Wen Li, a music teacher from Shenzhen of Guangdong Province,
never expected that photography would play a significant role in
her life, until she won the special prize at the National Photo
Competition held by the China Photographers' Association in
2005.
And she never expected that her award-winning photo would link
her with a Tibetan girl.
Shot during a trip to Sichuan Province, her winning photo titled
Huo (meaning puzzlement in Chinese) of a Tibetan girl in close-up
wowed both professionals and the masses. They were even more
surprised to learn that she knew little about photography when she
took that picture.
But Wen did not get carried away with the excitement of the
reward. She flew to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, the day after the
award ceremony in Beijing on January 16. She wanted to find the
girl in the photo, and to "give the award of 5,000 yuan (US$640)
back to her".
Chance meet
Wen traveled with friends to Sichuan's Aba Tibet and Qiang
Autonomous Prefecture in July of 2004.
Since it was her first visit to the plateau, she bought a
digital camera the day before setting off. She spent merely half an
hour learning how to handle the camera from a workmate. And she
kept reading the instructions during the trip.
On the way to Hongyuan County, the team saw several local
children walking horses and playing on a vast grassland. They
stopped to take photos as they tried to talk to the children.
The place was named Hongyuan by late Premier Zhou Enlai, which
literally means the grassland that the Red Army passed by during
the Long March in the 1930s.
When they were about to leave, Wen caught sight of a child
walking toward them on the horizon on the other side of the
grassland.
She could only picture a profile at first. As the child came
nearer, she recognized that it was a Tibetan girl, her hair
floating in the air. "She had dirt and mud on her face. The clothes
she wore were clearly donations," she recollected. "She seemed so
tiny, helpless and lonely on the vast barren land," she said. "She
wore a bewildered, cautious but interested look. Her big, bright
eyes reflected the typical restrained will of a Tibetan."
Wen failed to communicate with the girl, but she took five
pictures of her.
She published all her photos at a local photographers' club
after returning to Shenzhen. Among them, the ones with the girl in
close-up were highly praised by many photographers and strongly
recommended for the National Photo Competition.
"I became enthusiastic for photography after that trip and kept
practising with other amateurs. But I was not prepared for such a
competitive activity, because the organizers were offering an award
of 5,000 yuan, considered high for a photo competition," she
said.
The committee received 30,000 entries falling into three
categories emotion, scenery and nature. Her photo was ranked first
by both the jury and netizens, and was the only to win the special
prize.
Long journey
Wen called Yang Fang, an official of Hongyuan County, as soon as
she was informed of having won the prize in early January. She
asked Yang to help her find the girl, which sounded like a mission
impossible to Yang. They knew nothing about the girl, including her
name, her age, the village she lived in or the school she
attended.
But Yang promised to try her best. She and her colleagues
published dozens of copies of the photo and distributed them to
villagers. All responses proved to be wrong calls. Wen Li decided
to look for the girl herself, despite the harsh climate of
Hongyuan.
"I had never been to the grassland in winter. Every one
disagreed with my plan. Yet, it was a strong impulse to share the
joy of winning with the girl that put me there. And most
importantly, I felt she should have the money. I felt, it would
definitely change her life," said Wen, who was impressed by the
grassland schools during her last trip to Hongyuan.
She said on a good day, students of varying ages and grade
levels would have classes at an appointed place. But a lot of
children did not have access to a good education.
Her quest for the girl proved to be much more dangerous than she
had thought, when her car struggled every inch on the snowy and
windy grassland. The snow was so thick and heavy that even the
experienced local driver couldn't distinguish the road from the
grassland. The car got stuck several times.
"I was exhausted in the freezing cold. I felt I would pass out
from the altitude sickness," she said.
They came upon a wooden cottage on a hill slope and found a
Tibetan woman living there with her three children.
After Wen had some food and milk tea and warmed herself up, she
showed the photo to the woman, who looked astonished at the girl on
it.
"She said it was her niece, Nordron Wangmo. It turned out it was
her sixth birthday the day I took the photo."
The woman went on to say that the girl had moved to the
neighboring pasture with her parents. She was to move back to town
in March to attend a pre-school class. However, said the aunt, the
girl was likely to drop out because of poverty.
Wen returned in spring and finally met the girl. "She recognized
me at once. She was quiet, and always held my hand tightly wherever
I went."
Wen then set up a foundation for the girl. She also helps
another four local students and maintains contact with them by
letters.
"It is the girl and the plateau that led me into the world of
photography. We've helped each other to realize a dream we dared
not imagine before."
(China Daily March 26, 2007)