Withtheonce-ubiquitousslowgreentrainsasthetheme,thedocumentaryTheSlowTrainHomeisfullofpoeticandwarmstories.
Inastillfromthesecondepisodeofthedocumentary,youngUygurpoetNiyaziAli(secondleft)talkstootherpassengersonatrain.Allsix25-minuteepisodesoftheChinesedocumentaryTheSlowTrainHomearescheduledtobeairedontheDocumentaryChannelofChinaCentralTelevision(CCTV)fromOctober22to27,2018.
Choosingtheonce-ubiquitousslowgreentrainsasthetheme,thedocumentaryexplorestraditionalcustomsofoldChinesevillages,vanishingtraditionalskillsandthehistoricchangesthathaveupendedcenturies-oldlifestyles.Atthesametime,suchimagesinspireastrongsenseofnostalgiainpeopleacrossChina.
Nostalgiaisatthecoreofthisdocumentary.“Whentakingtheslowtrains,peoplecouldseemountainsandriversalongtheroutes,whichleftthemwithmorevividmemoriesandaccompanyingnostalgia,”saidRenChongrong,producerandprojectsupervisorofthedocumentary.
Massmigrationisanormalphenomenoninhumandevelopmenthistoryandhasfrequentlybeenapowerfuldrivingforceforsocialprogressandprosperity.China’scurrenturbanizationprocesshasbeendubbedthelargestpopulationmigrationinhumanhistory.Countlesspeoplehavelefttheirancestralhomestoestablishnewresidencesincities.Meanwhile,nostalgiahasexplodedasapopularemotionamongthepublic.
Theslowtrain,themostcommonandrepresentativevehicleforlongtripsinChinafromthe1950stothe1980s,carriesthenostalgiaintheproduction.Thetrainsarepaintedgreenwithyellowstripesandlackcentralizedpowerandairconditioning.Theyaredesignedtoreachamaximumspeedofonly120kilometersperhour.
WiththerapiddevelopmentoftheChineserailwaysectorandtheconstantupgradesinspeedandtechnologyofpassengertrains,mostoftheslowtrainsinthecountryhavebeengraduallyreplacedbynewerbullettrainswithairconditioning,electricityandhigherspeeds.
Thedocumentaryproductionteamdiscoveredduringpre-productioninvestigationthatonlyabout20linesand40totalslowtrainsstilloperateinChinatoday.
Thestill-familiarslowtrainsarefueledwithcoal,lackairconditioningandfeaturefamouslyhardseats.However,these“stars”ofthedocumentarystillmaintaintwoimportantadvantagesovertheirfastercompetitors:Ticketsarecheapandmanystopsaremade,soforsome,thetrainsremainanindispensablemethodoftransport.
Sincethebeginningof2018,theproductionteamhadventuredtomanyplacesinChinaincludingSichuan,Heilongjiang,HunanandShanxiprovincesandXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegiontogatherfootage.
BackdropsincludethesnowcappedDaliangMountainsinChina’ssouthwesternSichuanProvince,theforestedHingganMountainsinChina’snorthernmostHeilongjiangProvince,themagnificentTianshanMountainsandTaklimakanDesertinChina’snorthwesternXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegionaswellassmalltownsalongtheborderofSichuanandHunanprovinces.
FromThePalaceMuseum(2005)toTheForbiddenCity100(2012),China(2013),Custom-madeforLife(2016)andfinallyTheSlowTrainHome(2018),Ren’sdocumentarieshavegraduallyshiftedfromgrandthemesofhistoryandculturetointimateportraitsofordinarypeople.Shebelievesthatstoriesofordinarypeopleinthecontextofagreateracanbesomeofthemosttouchingandattractivesuchaskidsgoingtoschoolbytrain,orangevendors,andabridefromtheYiethnicgroup,featuredinTheSlowTrainHome.
