Oral History: The Vanishing Haidian

People of our age can’t avoid talking about water when Haidian is mentioned. I was born in 1949, the year New China was born. Since I was young, I’ve lived in the area near Yiheyuan (SummerPalace) and Dayouzhuang (Abundance Village). Between 1958 and 1968, I was at school there and I remember it was like a solitary boat in a marsh— with the Western Hills, the sunsets and water everywhere. It was absolutely beautiful.

Absence of Justice

(January 1, 2010) First in a series of oral histories, banned and famed Chinese environmentalist and journalist Dai Qing organized a team of journalists to record a remarkable collection of oral histories from the riverside towns and villages affected by the Three Gorges dam on China’s Yangtze River. “On November 18, 2002, the government of Dachang Zhen (Great Prosperity Town) in Wushan County, Yangtze River, sent the following dispatch about the wharf and the house belonging to Lu Chengming, who was to be relocated:…”

Bright Sun City’s Dark Intent

(January 1, 2010) The third in a series of oral histories from China’s Three Gorges region. Banned and famed Chinese environmentalist and journalist Dai Qing has organized a team of journalists to record a remarkable collection of oral histories from the riverside towns and villages affected by the Three Gorges dam on China’s Yangtze River.

Lost Lives: The Plight of the Migrants

(January 1, 2010) The fourth in a series of oral histories from China’s Three Gorges region, Banned and famed Chinese environmentalist and journalist Dai Qing has organized a team of journalists to record a remarkable collection of oral histories from the riverside towns and villages affected by the Three Gorges dam on China’s Yangtze River.