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Meeting an icon from the past means my long quest is finally over

By Li Hongyang | CHINA DAILY | Updated: 2021-02-05 00:00
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Eleven years ago, I took a photo of a mother holding her baby. It changed my life.

This year, I met her again and fulfilled a deep wish to interview her, something I didn't do when we first met.

Early in 2010, I visited Nanchang Railway Station in Jiangxi province, to cover the Spring Festival travel season. I saw a woman bowed down with luggage and holding a baby. I was shocked.

She was about 10 meters away, so I squatted down and held up my camera. As I pressed the shutter, she raised her head and looked ahead, her eyes fixed.

I asked if she needed help. I wanted to chat, but she rebuffed me.

The photo won the China News Award and the China News Photography Award. My peers knew my name wherever I went.

It was a great boost for a relative newcomer to the news industry, so I decided to focus my camera on regular people and did many grassroots stories.

I am grateful she appeared in my viewfinder because it boosted my work ethic and determination. I didn't think I was very skilled at the time, but the photo touched many people.

The woman, Bamuyubumu, reminded me of my mother, who dedicated herself to my well-being.

When I was 15, I refused to go to school because I thought it useless. My mother disagreed, so she took me to a boarding school in Huanggang, Hubei province. As I followed her, I saw her shadow under the noonday sun. She looked fatigued. That image is etched in my mind.

After graduating in journalism from a university in Wuhan, Hubei, I started work at Xinhua News Agency's Jiangxi branch.

When I saw Bamuyubumu at the station, I was moved by her strength and love for her baby, so I started looking for her to learn more about her life and help fund her child's education.

The search was hard. I visited many counties in Jiangxi, asking people if they had seen her, but to no avail.

I also asked colleagues nationwide for help. After I posted the photo on social media several years ago, people said Bamuyubumu had been seen in Anhui and Zhejiang provinces.

I never gave up because she influenced me at a critical stage of my career. Also, friends and peers often asked about the search, and I didn't want to admit failure.

Eventually, Bamuyubumu's daughter saw the photo online and I found her again.

In January, I met Bamuyubumu in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province. I showed her the photo, and she was surprised to hear about my quest.

I was nervous when I saw her. During my search, I had imagined her countless times.

I was pleased to discover that she is a positive mother with a good life as a result of her hard work and targeted poverty alleviation policies.

During our meeting, she told me about her life, saying she was full of hope for the future.

Zhou Ke spoke with Li Hongyang.

Zhou Ke, Xinhua News Agency photographer

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