24 City (Er shi si cheng ji) (二十四城记)

"Welcoming the sun of the new century..."

"...we workers at Chengfa raise our voices"

CHENGFA GROUP

"The five-star red flag flutters in the wind"

"How glorious our song of victory!"

"Singing for our beloved motherland..."

"...as she prospers and grows strong!"

CEREMONY FOR TRANSFER OF LAND FROM

CHENGFA GROUP TO CHlNA RESOURCES LAND LTD

Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests...

Good morning, everyone

Today, 29 December 2007...

...will mark...

...a new and glorious chapter...

... in the development of the Chengfa Group

For nearly 50 years we have grappled...

...with difficulties and setbacks

and the challenging breakthroughs of economic reform

Now a revitalized Chengfa Group...

... is about to move from the site...

...that it has occupied for 50 years

"The cherished hibiscus of 24 City, in full bloom" - Tang Dynasty poem

Chengdu City

HE XlKUN

Back then, we just thought of '420' as a large factory

But I knew that it did work for the military

It made aircraft, and aero engines

We came in as fitters, our job was to repair...

...all the machinery and equipment in '420'

We were solely responsible for repairs

We did regular maintenance...

...and repairs when necessary

Back then,

he was in charge of Fitter Group 4

Back then...

There's one thing I remember

I'd just arrived

I had no idea...

...that the fitters basically had to make their own tools

By ourselves

One thing we used was called a 'scraper'

It was a kind of blade, shaped like this

And we had to make them ourselves

We cut the metal...

...and then honed the edge

Finished...

... it was about this long

Then, as it got worn down, we re-honed it

When it became this short, it couldn't be used any more

But he kept on using them regardless

When the thing was really worn out, he hung it from his belt

You had to hone the edge...

...very, very slowly

Even when it was all worn away...

... useless...

... he kept on using it

There was one time...

One scraper was worn right down, I couldn't use it, so I threw it away

Then Master Wang said...

"Xiao He..."

"You know..."

"...that this small thing..."

"... has come into our hands..."

"...through the hands of many others"

"lt can still be used"

So he picked up the one I'd thrown away

He re-honed it and used it again

I was so impressed

I felt it keenly

We were too immature

We had to learn not to be wasteful

Master Wang knew well...

"Waste not, want not"

That's correct, and I learned it from him.

He knew how many hands our tools had passed through

How hard-won they were

I feel guilty when I speak about Master Wang

I've been so busy for years now...

...that I haven't visited him

He Xikun, born 1 949 in Chengdu.

Apprenticed in 1 964 in the Fourth Fitter Group of Workshop 61...

in Factory "420". Later joined the army.

"He Xikun, male, aged 30,

work card # 0771 8968"

During the Cultural Revolution years...

...there were some very violent clashes

Most of the factories and mines stopped work

But he...

...carried on working

Hardly anyone else went in to the factory

Talking about this makes me feel a bit sad

It's hard to talk about this

I would have died if you hadn't come

She's hidden everything!

Hid what? Nothing!

What was there to hide?

Mother said the knife was hidden

She hid it all

Even my belt

They took three X-rays

After a long wait

This hospital is hopeless

They suggested we move to the provincial hospital

Give it to him.

- Were the X-rays computer-enhanced? - Yes.

So the images are clear?

Should be

It cannot be this afternoon, in the afternoon it...

What have you got to say?

What have you got to say?

You?

What have you got to say?

Seeing you makes me a bit nervous

Nervous?

Are you happy?

Happy to see me?

Of course I'm happy

It's been so long

Too bad...

I wouldn't have known you if we passed on the street

I wouldn't have

Have I changed?

You look thinner than before

I looked like this back then

Seeing you...

Greeting you...

But I forget

My brain's rusty

Too slow!

It was okay before

I used to remember things well

But not now

You did a lot for the factory.

Back then...

When I started working there... I used to worry

I came here in 1 959

If I ever took a day off, I'd work nights to make up the time

Overtime

I even worked through New Year and at weekends

Every single day

We were under pressure back then

Always the threat of war

Right

ALWAYS FOLLOW THE PATH OF DEVELOPMENT CORRECTLY

SECRETARY GUAN

Guan Fengjiu, born 1935 in Haicheng, Liaoning Province.

Appointed head of security in Factory "420".

At the time he retired, he was deputy secretary of the Communist Party Committee.

We were implementing Chairman Mao's strategy

Moving military factories to inland areas

Sheltered by the mountains here

Originally, the armaments factories,

the aeronautics places were all in the north-east

During the Korean War, that was the front line in the action against the Yanks

In line with the new strategy...

...we built factories in the south-west

We picked this place

We were under contract to Factory '1 1 1 ' in Shenyang, in the north-east

We repaired aircraft engines there

MlG-1 5s, during the Korean War

They were used in the attacks on the Yanks,

by the Chinese and North Korean air forces

We were fighting American lmperialism

So Factory '1 1 1 ' built Factory '420'

It was Factory '1 1 1 '

On 3 November, the General Assembly was mobilized

That was when our factory was charged with building '420' in Chengdu

We needed 60% of the staff

That is, 60% of Factory '1 1 1 ' staff...

We all had to move down here Over a period

A certain amount of the equipment from '1 1 1 ' was moved here

And the people to run it

Various specialists, technical staff, cadres

Mobilized after 3 November

I transferred here in December

I was in charge of the Security Section

I was one of the first to arrive

At that time, there were more than four thousand workers

Hou Lijun

After Mum came here...

...every year I thought of visiting home

I wanted to see my grandparents

My Mum's father and mother

She wanted to visit them too Always thought about it

Year on year...

But then...job, family, kids...

Not to mention...

The cost of it

We always wanted to visit home, but couldn't afford to

The bottom line

After coming here in 1 958...

... I have been back

When did we first go back to Shenyang?

It was in 1 972

Nothing had changed...

...since 1 958

In 14 years!

I was 18 or 19 by then

I'd finished middle school

Yes, I'd left middle school...