丽水摄影节

2019

From Lishui--Li Lin / Island

Apr, 26.2024

This place was once called Solitary Island, a desolate land where the Yellow River flows into the sea.

In 1956, the Yellow River Farm was established here. Over 6,000 educated youth came to the farm for labor training.

In the winter of 1962, my father, at 17 years old, was among the first group of educated youth from Qingdao. They traveled for a day and night to reach the Yellow River Farm, a total of 401 people arrived. On February 13, 1971, my father returned to Qingdao to celebrate the Spring Festival. Before leaving, he wrote, "Goodbye, my home! Goodbye, Qingdao!"

From the 1950s to the late 1970s, China’s educated youth movement involved a total of 18 million urban youth. In 1979, this movement ended with the return of millions of educated youth to the cities, while around 800,000 educated youth were permanently left in the vast expanse. My father was one of those who stayed behind. I was born here in 1974, and my parents have lived here ever since, while the younger generation has all left.

As a political product, the farm exited the stage of history after the reforms and opening up in the 1980s. In February 2018, most of the structures here were dismantled.

The photos in Solitary Island are divided into three parts: portrait photos from 1962 of educated youth who stayed with my father; red, blurred photos from that time, which I processed into a red tone and blurred; and other color photos depicting scenes from the farm.

From Lishui--Li Lin / Island