Zhang Zhengxiang, the "Guard" of Lake Dian

Reporter:

Zhang Zhengxiang became an orphan at the age of seven. His parents both dead, he ventured into a forest beside Lake Dian and lived there. Zhang Zhengxiang says it was the wild fruits in the forest and the fish and shrimp in Lake Dian that he lived off. At the bottom of his heart he believes it was the lake that raised him.

In 1962, 14-year-old Zhang returned to his village. With the help of kind villagers, he learned to read and write and finally grew to be the head of the village. However, he will never leave Lake Dian.

"I come to see the lake everyday. I walk around the lake every week to check the pollution it suffers."

The area around the lake is rich in minerals and attracts many miners. Zhang is worried to see these fortune pursuers slowly killing the lake.
 
"They explode the mountain and mines. They are not only damaging a lake, but also killing my mother."

Zhang Zhengxiang began a battle to protect the lake from being damaged further. He patrols the lake every day, taking photos of the scenes that the quarries are ruining, and then writes reports to the relevant authorities. He has spent all of his savings on the conservation of the lake. His wife left him, leaving him with three children. His 15-year-old daughter Zhang Xiumei (张秀梅) took up the duty of taking care of the family.

Living a hard life, Zhang Xiumei is confused about her father's motivation.

"Every day after school, I have to go to search for corn in the field to give my younger brother and sister to eat. The road is ragged, but I have to make my way back home, carrying the corn for my family, even during festivals. I say to my father, 'you are just a poor farmer and you are making our family poorer with your actions.' He says, 'I must do this. If I can't solve this big social problem, then I can't solve the small family ones.'"

Zhang Zhengxiang's efforts gained the local government's attention. It punished the polluting companies and miners. Inevitably, Zhang Zhengxiang became a rival in the miners' eyes. They called him a maniac and attempted to attack him at every opportunity.

Zhang had to take photos secretly before it became light.

Over 20 years, Zhang has circled the lake more than 1000 times. His neglect of his family and the threats to his family have caused his youngest son to develop mental problems. But after sacrificing so much, Zhang Zhengxiang won't stop now.

"I have harmed my children, my family and relatives for this lake. But I still regard it as my mother. I hope more people can come to protect it."

Zhang's unceasing efforts have been reported in the media and have aroused more people's attention. The government has also worked to stop the mining around the lake.

Anchor: Thank you, Chen Zhe. "Bai-gong-fang" literally means workshop for 100 kinds of handicrafts. It was established in Beijing back in 2003 to help preserve, develop and promote Chinese traditional arts and crafts.

Since then it has welcomed people from home and abroad and invited them to not only browse the goods but interact with the master artisans and perhaps even try their hand at creating something too.

Jules Page recently paid a visit to 'Baigongfang' and discovered a new trend is emerging whereby more attention is being paid to these valuable aspects of traditional Chinese culture.

Baigongfang Museum

Anchor: Thanks, Jules. Now it's time for some music. Stefanie Sun is a Singaporean singer-songwriter. She has sold over 10 million copies of her albums during the span of her career thus far. Sun is regarded as one of the most accomplished local artists in her native homeland. She has won over 33 awards and other accolades for her music in the course of her career in Singapore, Taiwan, the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong. "Against the light" is selected in her album released in 2007, a solid one with several hits on China's music Charts. Without further ado, here is "Against the light" from Stefanie Sun.

Song for Saturday--"against the light"

That was "Against the light" by Stefanie Sun. You're listening to Heartbeat.

As always, you can find more information on our website at crienglish.com. Special thanks to the "China Now" team that helped make this show possible, and for everyone here at ‘Heartbeat' I'm Yunfeng. Thanks for listening.