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TAIYUAN, Oct. 10-- While people in the rustbelt of China's northeast are looking into the future, photographer Wang Yuwen is tending to the past. Wang, 69, took tens of thousands of photos in the past 40 years, chronicling glory, gloom and hopes in the old industrial heartland of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. An exhibition of Wang's work was held at the 17th China Pingyao International Photography Festival in late September. The region enjoyed decades of prosperity until the late 1970s. A campaign led by the central government in 2003 helped it regain some steam. However, fettered by a legacy of central planning, the region has lagged behind again since 2013. "The old heavy industries made tremendous contributions to New China. Numerous workers gave their lives to the cause. We should remember that," Wang said. Born into a family of miners in Liaoning where most of his photos were taken, Wang has a special bond with those who made their living underground. "My grandfather, father and sisters all worked in the mines," he said, and many of his photos depict life and death in the mines. A picture taken in 1983 shows Haizhou coal mine, which opened in the 1950s and was Asia's largest open colliery at the time. The mine used the most sophisticated technology available, with all machinery imported. By the 1990s when many heavy industries were struggling, some mines were closed and workers were laid off. A picture shot in 2003 shows a former miner from Haizhou raising sheep. "Many workers became street vendors or did other manual work. They understood what had happened," Wang said. | 
