Are the mountain children in the reporter's lens okay? , more than ten years have passed
Children on their way to school in ice and snow, teenagers on cliff ladders, children of migrant workers growing up in urban villages... More than ten years ago, reporters followed and interviewed a group of children and used images to record their strong and optimistic childhood lives in the face of difficulties. More than ten years have passed, what ups and downs have they experienced? How are you doing now?
The mountainous area of Qibainong in Dahua Yao Autonomous County, Guangxi has towering peaks, high mountains and steep roads. For a long time, high mountains and ravines have not only hindered the pace of development, but also hindered children's pursuit of education and dreams.
In 2012, when the reporter came to interview rural schools in some towns and villages in Dahua County for the first time, the transportation here was inconvenient and the school buildings were primitive. Many students have to spend an hour or two climbing the "Ladder to Heaven", crossing cliffs, and climbing mountains to get to school. They also have to sleep in Datongbu and eat soybean rice...
In Nongyong Village, Bansheng Township, the reporter followed the children of Nongyong Primary School to school and home many times. On the way, they had to climb a wooden ladder more than 20 meters high, which the locals called the "Ladder to Heaven." The ladder was made by an adult out of bundles of bamboo and wood. It had been broken in many places due to exposure to the sun, wind and rain. Meng Xuanti was only 8 years old at the time. Because he was too young, he had to be held by his brother in front and supported by his sisters behind him in order to climb the ladder. The 11-year-old brother Meng Xuanren carries the brothers' daily necessities and school supplies on his shoulders, and it takes more than an hour each time to reach the school.
Mosaic photo: The picture above shows that on January 20, 2023, in Nongyong Village, Bansheng Township, Dahua Yao Autonomous County, 22-year-old Meng Xuanren and his younger brother Meng Xuantai took a group photo standing next to the tunnel leading to Nongyong Primary School, above the tunnel It was the "ladder" they had to climb to go to school when they were children; the picture below shows Meng Xuantai and Meng Xuanyen climbing the mountain road to school on September 3, 2012, in Nongyong Village, Bansheng Township, Dahua Yao Autonomous County. Meng Xuanren is currently studying at Liaoning Provincial Communications College, and his younger brother Meng Xuantai works in an auto repair factory in Guangdong after graduating from a technical school. All photos were taken by reporter Huang Xiaobang
The hard life in their youth allowed the children in the mountains to learn to share the heavy responsibilities of life while studying. Herding sheep, sewing clothes, cooking, fetching water, and growing corn, Meng Xuanren and Meng Xuantai learned almost all life skills since they were young.
Meng Xuantai hopes to go out as soon as possible and work to earn money to support his family.
In his memory, most of his parents, including his father Meng Guisu, went out to work all year round. Every year before the Spring Festival, my father would carry his heavy luggage and New Year's goods and walk home on the mountain road. No matter how late it was, Meng Xuantai and his brother would wait at the door and look at the mountain col in the distance: What has become of my father who has not seen him for a year? So, what gifts did he bring back...
Meng Guisu, who has not graduated from primary school, hopes that his children will not follow the path of their fathers, because his life path tells him: without culture, there will be no future.
"Do your best to send the children out to study" is Meng Guisu's simplest idea.
At that time, his brother Meng Xuanren said that his dream was to go to college and use knowledge to change his destiny.
Compared with the "ladder" way to school in Nongyong Village, the cliffs in Nongyong Village next door make the children's way to school more difficult and dangerous. They have to pass a cliff more than 200 meters long and 100 meters deep every day when they go to school.
At that time, 11-year-old Meng Qiuyan, as a senior sister, had to walk at the back of the team every time. Grandpa told her to take care of her younger brothers and sisters and pay more attention to safety.
Mosaic photos: The picture above shows 22-year-old Meng Qiuyan standing at the gate of Guangxi Medical University where she studies on May 27, 2023; the picture below shows Nonglei, Bansheng Township, Dahua Yao Autonomous County, on September 3, 2012 In the village of Habaotun, 11-year-old Meng Qiuyan is guarding her junior friends home on the edge of the cliff. In 2021, Meng Qiuyan was admitted to Guangxi Medical University with excellent results.
Meng Qiuyan said that one time on the way to school, a sister did not pay attention to the road under her feet when crossing a cliff, and accidentally rolled down the cliff. Fortunately, she was stuck by rocks and trees at a depth of more than 10 meters. After the teacher heard about it, he rushed to the rescue. That sister still has a long scar on her forehead.
11-year-old Meng Fusong once fell on a cliff and suffered a bloody head. He had to take leave to recuperate at home for a long time.
10-year-old Meng Keyou has just entered the second grade. At this age, he should be in the fourth grade. But Meng Keyou said: "Because I was worried that I was too young and it would be unsafe to climb the cliff to go to school, I didn't go to school until I was 9 years old."
