Female stonemasons [China.org.cn]

Photographer:

Wei Dezhong was born in Henan in 1934. His photography career began immediately after the founding of the new China. As a highly-experienced photographer, he has taken pictures of top Chinese leaders Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De and Deng Xiaoping. He spent 10 years photographing the red-flag canal and left numerous invaluable historical pictures. Wei is now consultant for Henan Photographers Association and a councilor in the China Photographers Association.

 

Construction of the red-flag canal was a remarkable feat in the history of Chinese hydraulic projects. The "Red-flag Canal", like many other iconographic art works, served to encourage the Chinese people's will to build a great nation. As time goes by, the political implications of these pictures have faded, and the simple and pristine faces of Chinese people in a pre-consumerist period remain. The audience can see quiet fortitude, steadfast faith and valiant will to overcome all obstacles. (Curator: Liu Shuyong)