Traveling nearly 20,000 kilometers and taking more than 100,000 pictures, this is an answer sheet handed over to the Yellow River by a group of photography enthusiasts with an average age of 60 years in Jinan in four years. Recently, the reporter walked into this group of photography enthusiasts and interviewed Cheng Xuejun, one of the organizers of the "Yellow River Photography Miles" activity.
From here, Cheng Xuejun germinated the idea of photographing the Yellow River.
"The Yellow River is the mother river of the Chinese nation, and being with the Yellow River is spiritual prosperity and lifelong pride." Doing something beneficial for the Yellow River all your life is the embodiment of gratitude and the awakening of conscience. This is a sentiment of Zhang Chunli, general adviser of the "Yellow River Photography Ten Thousand Miles" wind collection group, and Cheng Xuejun also feels the same feeling. Cheng Xuejun said that photography has been in contact for decades, but he is a newcomer to the special shooting of the Yellow River. This connection with the Yellow River can be said to be very accidental. At the beginning of 2018, Cheng Xuejun and his friend Zhao Baoguo photographed along the Jinan section of the Yellow River together, when they saw the Qihe Yellow River Bridge that was about to open to traffic that year, Cheng Xuejun was shocked by the majesty of this bridge, and at that time he and his friends thought that if they could photograph the Yellow River Bridge in Jinan or Shandong Province, it would be a very meaningful thing, and then they thought that if Shandong Province walked along the Yellow River Basin and photographed it again, wouldn't it be more meaningful? The two said that they would do it, and it was determined that their friend Zhao Baoguo would be responsible for formulating the activity plan, and Zhang Chunli, a retired cadre of the Yellow River Affairs Bureau in Shandong Province, would be jointly initiated and convened as the general adviser, and Cheng Xuejun would cooperate with the implementation, and the name of the activity would finally be named "Yellow River Photography Miles".
Longyangxia Reservoir.
The photographic collection of the Shandong section of the Yellow River has been strongly supported by the Shandong Yellow River Bureau, and the preliminary decision has been carried out in three phases, the first phase of "River Selection Shandong, Shuipo Liangshan", the second phase of "Dahe Spring City, Longshan Civilization", and the third phase of "Yellow River into the Sea, Dongying New Land". Before the start of the wind collection activity, they also organized a special "briefing meeting" to let the members have a preliminary understanding of the general situation of the Yellow River, the geographical environment, and what is the risk work, control and guidance, standardized embankment, what is the water level, flow, flood peak, etc.
The "Yellow River Photography Miles" plan to complete the Shandong section in 2018, interspersed with the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River. On April 22, the launching ceremony of the "Yellow River Photography Journey" was held in the Luokou section of the Yellow River. At the ceremony, the members of the "Yellow River Photography Miles" faced the Yellow River, raised their right hands, clenched their fists, and loudly swore an oath "Great Yellow River, Chinese Origin, Feeding the Dragon Clan, Zhaoqi Civilization; Descendants of Yan Huang, never forget, repay kindness and morality, love me Yellow River; My generation is responsible for protecting the Yellow River, green water and green mountains, and healthy Yellow River; Moisturizing in all directions, full of vitality, Shenzhou taking off, reviving China. ”
The Jinan section of the Yellow River, the Qihe Yellow River Bridge is majestic. (Photo by Cui Jian)
The shooting style of the Shandong section of the "Yellow River Photography Journey" is very smooth. After the event, the members of the wind collection group felt that they were not addicted, so they decided to immediately start filming the whole Yellow River basin. After a period of personnel selection and route arrangement, in early October 2018, a seven-member wind collection team headed for the source of the Yellow River. The team first arrived in Xining City, Qinghai Province, and later rented a car to Zhaling Lake and Eling Lake in Maduo County, near the source of the Yellow River. Just when everyone was excitedly preparing to go to the source of the Yellow River, an accident occurred. Due to the lack of experience, the rented vehicle was difficult to withstand the local geomorphological environment, resulting in a member of the squad being bumped on the car and suffering a compression fracture of the waist, and the wind collection activity was forced to be terminated.
A herd of Tibetan wild donkeys on the shores of Lake Zhaling. (Photo by Zhang Chunli)
Fast forward to 2019, after a period of rest, the reluctant members of the wind collection team gathered again and ran to the source of the Yellow River for the second time on October 2. The members of the wind collection team are still 7 people, 7 quancheng photography enthusiasts living on the banks of the Yellow River and on the banks of Baotu Spring, the eldest is 71 years old, and the young one is nearly sixty years old, with a reverential admiration for the Mother River, in order to realize the common wish, to feel the majesty and magnificence of the Mother River that has nurtured Chinese civilization for thousands of years and nurtured hundreds of millions of Chinese children. With the first experience, this time the squad was very well prepared, first of all, in addition to the necessary food and medicine, it was also specially equipped with cold-proof materials, sleeping bags, tents, etc. required for the plateau. Secondly, high-performance off-road vehicles that are more suitable for highland areas have been selected on the vehicle. After successfully arriving in Maduo County, the team began the official wind collection tour at the source of the Yellow River under the guidance of the local guide. Although it was also a highway along the way, the wavy permafrost pavement still made the squad suffer a lot. Near the source of the Yellow River, more than 40 kilometers of road have been walked for more than three hours, and everyone has enjoyed the scenery of the four seasons of the year, sometimes wind and snow, sometimes clear skies...
After a bumpy ride along the way, the squad finally reached the source of the Yellow River, the destination of the wind gathering activity. "The Tibetan meaning of the Jogu Zonglie Basin is 'shallow pot of fried barley', in the southwest corner there is a small spring with an area of 3-4 square meters, the clear spring water is constantly gushing and tumbling, the gushing sound is for the Maququ fruit, the yellow river zhengyuan (4640 meters above sea level, 95 ° 59 ′ 25 "east longitude, 35 ° 01 ′ 35 n"), there is only one spring, the amount of water is very small, this is the first spring of the Yellow River Zhengyuan. Next to the bowl-sized spring, a round marble sign positions you – 'National Geographical Indication Sanjiang Headwaters Scientific Expedition – September 2008'. This is Cheng Xuejun's description of the source of the Yellow River in his later article "The Attachment of the Yellow River", where all the members of the wind collection team held aloft the five-star red flag and left a precious group photo.
The source of the Yellow River. (Photo by Zhang Qing)
The experience of returning from the source of the Yellow River is even more thrilling, with 300 kilometers, 8 hours of driving in no man's land, the night sky with five fingers in sight, rugged and steep mountain roads, endless bends, and invisible cliffs on both sides, which is intimidating. Bayankara Mountain rolled over unconsciously. In the snowy and rainy night sky, the tires of the vehicle were suddenly punctured, and the jack was accidentally stuck under the car in the process of changing the spare tire, and various experiences made Cheng Xuejun unforgettable in this life.
After a thrilling return journey to the source of the Yellow River, the team followed the Gongyu Expressway to the second "Mado" (the source of the Yellow River in Tibetan). Turn left and turn right all the way over the Bayankara Pass at an altitude of 4829 meters, which is the highest point of the trip. Down the river, God gave the team members a surprise, so that everyone felt that the snowy plateau is worthy of the name. Driving along a "black ribbon" on a vast white snowfield, there is a feeling of driving among the clouds, the snow-capped mountains in the distance loom, the cattle and sheep in the near distance are black and white, the colorful prayer flags are particularly gorgeous under the white snow, the "click, click, click" sound sounds, and the shutter is really enjoyable. After a 12-day journey of 4,000 kilometers, the team successfully ended the collection of wind in the upper reaches and sources of the Yellow River, took tens of thousands of photos, learned the history, culture and geography of the Yellow River, and the team members felt that they had benefited a lot and would never forget.
Squad members record customs along the way. (Photo by Hou Qingming)
The two trips to the source of the Yellow River made everyone feel unfinished, and in September 2020, an 8-person wind collection team set off again. The third trip to the Yellow River gave the members of the squad a new understanding of the Yellow River along the way: the road conditions are better, and the asphalt road is more conducive to driving; The ecological environment is more beautiful, and precious wild species such as Tibetan antelopes, wild donkeys, and bison can often be seen. Along the way, the members photographed all the water conservancy projects and canyons along the Huang river above Lanzhou. Along the way, everyone is discussing, what exactly to shoot the Yellow River, at first everyone suggested shooting along the Yellow River representative attractions, the Yellow River Channel, bridges, Huang Xingli, water and soil conservation, ecological environment, etc., but with the progress of the activity, everyone suddenly felt that the Yellow River culture is too broad and profound, any aspect in front of the Yellow River is "a drop in the sea", small and difficult to see.
The Yellow River flows into the sea.
On June 27, 2021, the "Yellow River Photography Ten Thousand Miles" group of 10 people once again set off from Jinan, embarked on the journey to the west, and flew over the Loess Plateau to Lanzhou, the starting point of the trip. Starting from Lanzhou, we traveled along the "Jiziwan" of the Yellow River, passing through the five provinces (districts) of Gansu, Ningbo, Mongolia, Shaanxi and Jin, and arrived at the end of the trip on July 13, Shaanxi Tongguan, and completed the shooting itinerary of the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River (Lanzhou-Tongguan). The trip over the mountains, drilling the ravines, going up the mountains, ferrying the Yellow River, waddling through the desert, passing through hundreds of villages and towns, with a total journey of 5126 kilometers, 35 crossings of the Yellow River, and more than 200 shooting spots.
Four trips to the Yellow River, let Cheng Xuejun feel quite deeply, "the more you shoot the Yellow River, the more you feel that you can't finish shooting, the more you shoot, the more you feel that your love for the Yellow River is increasing day by day, and her profound cultural heritage makes you unable to extricate yourself." From the initial perceptual cognition, to the story behind each scenery of the Yellow River now, people are caught in thinking, making you feel small, all of which will make you explore and search, I think I will definitely walk the Yellow River again, because my attachment to her will not stop..."
(Text/Reporter Cui Jian Photo/All are taken by Cheng Xuejun except for the signature)