Mosaic photos: The picture below shows Meng Keyou, who is about to graduate from a technical school, standing in front of his home in Nonglei Village, Bansheng Township, Dahua Yao Autonomous County, Hechi City on January 16, 2023; the picture above shows that on September 5, 2012, in Nonglei Village, Bansheng Township, Dahua Yao Autonomous County, Hechi City In Nonglei Village, Bansheng Township, Dahua Yao Autonomous County, 10-year-old Meng Keyou sat on the edge of a cliff to rest on his way to school. Meng Keyou, 22, hopes to earn money for his younger siblings to study so that they can receive a better education.
When reporters followed them through the cliff after school, they also had to use their hands and feet to pass with fear.
"You must study hard, get out of the mountains, and become a teacher in the future!" This dream has always supported Meng Qiuyan.
In the years that followed, as poverty alleviation progressed, the mountains underwent earth-shaking changes. The "Road Network Project" makes children's way to school no longer difficult and dangerous; the "Nutritional Improvement Project" allows children to bid farewell to soybean bibimbap; and the "Tackling Datongpu Project" improves children's accommodation conditions.
The old mountains have changed into new ones, warming the young people's growth path.
Children with dreams are running hard in the mountains.
In 2021, Meng Qiuyan was admitted to the translation major of Guangxi Medical University with excellent results. Now she has passed the written test of the teacher qualification examination.
After graduating from technical school, 20-year-old Meng Xuantai has been working in an auto repair factory in Guangdong for two years. His elder brother Meng Xuanren studied at Liaoning Provincial Communications College.
22-year-old Meng Fusong has graduated from health school and returned to his hometown to work as a village doctor.
Mosaic photos: The picture above shows village doctor Meng Fusong standing in front of the health center in Nonglei Village, Bansheng Township, Dahua Yao Autonomous County on May 24, 2023; the picture below shows 10-year-old Meng Fusong climbing a cliff on September 5, 2012 Go to school and study. In 2021, Meng Fusong graduated from health school and returned to his hometown to become a village doctor.
Going to college, going out to work, serving their hometown... These young and ignorant teenagers who traveled across mountains and ridges to go to school have now become mature and strong, working hard for their own better life.
Dayuan Village, Jiaojiang Yao Township, Quanzhou County, Guilin City, Guangxi is located in the alpine mountainous area of northern Guangxi. Every year in the middle of winter, children, escorted by teachers and parents, embark on the road to school in a world of ice and snow.
In January 2011, the reporter interviewed and photographed the learning and living conditions of teachers and students of Dayuan Primary School for the first time. At that time, cement roads had not yet been built here, and most students had to spend an hour or two walking on mountain roads to reach the school.
At that time, the entire Dayuan Village was covered in ice and snow, and when the reporter arrived at the school, get out of class was about to end. There is no heating in the classroom, and there is almost no difference in temperature inside and outside the classroom. Everyone's little faces are red from the cold. Some students even bring small braziers and place them next to the desks to keep warm.
At this time, parents were already waiting at the school gate, preparing to take their children home.
After school, 8-year-old Feng Yanping walked with 5 friends. Although she was not the oldest, she bravely stood at the front of the team and led everyone on the way home. Her parents followed behind the team and were careful. escorted.
In Dayuan Village, Jiaojiang Yao Township, Quanzhou County, Guilin City, 8-year-old Feng Yanping and her classmates were walking on the mountain road home from school.
The icy mountain road was very slippery. When going downhill, Feng Yanping tried to grab the weeds on the roadside, but the ice-covered weeds were also very slippery. If she was not careful, she slipped to the bottom of the slope. Fortunately, she was not injured.
When crossing the river, you need to step on large ice-covered rocks. Sometimes you need to be held by your parents, and sometimes you need to sit on the rocks and rub your hands and feet across the river.
In this way, Feng Yanping rolled and climbed on the three-four-kilometer journey home, and it took more than an hour to get home. Feng Yanping's home, like most villagers' houses, is a few mud-tiled houses. After opening the door of her house, she immediately came to the fire pit to warm herself up.
For students such as Liang Yufeng and Pan Weijian who live further away, it takes two or three hours to get home.
Dayuan Village was covered in ice and snow at that time, and the fog was so thick that reporters were unable to take pictures of the village, leaving only some scenes of children returning home in the ice and snow.
Now, villagers have built a bridge and built a road near where the students used to cross the river. If it weren't for the photographic records, it would be difficult for outsiders to imagine that the scattered stones in the river were once the only place children had to pass by when going to school every day.
Dayuan Primary School is located on a hillside. The cement road has reached the school gate, and parents can send their children to school by car or motorcycle. A wall has been built on the campus, and the newly planted pine trees have grown taller than the teaching building.