Renaddedapoeticandwarmtouchtoherlatestwork.“Today,thankstothepopularizationofhigh-speedrailsinChinaandsomanyyoungpeoplemovingtothecities,slowerlifestylesandtraditionsassociatedwiththefewremainingslow-speedgreentrainshavebecomeakindofhumanisticconcernwehopedtokindlethroughnostalgia,”sheexplained.
MovingMuseums——ExclusiveinterviewwithRenChongrong,producerandprojectsupervisorofthedocumentaryTheSlowTrainHome
RenChongrong,producerandprojectsupervisorofthedocumentaryTheSlowTrainHome.byChenJianCP:Whatwerethemostimpressivestoriesyouencounteredwhileshootingthedocumentary?
RenChongrong:Thedocumentaryisbuiltaroundaseriesoftravelstories,somanyinterestingthingshappenedduringshooting.
Inthefirstepisode,theShanghai-basedonlinewriterQiDongtrackeddownaDF1(Dongfeng1),theearliestdiesellocomotiveinChina,stillrunningalongthefootoftheDaliangMountains.IthasbeencruisingbetweenChengduandKunmingformorethan30years,longaftermostofitspeershaveretired.
Whenthetrainreached60kilometersperhour,itseemedtowhiskbackintime.Iwasveryimpressedbythisscene.
ThereisahilarioussceneatthebeginningofthefirstepisodeinwhichQiDonghelpslocalsloadcattle,sheepanddogsonatrainsothatfarmerscansellthemintown.
Forthepeoplewhoridethemmostfrequently,thegreentrainsarenotaboutnostalgia—theyarethemostconvenientandcheapestmethodoftransportation.Thesetrainsmeettheirneedsatanaffordableprice.Thisdynamicwasverytouchingtome.Inthefirstepisodeofthedocumentary,Shanghai-basedonlinewriterQiDong(left)helpslocalsloadcattle,sheepanddogsontoatrainsothatfarmerscansellthemintown.CP:Howdoesonegoaboutshootingagooddocumentary?
Ren:Inmyopinion,thekeytoshootingagooddocumentaryisnottofocusonskillsandtechniques,buttoseektotouchhearts.
Thethingsthatmostfrequentlytouchpeople’sheartsarefoundineverydaylife.ManyChinesedocumentarymakershavefocusedtheirlensonstoriesofordinaryindividuals,whichcollectivelyweavethemostvividimageofChinesesociety.
Inrecentyears,myfocushasshiftedfromgrandthemesrelatedtograndhistoryandcultureasseeninThePalaceMuseumandChinatotherichandinterestingdetailsfromthelivesofordinarypeople.Custom-madeforLife,afive-episodedocumentarythatIhelmedin2016,focusedonyoungChinesepeoplewhopursuedistinctlifestylesandfashion.
Wearealsoconcernedaboutthelivesofordinarypeopleandtheirmemoriesandfeelingsabouttraditionalcultureinsuchafast-developingera.Storiesofordinarypeopleinthecontextofagreateraarethemosttouchingandattractive.Threeofmyfavoritesinthisdocumentaryarekidstakingthetraintoschool,orangevendorsandabridefromtheYiethnicgrouptakingthetrainhome.
CP:WhatisthesignificanceofdocumentariestoChina?
Ren:In2000,TheTrueStory,aspin-offofOrientalHorizon,apopularprogramofCCTVwhereIworked,adoptedtheslogan“recordingthechangingimagesofChina,”whichIwouldcitetoanswerthequestion.
Theslow-speedgreentrainsarenowlikemovingmuseums.WecapturedimagesofthetraintravelingtirelesslythroughthedesertsofsouthernXinjiangaswellasthesnow-carpetedplainsofnortheasternChina.
Thewordsofalocalwomaninthefifthepisodearequitetrueandtouching:“Thankstothetrain,IcansellorangesintownsoIdon’thavetoworkawayfromhomeandleavemychildrenbehind.”
Theslowgreentrainscarrynotonlyoldmemoriesanddistantdreams,butalsothehopesandlivelihoodsofthelocalpeople.ThatistherealChinaweseeinthedocumentary.