Datong—grim lives, stoic acceptance

Press, 30 July 1986, Page 19

Datong—grim lives, stoic acceptance

Datong, a grim city near the Mongolian border, is the setting for “The Heart of The Dragon” this evening on Two, which looks at China’s industrial workers.

Their way of life is alien to the traditional culture of a country in which more than fourfifths of the population are peasants.

There are two main industries in Datong — coal mining and railways. Mining expanded rapidly in the 1930 s during the Japanese occupation,

when peasants were forced off the land and down the pits. An old miner tells young trainees of the horrors of that time and of his own escape from one of the death pits in which those who were too old or sick to work were buried alive.

The railway is run with military-style discipline; a testament to its origins in the days of Sino-Soviet cooperation. In the Russianbuilt factory where they still manufacture steam locomotives, a young woman is training to be a

welder. She wanted to be a writer, but accepts stoically the State’s decision. The State and the Communist Party exert almost total control over the lives of the people of Datong. But like . industrial workers everywhere, their character shines through, illustrated in sequences showing the celebrations that follow a mass civil wedding and the camaraderie of miners as they relax after a hard and often dangerous day’s work.