"Small Town Story" Ruan Yicheng's "Mirror" Boundary: Taking a Photo of Anqing

　　Ruan Yicheng, at the age of 50, embarked on the road of photography and started a second career in his life;

　　Over the years, he has silently walked through the streets and alleys of the urban area, carefully capturing the moments of urban development; 8 cameras, taking nearly 200,000 photos, fixing the old and new appearance of Yicheng between square inches;

　　He took pictures of the city for decades, spending almost all his savings, but he had no regrets and was willing to do so.

　　On October 11, when he was old, he donated his life's work - 200,000 photos and negatives to the Anqing Archives, contributing valuable video materials to the construction and development of Anqing.

Ruan Yicheng walked the streets and alleys to record the bits and pieces of Yicheng

　　■ Walking the streets and alleys: Record the lanes of the city that year

　　"Ordinary people have a certain affection for the old city, and it should be recorded truthfully"

　　On October 13, the reporter came to ruan Yicheng's old man's home, only to see that the house was clean and compact, "for the first time in so many years, this house is so spacious, and it used to be full of photos and materials," Ruan Honglian, the daughter of Ruan Honglian, told reporters that she and her family sorted out all the photos and film negatives and other materials taken by her father over the years for two days before handing them over to the archives for transportation. Seeing that his years of efforts can provide valuable information for urban construction, Ruan Lao's thin face hung a kind smile, he bent over and sat on the chair, although he was 88 years old, he still remembered more than thirty years of photography.

　　"I loved photography when I was younger, but in those days, photography was a luxury." Ruan Lao said that in 1984, he worked at Xinhua Bookstore at the time to attend a meeting in the provincial capital and learned that Anqing City would be demolished and renovated on a large scale. Ordinary people have a certain relationship with the old city, and it should be recorded truthfully. When Nguyen Returned, he told his family what he had in mind and wanted to buy a camera, and his children were very supportive of him. Because of the low wages at the time, he and his son and daughter took advantage of their work breaks to find a casual job. After 3 months, the family finally gathered more than 100 yuan and bought the first camera in their lives: the "Leap" brand camera.

　　Ruan Lao, who had never studied photography, with full enthusiasm and tenacity, continued to learn and explore, and finally mastered the photography technology. Since then, he has used his spare time to walk the streets and alleys, photographing the old streets and alleys in the city one by one, low houses, narrow streets, old buildings, old scenes, people and things at that time, all of which were frozen into permanent images by his lens. Elder Ruan sighed that when he really picked up his own camera to intentionally shoot familiar scenes around him, the responsibility of being a citizen of Anqing in his heart was probably a kind of "feeling" that the photographer said!

　　The filming was arduous, and a bicycle was nguyen Lao's means of transportation. Every time you go out, in addition to pushing on your bike and carrying your beloved photo bag, you also have to bring dry food for the day. Once in order to shoot Yang Jia's turn, he chose the angle and was preparing to press the shutter, when a car suddenly passed by and almost crashed, which can be described as a thrill. Later, this photo was adopted by the "Anqing City Chronicle" published in August 1997. His photographs of Jinsheng Street, Laolongshan Road Tong'anling Section, Mandarin Duck Gate, Rouge Lane Street, Big Corner Head, Xiaomozi Lane, Laotianli, etc. were all included in Mr. Zhang Jianchu's "The Capital of Anhui Province - Lao Anqing".

　　■ Photo anqing: He spent almost all his savings

　　"Taking it as my duty to take photos of the city's changes, I would like to thank all the people around me who helped me achieve my dreams"

　　From recording the new appearance and new changes of the ancient city, to the good people and good deeds in the surrounding areas, to the major historical events experienced by the people of Anqing, since embarking on the road of photography, Ruan Yicheng has done his best to rush to the front line and strive to capture every unforgettable moment from all angles.

　　In 1992, Anqing hosted China's first Huangmei Opera Art Festival, and he and Ling Zhen, then director of the Municipal Government's Key Construction Office, took 39 photographs.

　　In 1998, a huge flood occurred in the Yangtze River Basin of Our country, and Anqing suffered a major threat of torrential rain and flooding, "In the face of the catastrophe, the people of the whole city are fighting against the disaster with all their might, and I must record this indomitable spirit." Ruan Lao rushed to the front line of rescue with the car and boat, and whenever he saw the flood control personnel fighting on the river embankment, he pressed the shutter one after another to shoot the "Battle of the Berm".

　　In Ruan Lao's heart, the incident of the Completion and Opening of the Anqing Yangtze River Highway Bridge touched him the most. "A bridge flies north and south, and the graben changes its path." On December 26, 2004, the construction of the Anqing Yangtze River Highway Bridge, which carries the century-old dream of Anqing people, was completed. Ruan Lao said that from the beginning of the construction of the bridge foundation, to the installation of the last steel box girder in place, until the victory was opened, his lens was closely focused on the construction of the bridge from beginning to end, for which he also took a set of pictures and materials with the title of "Dream Come True". He is extremely proud to be able to participate in the filming of this important event that has been recorded in history.

　　At the beginning of 2008, the city suffered a rare snow disaster, and Ruan Lao used a large number of cameras to record the scene of the people in the urban area fighting snow and de-icing.

　　As the main exhibitor, Ruan Lao held two photography exhibitions of "Beauty in Yicheng" in 1987 and 1990 at the Workers' Cultural Palace in Anqing. His precious old photograph of the old city of Anqing was adopted by the "Walking All Over China" column group of the Overseas Special Topics Department of CCTV International Channel in 2003.

　　Seeing that his works have been recognized by everyone, Ruan Lao feels a great sense of accomplishment, and often people come to him to check information or photos, and he always actively cooperates or even looks through the night. After taking photos of the city for so many years, Ruan Lao spent almost all his savings for this, but he had no regrets: "So many people came to me, indicating that the things I took were valuable, and what I did was very meaningful." In the interview, talking about some photos and the stories behind them, Ruan Lao can always elicit a series of thanks. Thanks to the photography experts for their help and guidance, to the department leaders for the convenience they provided to him when taking pictures, and to the organizers for inviting him to participate in the shooting of important events in Anqing... He was always almost humble enough to thank all the people around him who helped him fulfill his dreams.

　　Talking about the harvest and feelings of photography over the past few decades, Ruan Lao said: "From the initial interests and hobbies to the changes in the city of photography as their responsibility, the changes in thinking in this are felt from shooting again and again. The development and construction of the city embodies the spirit of unity and selfless dedication of the vast number of cadres and the masses, and this spirit also inspires me to devote my life's energy to recording and preserving these precious moments. ”

　　"My father began to engage in photography out of interest and hobby, and with perseverance and persistence, he has been using the lens to record the construction and development of Anqing City's economy, society and culture, so that people can glimpse the appearance of Anqing City from the old photos and the earth-shaking changes today, I think my father has done a very meaningful thing." Talking about her father's donation of photos, Ruan Honglian said, "My father donated more than 30 years of hard work to the Anqing Municipal Archives, and we expressed our understanding and support, hoping that these photos can provide more meaningful and valuable information resources for the urban development and construction of Anqing." ”

　　"After these archives entered the museum, they not only enriched our collections, but also provided important cultural historical materials for the urban construction and development of Anqing City, which not only educated future generations, but also left a precious archival legacy for our descendants in Anqing." Hu Xiaoshun, a fourth-level researcher at the Anqing Municipal Archives, said.

(All-media reporter Fang Fang/Wen Correspondent Yu Ping photo)