From the headwaters to the river mouth, from the mainstream to its tributaries.
He has been carrying out a few trips of the Yellow River almost every year since 1997.
I don't know. Maybe I was born to connect with the river.
From its geology to its history, from the locals' livelihood to their culture, and from environmental challenges to wildlife protection.
He explores along the Yellow River and pushes for it's protection.
He is Wong Chung Do, an old friend to many folks who live along the river.
Crazy guy, he keeps doing it even with such a bad back problem.
He is stubborn, but he hasuca respect.
In this episode, we introduce to you Huang Chengde, who has been recording the changes to the Yellow River for over two decades and contributing to its conservation.
Stay tuned for the last episode of our 12 -part series, the Yellow River Mosaic, pilgrimage of a veteran journalist.
August 6, 2021, at Karuh Chiu, a headwater of the Yellow River in Southern Baianhaar Mountains at Ching Hai Sizang Lato.
It was Kwang Chun De who inspired me to travel along the Yellow River, departing from his a hometown in southwest China, Square Joe, probably.
The 67 -year -old veteran journalist travels north to the Yellow River every year.
Over the past 25 years, he has repeatedly traveled the entire river system and contributed to its protection in his own way.
I join him both at the headwaters and the middle reaches in 2021 and once again in early 2024.
Crossing shallow lakes, marshlands and grasslands, our car was running on a pair of tire tracks in the middle of nowhere.
It was about 4 ,800 metres above sea level deep in the Baianhar Mountains.
Poulton Dé who was at the wheel was looking for a monument at Kar Chew, one of the three headwaters of the Yellow River.
He stopped the car and before I could realize what was happening Wang had knelt down and bowed to a steelie with the Chinese characters Ka LASZU engraved on it.
It's our mother river, I want to pay my respects.
It was his second visit to the headwaters of the Yellow River in 12 months.
I travel along the river almost every year.
Well, I can't claim to have stepped on each and every inch of the river system.
I believe I could safely say about 80 % of it, including each of the river bands, the 4 lakes and the 30 canyons along the river.
I traveled more in recent years because the government has been pushing ahead legislation to enhance the France protection of the river.
I'd like to offer some down -to -earth advice.
Hong Chengde made his first trip to the Yellow River source region in the winter of 1997 on a motorcycle.
Snow submerged a half of the wheels.
It was mainly gravel road at that time, I rode for two days from Shinning to get there.
On this trip with us, Huang was driving his fourth SUV after wearing out three others and nine motorcycles, as a result of his arduous Yellow River trips.
I called for Yellow River protection in the 1990s when little attention was paid to its environment deterioration.
Now people have realized its importance and are taking actions.
I make follow -up trips to see if there's more I can do.
Wearing a photographer vest, blue jeans and sneakers, Hong Cheng -ge walked along the river holding a camera in his right hand.
He used his left hand to support his back, which suffers from chronic back pain.
As he talked to us, his eyes kept searching for things worthy of note.
He moved fast, and clicked the shutter quickly when he spotted a target.
He has taken millions of pictures over the years revealing changes in the river landscapes.
I've taken a number of photos today to call on people to act on climate change.
The permafrost here is a thawing due to global warming.
What ever the locals do to address the problem is not enough.
It takes the whole world to tackle climate change collectively.
Now, we were about 100 kilometers away from the headwaters.
In front of us were hills that looked like terraced the fields.
Grass grew on layers upon layers of collapsed soil.
The thawing of the permafrost leads to a decline in groundwater levels.
It could trigger secondary disasters such as grassland degradation and even desertification.
This is the big concern of most of the herdsmen I met.
Now I have one more thing to worry about because I found cracks developing in some houses near the headwaters due to Pam Frost's default.
The local geological research department had checked those houses before.
One tlian, head of Ma Dua Tang at the headwaters, said geologic hazard had been ruled out.
It's global warming.
The frozen wetland on the ground has begun to melt and that causes the walls to crack.
Hong Chengde cares about everything related to the Yellow River.
Normally when traveling alone he takes the wild animals as his companions.
But last year when I came here with my son, I saw a few wild animals like the kings.
I used to see them in large flocks, and would talk to them.
I asked again and again, Where are you?
Where have you gone?
But they were nowhere to be seen.
Hongchun Do shed a tear in front of his thumb, Because he didn't spot his wild animal buddies.
This he couldn't hold his excitement when we came across vast patches of land and solar panels.
He believes the renewable energy project is needed for sustainable development of the Yellow River Basin.
Crazy Guy, he keeps travelling along the river even with his back problem, but travelling has indeed broadened Huang's perspectives of the world.
Talking to him inspires me a lot.
Huang has made a lot of friends along the river, including Zhang Xifeng, a painter at Chicago in the middle reach of the river, where we join Hongchungr again two months later.
Leaning on the drivers seat, Hongchungr dosed off by the roadside.
It was 4 o 'clock in the afternoon.
Are you awake, sir?
Yep, was a bit tired.
Resting for even about 10 minutes can help avoid fatigue driving.
At that study, the sea with Papa grigi smoked mountains Let's go We continued our journey and headed to an ancient castle.
In Laonu One village where the river flows into Shorenxi Province and its middle beach.
It's where the Yellow River meets the Great War.
I guess it's a cultural war here.
This is a real treasure.
that, he presses his cheek and then his ear against the wall of a military fortress built some 500 years ago.
That's cheek kissing.
I listen to its history in honor of the garrison soldiers defending its hundreds of years ago.
Each time Hong Chengde travels by the river, he manages to explore the castle and parts of the Great Wall built in different historical periods and the culturalics of different ethnic groups.
They are heritages from our ancestors.
Now it's our turn to protect them well so they can be passed down to future generations.
Huang tried to explain why he's so attached to the yellow river, or Huang He in Chinese.
How should I put it?
I don't know. Maybe I was born to connect with the river.
My family name is Huang, the same as the name of the river.
I also picked Huan He as my son's name.
Huang He or the Yellow River got its name from the large amount of yellow -brown silt it carries in the middle reaches as it flows through the Loess Plateau.
The Chinese people have tried to harness the Yellow River for thousands of years, making Making sure that it doesn't impose danger has always mattered a lot to the country.
The more you explore the river, the deeper you would fall in love with it.
Wang added that he's been touched the most by the people who live by the river.
Those people love him back.
I bring him pancakes in case he is not able to eat on time.
He works a lot in the wild, you know?
It's lucky to have a mentor like him in my career.
He's like a beaker of light in protecting the environment and improving public welfare.
On his trip to the headwaters once again, Hong Chengdeh attended a seminar to discuss a damp project at the upper -reach of the Yellow River.
Over the past two and a half decades, he has participated in a number of projects along the Yellow River.
He has provided first -hand information to the authorities and played a role in promoting pest and sand control, desertification prevention, my rehabilitation and cultural relic protection along the river.
He would always revisit the places where he had found something wrong to see if those issues have been addressed.
… I went to the start of the middle course of the river to check whether planting long -stored crops on the dikes had been banned.
Planting that kind of crops there could result in issues such as pesticides and chemical fertiliser pollution.
I gave my advice to the local authorities earlier to stop this.
Now, warning signs have been placed there to remind people of the passage.
Hong Jun -de said he would continue his exploration of the Yellow River in the next 10 or 20 years, all for as long as he could.
As we tell his story in this program, the veteran journalist has already set out on another trip.
This time, he will visit sections of the Great War built some 2 ,000 years ago along the Yellow River.
