because of the just-concluded Iran-Iraq war. The population is only 20,000-30,000, which is pitiful, just like a big village.

The author enjoyed Yuan blue and white porcelain in Susa Museum, which was taken at 199 1.

Due to the time problem, we only visited the Susa Museum here. This museum is very humble. There are only a few small showrooms in my impression, but the collection is very rich. There are many painted pottery, bronzes and slates engraved with cuneiform characters in Elam period. When we visited that year, there was a window filled with a lot of rare blue and white porcelain in China. However, in recent years, China people have never mentioned these blue-and-white treasures in their travel notes when visiting the Hu Ze Stein Museum. I don't know if the museum knows its preciousness and specially collects them. Or are they all sold to domestic collectors? Somehow.

Tchogha Zanbil, located about 30 kilometers southeast of the ancient city of Susa, was built in 1250 BC. It also belongs to the Elam period, and most of it was seriously damaged. There are only two and a half floors left in the ruins of the sacrificial temple, which is about 25 meters high, which means that this stepped pyramid, which might have seven floors, is at least 60-70 meters high. Its main building material is mud brick or burnt brick structure, and there are a lot of cuneiform characters on the brick. Both the shape and the material are similar to the earliest segala brick pyramid in ancient Egypt, but it is about 1500 years late.

The ruins of the Pyramid of Chogazambir

The Chogazabir Pyramid is also one of the few remaining pyramids outside Mesopotamia. More than a decade ago, it was reported that archaeologists found 88 bricks with cuneiform inscriptions in the famous Joga Zabir Pagoda in Iran. These bricks belong to the cultural relics of Elam period in ancient Iran (from 3400 BC to 550 BC). In other words, these cuneiform characters are at least as old as Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Yin Ruins, or even older. Now I don't know if these cuneiform characters have been deciphered. Besides, if they were decoded, what did they say?

Ancient cuneiform characters on the wall of Qiaogazanbir site

At this point, this article is coming to an end. I don't know if I have described one or two things about Iranian Hu Ze Stan's magic. About 5-6 years ago, Mr. Tan Baoguo invited us to return to Tehran. Mr. Hu Jiabo and I also want to take this opportunity to see this magical land of Hu Ze again. Unfortunately, in the end, we failed. The magical Hu Ze Stein still exists in my memory nearly thirty years ago, which fascinates me. ...

Ban Gu of Han Dynasty once said in his Xijing Fu that nostalgia is a reminder of ancient love. However, nostalgia or homesickness for the ancient capital takes time and mood. Just like we did in those days, it's hard to feel deeply when we visit in a hurry after work.

To tell the truth, even today, people are old, and because the epidemic is always at home, it is rare or difficult to travel around the world. At this time, I have time to adjust my mood and write this memoir-style series of articles "Miscellanies of Iran", trying to describe the magic of this land in Hu Ze, Iran, and at the same time trying to make myself really understand what "thinking about the past" means.