China News Service, Pingyao, September 23. Title: Female photographers have visited Tibet more than 20 times in 30 years: Recording the real Tibet with the lens
Author Gao Yuqing
Thirty years ago, Yuan Xiaoyan went to Tibet with her father who helped Tibet for the first time. Since then, she has set foot on this land more than 20 times.
This year coincides with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the 70th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet. Yuan Xiaoyan once again carried the camera and went deep into remote mountain villages in Tibet to capture the work and life of the cadres in the village.
In her own words, "I want to really do something."
Commemorative activities were held locally to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the 70th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet.
Photo by Yuan Xiaoyan
At the 21st Pingyao International Photography Exhibition currently being held in 2021, a group of exhibitions called "Xingyao Tibetan Land" attracted the public to stop and watch.
This is the first time that Yuan Xiaoyan, a director and photographer of the Chinese Art Photography Society, participated in the exhibition, and returned to his hometown of Shanxi for the first time to exhibit works.
From the snowy and cold pastures to the villages deep in the mountains, the presence of cadres in the village is everywhere.
They have a mission to revitalize the countryside.
What are their living and working conditions in the remote areas of Tibet with huge cultural differences?
With this question in mind, at the beginning of July this year, Yuan Xiaoyan went to Tibet again to start a week of "life in Tibet."
Yuan Xiaoyan's photography "Flag Raising Ceremony at an Altitude of 4670 meters" by Yuan Xiaoyan
This time, Yuan Xiaoyan came to the three villages of the Taxation Bureau of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the State Administration of Taxation, located in Rinqinze Township, Xietongmen County, Xigaze City.
Good natural scenery and poor living conditions are a true portrayal of the village.
In the meantime, she and the cadres in the village "eat, live and work together", and sometimes cook delicious meals for everyone.
Photo by Yuan Xiaoyan "Lunzhuzi Village" Photo by Yuan Xiaoyan
At an altitude of more than 4,000 meters, high anti-reflection is commonplace.
"Sometimes, when there is high reaction, the cadres in the village need to breathe in some oxygen before continuing to work." Yuan Xiaoyan told reporters that poor water quality and poor cooking are also normal.
At five or six o'clock every day, before dawn, the cadres in the village had already gotten up and appeared at the village committee at seven o'clock on time to start the day's work.
Going to the village to do statistics, checking the drought and water shortage of the land, and training Chinese for local village cadres... these are the usual tasks of the village cadres.
After working on the village committee, they will go to the land and do farm work with the villagers.
Photo by Yuan Xiaoyan "Take Me a Picture" Photo by Yuan Xiaoyan
"During the filming process, I was often moved by these cadres in the village." Yuan Xiaoyan said that sometimes when they are eating, the villagers need to pay for the phone call, and they immediately help to charge the phone bill.
They work a lot every day, but they are still happy.
Yuan Xiaoyan's "The Boy Who Played the Year of the Wood" Photo by Yuan Xiaoyan
"July 2nd, the first day of residency in the village, Rinqinze Township, Xietongmen County, Xigaze City, 4180 meters above sea level, participated in a commemorative art performance celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the 70th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet..." "July On the 3rd, the second day of staying in the village, Lagang Village, Rinqinze Township, Xietongmen County, Xigaze City, at an altitude of 4310 meters, photographed the cadres in the village moving to the village committee..." Yuan Xiaoyan used her diary to record every day Bit by bit shot locally.
The children chasing drones, the teenagers waiting for Zamunian’s performance, the village party secretary who entertained guests with butter tea, the eighty-year-old Tibetan opera non-genetic inheritor... The reporter found that in addition to the village cadres, the people here are also Yuan Xiaoyan The protagonist under the lens.
At the Pingyao International Photography Exhibition, Yuan Xiaoyan introduced the exhibition to the audience.
Photo courtesy of Yuan Xiaoyan
During the week in Tibet, Yuan Xiaoyan took hundreds of pictures. For this Pingyao International Photography Exhibition, she carefully selected 16 pictures, hoping to let more people know the real Tibet.
From the design of the exhibition to the installation of the works on the wall, everything is done by her alone.
I just got acquainted, and I'm leaving.
"You stay a few more days, and take a few more days." "Don't go, you are a bit unacceptable to our stomach." The village task force expressed their dismay towards Yuan Xiaoyan.
On the last day before leaving, the local villagers also held a grand farewell ceremony for her.
The "Xing Yao Tibetan Land" photography exhibition will be on display at the 21st Pingyao International Photography Exhibition in 2021.
Photo courtesy of Yuan Xiaoyan
What made Yuan Xiaoyan remember most was that "the village cadres here are willing to give, the villagers are simple and kind, and their living conditions are harmonious."
For this shooting, Yuan Xiaoyan said, “This is the responsibility and obligation of a photographer.” In the future, she plans to go to Tibet to continue filming the “story of the village cadres”, “maybe this winter”.
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