In the mid-60s of the last century, China started the Third Front Construction in Western areas of China for the purpose of military defense. As a result, many coastal military industries moved to the mountainous regions, and millions of people left their homes. It was that time my grandparents followed the instruction and came to the deep mountains in Shaanxi Province, starting their construction career for more than 30 years in the poor region.
At that time, all things were simplified as code. My parents grew up in two ordnance factories, namely 853 and 4401, and my mother’s family mailbox was No.71. In the 90s, my mother met my father and left home to live in 853 with my father regardless of the opposition of the whole family. In 1993, the Third Front Construction basically came to an end. Companies started to move back to big cities. My parents joined the relocation squad to create a better environment for me and began their new life in Xi’an. The original No.71 mailbox has disappeared since then.
After 30 years, I returned to the old mountain factory with my camera. There were only industrial debris and endless ruins here.
The work Mailbox No.71 is a rearrangement and reinvention of my family albums. I revealed a family’s archive by searching historical information and conducting fieldwork investigations and interviews. To deconstruct history and reality, I parallel the actual images and old photos to obfuscate the line between time and space. Paying the same attention to the found images, new photographs, and writing, I am trying to make a sample of a family at that particular time in China.
Dedicated to my mother and all my family.
In the mid-60s of the last century, China started the Third Front Construction in Western areas of China for the purpose of military defense. As a result, many coastal military industries moved to the mountainous regions, and millions of people left their homes. It was that time my grandparents followed the instruction and came to the deep mountains in Shaanxi Province, starting their construction career for more than 30 years in the poor region.
At that time, all things were simplified as code. My parents grew up in two ordnance factories, namely 853 and 4401, and my mother’s family mailbox was No.71. In the 90s, my mother met my father and left home to live in 853 with my father regardless of the opposition of the whole family. In 1993, the Third Front Construction basically came to an end. Companies started to move back to big cities. My parents joined the relocation squad to create a better environment for me and began their new life in Xi’an. The original No.71 mailbox has disappeared since then.
After 30 years, I returned to the old mountain factory with my camera. There were only industrial debris and endless ruins here.
The work Mailbox No.71 is a rearrangement and reinvention of my family albums. I revealed a family’s archive by searching historical information and conducting fieldwork investigations and interviews. To deconstruct history and reality, I parallel the actual images and old photos to obfuscate the line between time and space. Paying the same attention to the found images, new photographs, and writing, I am trying to make a sample of a family at that particular time in China.
Dedicated to my mother and all my family.