At the Central Primary School of Jiaojiang Yao Township, Quanzhou County, Guilin City, 21-year-old Feng Yanping, her sister Pan Yunfang, and her cousin Pan Yuting were walking on the campus.
It only takes five minutes for the reporter to take a bus from school to Feng Yanping's home. Feng Yanping's home, like many villagers, is already a two-story building.
Looking at the photos from that year, 21-year-old Feng Yanping recognized herself in the photos from 13 years ago at a glance, and then she took out the photo given to her by the reporter from the house.
Feng Yanping said that the students have always treasured these photos.
In 2023, Feng Yanping got married and started a family, and is currently working in Guilin.
She told reporters that many people in her class are still studying in universities across the country, and most of them have returned to school to start school, and a few classmates have gone out to work...
In March of this year, the reporter contacted several classmates who were studying in universities abroad through WeChat. Pan Weijian, who studies at Tianjin Communications Vocational College, sent a photo of him sitting in the school library reading. Pan Weijian said that the reading room was as warm as spring at this time.
Xiong Sanye, 23, came to Liuzhou City, Guangxi Province with his working parents from the mountains of Guizhou Province when he was 1 year old. His parents made a living by scavenging and "blacksmithing", and the family has lived in Liuzhou City for more than 20 years.
At a construction site on Beique Road in Liuzhou City, Xiong Sanye and his partners were forging iron.
From 2008 to 2013, reporters visited the urban village where Xiong Sanye lived and the school where he attended dozens of times to interview and photograph the study and living conditions of him and his friends.
At that time, he was still a young blacksmith named Xiong Sansan, renting a small house with his parents, siblings. Xiong Sanye, who is in primary school, often uses his vacation time to follow his parents to the construction site to do iron work, taking on some labor within his ability and helping his family share their worries.
By 2013, Xiong Sanye was well aware of the market prices of various scrap metals. During the seven-day National Day holiday that year, he "blacksmithed" for five days and earned more than 100 yuan. He gave more than 50 yuan to his parents.
When he was a boy, the urban village where Xiong Sanye lived was home to many children of migrant workers. There were no spacious courts, no cool swimming pools, and no various summer camps and interest classes. Although the living conditions were very difficult, Friends always have endless fun together.
Relevant local departments and all walks of life have given a lot of care and often go to schools and villages to carry out caring activities. Some schools also carry out pairing activities.
For example, after learning that children in urban villages did not have desks and could only squat on the ground and lie on small benches to study, volunteers quickly delivered small desks.
College students from Guangxi University of Science and Technology often go to schools and villages to carry out voluntary tutoring and volunteer teaching activities. Xiong Sanye was even invited to visit and study on the university campus. At that time, he dreamed of going to such a university campus when he grew up. read.
Liubei District Youth League Committee and other departments have organized young volunteers and social caring people to schools to carry out public welfare training activities such as painting, music, handicrafts, and sports on many occasions.
These uninterrupted cares made young Xiong Sanye feel the warmth of this city, and he began to dream of taking root here.
After graduating from junior high school, Xiong Sanye chose to study in a technical secondary school and then a junior college. Almost every long vacation, he worked in a factory to earn money. This experience also made him deeply understand the importance of knowledge. In 2023, he was admitted to the undergraduate program again and achieved the "triple jump."
When the reporter found Xiong Sanye again after 11 years, their family had moved to a new residence, the area had increased to more than 60 square meters, and their living conditions had improved significantly.
He solemnly told reporters that he had stopped being called "San San" a long time ago because the name seemed too childish. His parents changed it to his current name before he entered middle school.
"But I still like you to call me Sansan!" He said, "After more than ten years, I am still very simple, but I understand a lot."
Outside a rental house near Qiujiang Road in Liuzhou City, Xiong Sanye was showing off a laptop he had just purchased.
Xiong Sanye's undergraduate major is mechanical design, manufacturing and automation, and he urgently needs a laptop for his studies. Therefore, he did not go back to his hometown in the countryside with his parents for the Spring Festival this year. Instead, he stayed in Liuzhou City to work and earn money to buy a computer. He showed reporters his newly purchased computer, and the player was playing "I'm still the boy I used to be..." which was his favorite song.
Xiong Sanye likes Liuzhou's snail noodles and the urban culture here very much. He will graduate from college in just over a year. He hopes to take root in Liuzhou in the future and continue to work hard for his childhood dream.
"My body is from the city of Liuzhou, and my soul is from the mountains of Guizhou. I grew up drinking the water of this city, and I have almost completely integrated into this city." Xiong Sanye said, "Now there is only one difference. The point is, I will work here after graduation and then buy a house so that my parents can live a better life in their later years.”
