China2008 / 90min
Director：DONG, Jun
The DayuTemple was built in the Yuan dynasty and located northern of the ZhouyuanVillage, SudongTown, HangchengCity. The legend goes that during the regime by the emperors Yao and Shun, Dayu was assigned with the task of fighting against the flood in the Yellow River region. Dayu was so baffled yet devoted that he had not gone home for 13 years, even when he passed his doorway.
The old ferry port by the river Weihe has been there for years and plays a vital role for the nearby farmers transporting between one bank to the other of the river. However, the construction of the Sanmen Gorge Dam has totally changed the river Weihe to be suspended with sediments while forming an elevated river bed. People no longer see the wax and wane in the life along the river Weihe.
Villagers from Xinyu Village of Dali County chose to cultivate the land along the river bank and live in the areas raised higher above. It’s been forty years since the Sanmen Gorge project was inaugurated. River banks along Yellow River are largely deserted, and the army entered the region aroused conflicts with local farmers, who just want to give their best shot for survival. Tongguan Fort is another place badly influenced by the Sanmen Gorge project. The ancient fort has disappeared as a result of the policy oversight by the government. The water level in the Sanmen reservoir would never have submerged Tongguan Fort, but it has been replaced by the Venice Hotel and Yellow River Fish Barbecue anyway, bringing even less visitors.
MA, Jian-wen is a folk poet from Fengdong Village of Huayin County. He received education up to only senior high school level and was resettled in Qinghai Province. In the 40 years in Qinghai, his senses of responsibility and independent thinking prompted him to accomplish several hundreds of poems, many of which are about the resettlement and life in exile. A trivial grass-root figure like him still insists on his dream to return to his hometown. Fighting against flood has always been the action front of Chinese politicians, and there are always more and more of such water conservancy projects to come. But today, do these political leaders see traps hidden behind the economical development?
