Railway- the Forerunner of Urban Changes

Over the last five decades, I have been closely following the railway development in all aspects. It has always been so fascinating to me, each time when I board the train, enter the train stations and the construction sites, come to areas near the railway or pass by the railway factories. The moving work and life scenes around the railways attract me so deeply, that I couldn’t help recording all the details in my camera, may it be the smoke of train steam, the running of internal combustion engine, the installation of power system, the driving of high-speed trains or the Ihasa Express driving to snowy plateaus over 5,000 meters above sea level. The lens of my camera also caught many major events of the development of China’s Railway such as the historical moment when the train drove from the seashore to the north of Xinjiang, and then left our country border for the first time, or the construction process of the high-speed railway along South China Sea Strait.

Those scenes belong to the development of China’s railway, and they are also the memorizable moments of my photography life. Time flies, forty years have passed. In my leisure time, when I browse through the photos taken in the 70s, 80s and 90s, it is as if a scroll painting of the long development history of China’s railway was rolling out in front of me. On the scroll painting are the Chinese passengers on green trains, steam locomotives, at train stations or on the train. Many blinking moments were captured such as when the green trains and steam locomotives were running, and how the train attendants, cooking chefs on train and couriers were working.

From time to time I think of the interesting moments and stories when I took the photos. China’s railway development has entered from the smoking steam locomotive era to the high speed train era, making me feel proud of my country. Those moments do not only reflect the development of China’s railway, but also represent the footprints and dreams of railway photographers.

Over the last fifty years, the numerous railway photos taken during my creative photography practice all harbor my love for railways and reflect the life of railway photographers. The destiny of railway photographers is closely intertwined with the development of China’s railway, which works as a tripod supporting the life meaning and soul of a railway photographer and provides him a unique perspective of himself and the meaning of life. I am willing to think more deeply in those regards and practice more photography to yield more works on China’s railway to reflect the fulfillment the Chinese Dream.

Curator: Zhong Yue