What did the Chinese symbol crane mean to the Chinese people?

The chinese symbol for crane is 鹤科 which means the same thing as it does in English: a large bird of the gruidae family.

If you're talking about a crane as in a machine used in construction, its chinese symbol is 起重机 and that also means the same thing as it does in English: machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally.