Gao Xiaomei (right) asks Yang Kui for directions while inspecting the Great Wall in Liangcheng County, Wulanchabu City, Inner Mongolia.
The Inner Mongolia Ming Great Wall Science Popularization Photography Exhibition was held at the Inner Mongolia Exhibition Hall, and Gao Xiaomei (first from the right) introduced it to the audience.
In 1993, Gao Xiaomei discussed the manuscript with her father, Gao Wang (right). The images in this article are provided by the interviewees
On the evening of January 6, the left banner of Tumut in Hohhot City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, was cold and windy. Ignoring the cold, Gao Xiaomei brushed aside the thorns in the bushes, climbed a low hillside at the southern foot of Daqing Mountain, set up a camera, and aimed it at the continuous ridge. In her shot, a yellow "dragon" snakes through the mountains, which is the Great Wall of The Warring States of Zhaobei, which has a history of more than 2,000 years.
Gao Xiaomei, 54, is the president of the Hohhot Great Wall Science Popularization Society. In the past 30 years, from investigation and research to science popularization, Gao Xiaomei has been committed to the protection of the Great Wall. Recently, Gao Xiaomei told reporters the story of her relationship with the Great Wall.
Measure the Great Wall with your feet
The Great Wall of Inner Mongolia is rich in resources, and there are many great walls of Qin, Han, Ming and other dynasties in the territory, with a total length of 7570 kilometers, accounting for 1/3 of the great wall of the country. Due to the long-term wind and rain and man-made destruction, there are very few well-preserved complete sections, and the protection of the ancient Great Wall is imminent.
Inspect the Great Wall Castle, photograph the current appearance of the Great Wall, discuss the protection of the Great Wall, publicize the culture of the Great Wall... In Gao Xiaomei's view, "To love the Great Wall, you can't just talk about it, but you have to pay practical actions." ”
A backpack, a mobile phone, a camera, a notebook, this is the "standard" for Gao Xiaomei to walk the Great Wall.
For 365 days a year, at least 300 days, she was either on the Great Wall or on her way to the Great Wall. A friend once joked, "Gao Xiaomei's face is about to turn into the 'Color of the Great Wall'." ”
Fengzhen City, Liangcheng County, and Linger County... In order to protect the remaining Great Wall of Inner Mongolia, she often went to visit along the Great Wall with other lovers of Great Wall culture. "The main thing is to inspect the safety situation of the Great Wall, and if a dangerous situation is found, it will be reported to the relevant departments in a timely manner." Gao Xiaomei said.
There are many difficulties and risks in walking the Great Wall. Once, Gao Xiaomei and his party went to inspect the Great Wall of Chestnut Pagoda in Qingshuihe County, Inner Mongolia. Since it was late when I went down the mountain, it was pitch black everywhere, and the car went around the mountain, and I couldn't find any way down the mountain. "At that time, I was a little cold, there were many downhill curves, my stomach was turning over the river, and I was vomiting." Gao Xiaomei told reporters that it was tossed until more than 10 o'clock in the evening that day, and only then did she find a safe way down the mountain.
Another time, due to the steep slope and slippery road, Gao Xiaomei accidentally rolled down from the Great Wall Tower to the foot of the city wall, but fortunately the trees blocked it, so she did not fall down the mountain. When she got back to the car, she looked down and saw a big hole in her pants, and the camera's hood and lens cover were gone.
However, all kinds of difficulties could not frighten this strong woman. For years, she insisted on measuring the Great Wall with her feet. "When it's raining, find a cave to hide for a while; when you're hungry when you're walking, you'll make a box of instant noodles to fill your stomach." Gao Xiaomei frankly said that after walking on the Great Wall for nearly 30 years, the difficulties she should have experienced have long been experienced, and she has long been accustomed to all hardships and challenges.
She condensed her thoughts and feelings about walking the Great Wall. Since 2016, Gao Xiaomei has organized and held seminars on the Great Wall of Inner Mongolia for four consecutive years, and has published books such as "Love for the Great Wall", "Great Wall Huazhang", "Talk about the Great Wall" and so on.
Published in March 2021, "The Ancient Cypriot Long Wind - Inner Mongolia Ming Great Wall Popular Science Photography Collection" is Gao Xiaomei's more satisfactory work. In the past three years, she carried a camera on her back to Xinghe County, Wuhai City, Alxa Zuoqi and other places in Inner Mongolia to investigate, investigate and shoot along the direction of the Ming Great Wall, recording the current situation of cultural relics and monuments such as forts, passes, duntai and mashi along the Great Wall. The photographic works are combined into a book, providing first-hand information for the protection and restoration of the Great Wall.
After the publication of the photo collection, some of the photographic works were also exhibited at the Inner Mongolia Exhibition Center. This is the first time that Inner Mongolia has held a popular science exhibition of Photographic Works of the Ming Great Wall, which has presented a feast of Great Wall culture for the public.
The Great Wall complex is passed down from generation to generation
Why is Gao Xiaomei so committed to the cause of great wall protection? This has a lot to do with her father, Gao Wang.
Born in 1935 in Gaowang, Qingshuihe County, Hohhot, he is an expert in the study of the Great Wall.
In 1977, Gao Wang, a reporter at the Qingshuihe County Radio Station, accidentally read an article on the Great Wall written by the ancient architect Luo Zhewen, which aroused interest in the culture of the Great Wall, and he decided to visit the field himself, collect information, and fill the gap in relevant research materials. "My father often went to the townships along the Great Wall, listened to the villagers tell the historical stories that happened at the foot of the Great Wall, and wrote many manuscripts about the Great Wall." Gao Xiaomei said.
The more he learned, the deeper Gao Wang's love for the Great Wall became. In the 1980s, he had a plan to visit the Great Wall on foot at his own expense. For him, who is not rich in economy, how easy is it to investigate the Great Wall at his own expense? Gao Wang sold his family's cave dwelling and scraped together enough money to buy a seagull camera. In order to save money, he often went to his hometown to spend the night during the expedition.
Once, on the road, Gao Wang's bag was stolen, containing information collected by his nearly two months of visiting the Great Wall. He was so anxious that he could not eat for several days, and he could only sort out the information from memory. Since then, he has learned his lessons, and during the subsequent inspection, he has mailed materials to his home at regular intervals.
Along the way, Gao Wang has never said a word of bitterness, and wherever he goes, he will bring the propaganda of "Love My Great Wall" to everywhere. "Every time he sees the Great Wall being destroyed, he is very distressed." Gao Xiaomei said.
In 1989, when inspecting the Great Wall in Qingshuihe County, Gao Wang found that some villagers secretly demolished the Great Wall bricks to build pig houses and sheep pens. He immediately stopped it and reported the situation to his superiors. This problem has attracted the attention of Inner Mongolia and neighboring provinces. Soon after, Qingshuihe County, Together with Biaoguan County and Pinglu District in Shanxi Province, jointly established the "Committee for the Joint Protection of the Great Wall of Pingping and Qing" to coordinate the management and protection of the Great Wall.
Gao Wang not only inspected the Great Wall, but also studied the Great Wall. In the field investigation, he came up with many new understandings and new discoveries, and corrected some inaccurate views in the academic community. For example, he found that the Great Wall was not only a military defense project built by the Han people, but also participated in the construction of the Great Wall in the Liao, Jin, Yuan and other dynasties.
From the Great Wall of Hushan in Liaoning in the east to Jiayuguan in Gansu in the west, after 20 years of wind and rain, Gao Wang has traveled through 9 provinces, autonomous regions and cities such as Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Shanxi, traveling 40,000 kilometers, collecting more than 10 million words of information about the Great Wall of the past, taking more than 10,000 photos, and sorting out and publishing many works such as "The Great Wall Visits ancient Miles" and "The Great Wall Beacon".
Gao Xiaomei followed her father to inspect the Great Wall from an early age and was deeply fascinated by this architectural wonder left by the ancients.
"When I was 10 years old, I saw the Great Wall for the first time, and I felt very new, dragging the corner of my father's clothes and constantly asking this and that." Gao Xiaomei recalled that her father patiently told her that the earthen wall under her feet was the Great Wall, the earthen mound they climbed together was the beacon tower, the Hongmen ruins used to be a trading market, and whenever the market opened, herders would drive cattle and sheep here to change their daily necessities...
