EditedbyZhangLijuan
Iworeoutonecameraafteranotheroverthecourseofamassingmorethan100,000negatives.Fromeachangle,atrueimageofthedevelopmentandchangesintheHainanSpecialEconomicZonewasdocumented.
Overthepast30years,HuangYiming,honorarypresidentoftheHainanPhotographersAssociation,hasexposedmorethan100,000framesoffilmtodocumentthedevelopmentandchangesoftheHainanSpecialEconomicZonefromeveryangle.OnApril25,1988,IsawarickshawonHaifuRoadinHaikouCitycarryingaverticalboardinscribedwithChinesecharactersreading“HainanProvincialPeople’sGovernment.”
Myguttoldmethatthenextday,April26,HainanProvincewouldbeofficiallyborn.“Thissignwillsurelybehungonthefrontofagovernmentbuilding,”Ithought.
Ifeltexcitedandrushedtotheofficetogetmycamera.AsIanticipated,staffersweremakingvariouspreparationstohangthesignboard.
Anemployeeinwhiteshirtclimbedabambooladderproppedagainstthegateandreachedforapieceofredsatinraisedbytwootherstaffmembers.Whentheinstallationofthelargeplaquewascomplete,Iclickedtheshutter,capturingapreciousmomentheraldingthefoundingofHainanProvince.
IwasunabletoadequatelycapturethebigsceneoftheApril26inauguralceremonyoftheHainanProvincialCPC(CommunistPartyofChina)Committeebecauseothershadreservedthebestlocations.Iwaslefttosqueezeinfrontoftheprovincialleaderstoshoot.Theareawassocrowdedwithpeopleandjournaliststhatmostofmyphotosturnedoutvagueduetothechaos.
Soonaftertheceremony,theleadersmarchedtothegateofthegovernmentbuilding100metersawaytoparticipateinanotherinaugurationceremonyfortheprovincialgovernment.IlearnedmylessonbeforeandwastednotimesecuringanidealspotfromwhichIcouldcapturethegrandsceneoftheceremony,includingthehonorguardsoftheYoungPioneers.
Theunveilingceremonywasbriefandenthusiastic.Afteritended,manypeoplestayedforquitesometimewaitingforachancetotakeaphotoinfrontoftheplaqueoftheprovincialgovernment.
Someonedescribedthe1980sas“theyearsofburningpassion”forHainan.AfterHainanProvincewasestablished,youngdreamchasersstreamedinfromallcornersofthecountry.
Mostsoughtopportunitiesfromthe“talentwall”erectedbyEastLake,afamedgatheringplaceforjobseekers.Ipaidfrequentvisitsspecificallytotakephotos.
Mydocumentaryseries“EastLakeTalentWall”and“HuntingforJobs”werebothshotinthisareainthelate1980sandearly1990s.
The“EastLakeTalentWall”seriesbecameiconicofHainandreamchasersinthosedays.“HuntingforJobs”capturedaglimpseofagroupofyoungnewcomerstoHainan,checkingjobpostingsonasmallboardhungonacoconuttree.
Inthe1990s,theburstofarealestatebubbleinHainaninflictedheavytraumaontheurbanizationoftheprovince.Unfinishedhigh-riseswereleftonenexttoanothersilently.Itpainedmetoseesuchscenes.
SoIfocusedmylensonsuchasensitivesocialphenomenonofthattime:Hainan’ssuspendedrealestateprojects.In1999,ChinaPhotographicPublishingHousepublishedmyseries“HainaninBlack-and-White,”whichdrewattentionfromtherealestateadministrationdepartment.
InFebruary2001,BoaoTownattheestuaryoftheWanquanRiverinQionghaiCity,Hainan,hostedthefirstBoaoForumforAsia(BFA),jointlylaunchedby25AsiancountriesandAustralia.
WhileconductinganinterviewatthemainvenueoftheannualBFA,IhappenedtolookbackandfindalargecrowdofChineseandforeignjournalistscarryingloadsofequipment.Forthefirsttimeinmylife,IsawtheworldpayingattentiontoHainan.
Hainanwasnolongerasmallisolatedisland.Icouldhardlyimaginetrackingitsfootprintsfor30yearswithouttheaidofacamera.Withmorethan100,000photosIsnapped,IhavedocumentedthechangesintheHainanSpecialEconomicZonefromeveryangle.
TheinaugurationceremonyofthePeople’sGovernmentofHainanProvincein1988.byHuangYiming/VCG