The Taiping rebels made extensive use of pontoons on the Yangtze in their campaign against the Qing Dynasty in the Yangtze Basin. In December 30, 1852, they built two pontoons nearly 3,000 meters long in a fortnight's time at Baishazhou and Yingwuzhou in Wuhan to move troops from Hanyang on the north bank to the Wuchang on the south bank. The Taipings tied together small boats into twos and threes and steered these preassembled pieces simultaneously into the river, and used iron anchors to set the pontoons instead of chains. They added leather-covered walls to the bridges and added towers and firing positions.