1979年9月，按照国务院、中央军委的命令，中国人民解放军基建工程兵冶金系统调集五个建制连共1041人组成先遣团，从鞍山市来到深圳，拉开了基建工程兵建设深圳经济特区的序幕。
In September 1979, in accordance with the order of the State Council and the Central Military Commission, a total of 1,041 capital construction engineering troops of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army were mobilized to go to Shenzhen from Liaoning Province’s Anshan City, initiating the infrastructure construction of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone.
1982年秋，中央再次调拨近两万基建工程兵来到深圳。那时的深圳，毫不夸张地说，基本上是荒坡野岭，杂草丛生，工程兵们用竹子搭建了一排简易竹棚作为临时住所，旁边就是坑坑洼洼的泥地，远处是不见人烟的山包。乐观的战士们戏称这排竹棚军营为“竹叶宾馆”。炎热的夏天，蚊虫肆虐，高温难耐，最难以忍受的是，靠近大海却缺少可以饮用的淡水。
In the autumn of 1982, the Central Government arranged for nearly 20,000 engineering troops to go to Shenzhen. At that time, Shenzhen, without exaggeration, was basically a wasteland and the engineers built their makeshift sheds with bamboo. The soldiers were optimistic and jokingly called their bamboo barracks “Bamboo Leaf Hotel.” In the hot summer, the mosquitoes were rampant, and the heat was unbearable, but the most unbearable thing was the lack of fresh water for drinking, even though the barracks were near the sea.
“竹叶宾馆”（图片为朱雅智提供）
“Bamboo Leaf Hotel” (Photo courtesy of Zhu Yazhi)
除了物质生活的极度匮乏，极端变化的天气也给基建工程兵们带来了严峻的考验。档案资料记载，1983年夏天，一场熊熊烈火吞噬了“竹叶宾馆”附近方圆23000平方米的土地和基建工程兵二十三栋简易营房。火苗直窜到30多米的高空，烧毁财产价值约70万元。祸不单行，9月9日晚，一场百年不遇的十二级台风挟着暴雨，以每小时20公里的速度狂袭深圳长达二十四小时之久。碗口粗的树被连根拔起，电线杆被拦腰折断，卡车被掀翻，官兵们刚搭起来的竹棚连同被盖、锅盆、碗筷全被卷上了天……部队损失了几百万元。
In addition to extreme material deprivation, the awful weather also brought challenges to the engineers. It is recorded that in the summer of 1983, a blazing fire that rose to a height of more than 30 meters destroyed 23,000 square meters of land and 23 makeshift barracks, causing an economic loss of about 700,000 yuan. Misfortunes never came singly. On the night of September 9 of the same year, a once-in-a-century Category 12 typhoon with heavy rain hit Shenzhen for 24 hours at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour. The troops lost several million yuan.
但这些困难并没有摧垮官兵们的斗志，两万基建工程兵把自己的命运和深圳这座迅速崛起的城市紧密结合在一起，与特区同呼吸、共患难，镌刻下了一段火热年代里激情燃烧的记忆。
But the troops’ spirit had not been broken and 20,000 engineers tied their fate closely to the rapidly growing city of Shenzhen.
1983年9月15日，为了加强特区基建力量、加快建设步伐，两万基建工程兵实现了集体转业，改编为深圳市属建筑施工企业的职工。这两万名没有军章、帽徽却身穿绿军装的“特殊市民”，成为了当时深圳经济特区一道亮丽的风景线。
On September 15, 1983, in order to strengthen the infrastructure construction force of Shenzhen and accelerate the pace of construction, 20,000 engineers were collectively discharged from the army to serve as the employees of Shenzhen municipal construction enterprises. These 20,000 “special citizens,” who wore green military uniforms without insignia and caps without badges, became a feature of the beautiful scenery of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone at that time.
Today's topic: Do you have anything to say to the “special citizens?” Feel free to leave your comments and lucky people will receive gifts.
来源：深圳市档案馆、i深圳
Source: Shenzhen Archives, iShenzhen
编译：深圳政府在线、Shenzhen Daily、GDToday
Transedited by: Shenzhen Government Online, Shenzhen Daily, GDToday
