The War of Resistance in the Taihang Mountains

In 1939, North China fell under occupation, and Japanese troops trampled across the Taihang Mountains. Hong Qi, a blacksmith at an arsenal outside the pass, was separated from his unit amid the war. Alone, he drifted into the devastated Shiban Village. The village was repeatedly raided. Farm tools were stolen, young men were killed, injured, or fled, and the elderly, women, and children left behind hid among the mountains, unarmed and never knowing if they would survive another day.