In the 1960s, a fervent wave of construction swept across China.
Musician Chen Yan put down roots in a community arts troupe, unwilling to be confined to sheet music in a rehearsal room.
He ventured into the roaring workshops of mines and factories, into the countryside, and to national defense railway construction sites deep in the mountains and valleys.
He listened to the clang of forging hammers, recorded local country songs, and collected the work chants of soldiers laying tracks.
He made workers’ sweat, farmers’ toil, and builders’ passion his lyrics, and the echoes of a vast land his melody.
His songs flew over factories, villages, and tunnels, dedicated to the countless ordinary people who gave quietly of themselves.
One great composition rang out across the land, capturing a generation’s burning ideals and the times they lived in.
Short alternate version:
In the 1960s, a wave of construction swept across the country. Musician Chen Yan traveled through factories, the countryside, and national defense construction sites, gathering the voices of ordinary people and composing a soundtrack for the times, until his soaring songs rang across the vast land.
