Xichuan immigrants in South-to-North Water Transfer Project

I'm from Xichuan. When I was a child, I often saw married with children, a villager, bidding farewell to Mulberry and moving away from home. In order to serve the construction of Danjiangkou Reservoir, the initial project of the Middle Route of South-to-North Water Transfer Project, from 1950s to 1970s, more than 200,000 people immigrated to my hometown. For twenty or thirty years, some of my fellow villagers went to Qinghai in the west, some went to Jingmen in the south, and some relied on their own safety. Although suffering from displacement, they support national construction without regrets. This spirit of dedication and sacrifice is touching. However, due to various reasons, the migration of Xichuan County and the ancient Xichuan County with a history of nearly a thousand years were submerged, leaving almost no image data, which is a historical regret.

In 2009, the resettlement of Danjiangkou Reservoir in the Middle Route of South-to-North Water Transfer Project started. As the person in charge of the water source and middle route project, my hometown will be relocated 165000 people. At this point, I have retired from the post of deputy director of the propaganda department of the county party Committee and chairman of the county Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and I have more free time. Because of my interest in photography, I was elected as the chairman of the County Photographers Association. In order to record the whole process of my villagers' dedication and sacrifice for the national engineering construction, to fully reflect the magnificent relocation of the century, and to leave precious historical materials for history, during the three years of immigration, in more than 1,000 unforgettable days and nights, I shuttled between immigrant villages and immigrants, leaving nearly 30,000 photos of Zhang Zhengui. Those touching scenes and moments, I pressed the shutter with tears in my eyes. In my heart, I am always moved by the great love of immigrant villagers, the hard work of immigrant cadres, and the "immigrant spirit" growing on this hot land under my feet. ...

More than 65,438+000 photos in "The Great Immigrants in Xichuan: 2009-2065,438+0" were carefully selected by Mr. Zhou Yibo, a photographer, independent curator and photo critic, from my photo gallery of immigrant relocation. Now I look at these photos. At that time, all kinds of scenes in the immigrant village were like movies, which lingered in my mind. Until now, I still burst into tears when I think of these folks. To tell you the truth, I didn't leave much impression on these photos that Mr. Zhou chose when shooting. Perhaps such a scene was too common in front of me in those days. However, when Mr. Zhou selected my pictures and edited them into a book, I was moved again: I only knew that I kept shooting and recording at home, and rarely thought about making a picture book or any other purpose. I just think, I can't let this historical moment slip away under my lens. I want to put it behind me and leave this history that haunts me the most. Unexpectedly, this moment has begun to slowly leave us, and it will get farther and farther in the future. But I still can't stop a certain mood by following my photos. This may be because these photos have become counterparts in my heart. This may be the efficacy and strength of photography. No matter how much you say, let the photos speak for themselves.

The clear spring in the lake can prove that immigrants will never be forgotten. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere greetings to my relatives hundreds of kilometers away and to the migrant villagers scattered in Hubei, Qinghai and Henan. I sincerely wish them a stable, happy and prosperous life!