厳復
In 1913, Peking University professor of engineering George Miller brought Xia Changchi (), Li Wenji (), and 13 other Chinese engineering students to Wuhan to do surveying for a possible bridge location. At the same time, Peking University President Yan Fu submitted the initial proposal for bridge construction to the Department of Transportation. The earliest designs for the bridge were modeled after the Forth Bridge, near Edinburgh, which had been completed in 1890. Although their work never proceeded past the planning phase, the area identified in the 1913 surveys proved to be an excellent site, and is the location where the bridge was eventually built.