"The Great Wall is an engineering marvel in the history of world architecture, and the Great Wall needs to be protected." The words that her father said to her that day are still fresh in her memory. The seed of the "Great Wall Dream" was quietly sown in her heart.
After graduating from the Chinese Department of Inner Mongolia Normal University, Gao Xiaomei joined a media as a journalist. In 1993, Gao Wang decided to establish the country's first Chinese and English Great Wall journal " The Great Wall " , and the manpower and funds were very scarce and difficult. The 25-year-old Gao Xiaomei resolutely resigned from his original unit to help his father start a magazine. In 1999, after the death of her father, Gao Xiaomei joined the Inner Mongolia Great Wall Research Association, inheriting her father's legacy and becoming a full-time researcher of Great Wall culture. "My brother and brother also helped my father do a lot of work, but only I have persevered and made the study and protection of the Great Wall my career." Gao Xiaomei said.
Just as Gao Xiaomei fell in love with the Great Wall under the influence of her father Gao Wang, Gao Xiaomei's son Wang Donglin was also influenced by her and became interested in the culture of the Great Wall from an early age.
In 2017, 14-year-old Wang Donglin participated in the "Experience the Soul of the Great Wall, Build the Chinese Dream Together - 2017 Great Wall Summer Camp for Young Students Across the Taiwan Straits and Hong Kong and Macao" and spoke at the closing ceremony. In 2018, Wang Donglin published the book "I Grew Up with Pen and Ink", many of which tell the story of him and the Great Wall.
Let more people love the Great Wall
From the editor of "The Great Wall" to the president of the Hohhot Great Wall Science Popularization Society, over the years, although her identity has changed, Gao Xiaomei's love for the Great Wall has not changed in the slightest.
Open her satchel, which contains not cosmetics, not a warm water cup, but a camera and various materials about the Great Wall. Over the years, she has spoken to everyone and photographed when she meets the scene, and strives to promote the culture of the Great Wall of Inner Mongolia, calling on more people to pay attention to the Great Wall and protect the Great Wall.
Gao Xiaomei is a regular guest on Hohhot Radio's live broadcast program "Taste of Books". Every time in the first section, she will carefully prepare to ensure that she can accurately answer various questions about the Great Wall. Jiang Hong, the host of the program, said admiringly: "In order to broadcast live for less than 1 hour, Teacher Gao will prepare for 3 days, which fully reflects her rigor and seriousness." ”
In June 2016, Gao Xiaomei received a task to select scenes for the special stamps of the Great Wall in Inner Mongolia. "The State Post Bureau approached me to assist in the work, and I briefed them on the basic situation of the Great Wall of Inner Mongolia." Gao Xiaomei said that after repeated deliberations, everyone finally chose the Ming Great Wall in Qingshuihe County as the filming location, and recorded the beautiful scenery of the Great Wall reflected in the sunset with a lens. The fourth "Yangtze River Flying Dragon" special stamp of the "Great Wall" was designed based on the picture taken this time.
"On the day the stamp was issued, I got up early in the morning to line up to buy it. I am proud to hold this set of stamps because the design of one of the stamps is related to me. Gao Xiaomei said happily.
Because of the Great Wall, many people know Gao Xiaomei, and because of Gao Xiaomei, many volunteers have joined the team of protecting the Great Wall. For her contributions to the protection of the Great Wall, Gao Xiaomei was selected as the "Good Man of Qingcheng" in 2019 by the Hohhot Spiritual Civilization Construction Committee.
In the past two years, Gao Xiaomei still spared no effort to run. She went into schools and streets to preach the culture of the Great Wall; based on field research and thinking, she wrote a feasibility report on the development of the Great Wall in Yajiao Mountain, Qingshuihe County...
"The good news is that the protection of the Great Wall has received more and more attention from the whole society." Gao Xiaomei said that the story of the Great Wall in Inner Mongolia still has a lot to be excavated, and she is creating a series of literary works "The Great Wall Embraces the Yellow River", hoping to let more people understand the Great Wall, love the Great Wall, and "let the Great Wall remain in our sight forever."