[Laos] Sihalath Phutthana, Yangtze University

I am from Laos. In my country, water is considered sacred. Because of water, we have a grand festival. During the annual Water Splashing Festival, we use water to represent love and pour out our wishes, blessings, happiness, and joy. The Mekong River flows through my hometown and provides essential water resources for Laos’ economy and daily life.

Like the Mekong River, the Yangtze River is considered China’s Mother River, irrigating fertile fields and exerting a profound impact on the lives and culture of local people. The Yangtze River, with its vast basin and dense population, boasts a long and splendid history and culture; the Mekong River connects many countries, and its basin has also given birth to rich multi-ethnic and multi-cultural groups. During my childhood Chinese language lessons, our teachers would often ask us to recite poems about the Yangtze River by scholars and poets, and we would also look at maps of the Yangtze River with different backgrounds. The Yangtze River represents the thousand-year cultural heritage of the Chinese nation. It embodies a spirit of passion, as depicted in the phrase “the great river goes eastward, the waves are swept away, and the romantic figures of the ages.” They are the vastness of “the stars hanging down on the plains and the fields are vast, and the moon surges on the river.” They are the friendship of “lonely sail and distant shadow in the blue sky while the Yangtze River flowing towards the sky” when saying goodbye. They are the tenderness of “I live at the head of the Yangtze River, and you live at the end of the Yangtze River. I miss you every day, but I am unable to see you, as we both drink the same water of the Yangtze River.” This charming language flowing with love makes the Yangtze River water tremble in my heart.

Six years ago, I came to China to study and live at the Yangtze University, a beautiful institution of higher learning in Jingzhou in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. For the first time, I saw the majesty of the Yangtze River. The ancient city is prosperous along the river, and the university is full of vitality along the river, full of the agility and vitality of the water. A big river with wide waves, and my vision of living on the banks of the Yangtze River became so real.

Growing up by the water, I naturally feel a deep connection to rivers. It is strange, but whenever I feel homesick, I find solace in going for a walk by the river and taking a sip of water from the river. The water of the Yangtze River is grand and majestic, yet quiet and calm, nourishing all things. Especially in summer evenings, I often come to the Yangtze River and quietly enjoy the beautiful sunset. At that moment, looking far into the distance, the clear water of the Yangtze River flows eastward, sparkling like a golden ribbon and the busy boats on the river seem to be telling endless stories. Flood control is the most important event during the summer flood season. The Jingjiang embankment under my feet restrained the raging floods and silently guarded the Jianghan Plains. Taking advantage of the great protection work of the Yangtze River, “the Jingjiang River, the most dangerous section of the ten-thousand-mile Yangtze River ” now becomes “the most beauty section of the Yangtze River.” The Yangtze River coastline has been developed into the “Jingjiang Style Belt” with the main functions of ecological protection, cultural tourism, leisure and entertainment, industrial sites, and port logistics. The riverbank is an ecological beauty of the river city and water, where people and water harmoniously coexist.

In the past few years, I have been to Chongqing, Yichang, Wuhan, Nanjing, Shanghai and other cities along the Yangtze River. Each city may be ancient or fashionable, but they have one thing in common, that is, they are along the Yangtze River and have a deep and long-lasting love for the Yangtze River. The Yangtze River has given the Chinese people endless imagination for a better life.

On December 3, 2021, the China-Laos railway was officially opened. Filled with excitement, I called my relatives in Laos and told them that this is a rising big country with a gentle and kind mind.We emphasized the importance of acknowledging our roots and being grateful for the blessings we receive. As a wanderer in a foreign land, I have also been nourished by the water of the Yangtze River. Just like the hospitable people reside on both sides of the Yangtze River, the river embraces me with an openness as it gives to all tributaries.

In early July, 2023, when I was fervently writing this essay for the competition, a piece of good news came. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the National Development and Reform Commission recently jointly issued the “Plan for the Protection, Inheritance and Promotion of Yangtze River Culture.” The seven aspects of the plan focus on protecting, inheriting, and promoting Yangtze River culture, and assisting the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Especially the sixth part, which focuses on strengthening the international exchange and dissemination of the Yangtze River culture, improving the level of the Yangtze River culture going global, telling the story of the Yangtze River to the world, and making the Yangtze River culture a shining business card to showcase Chinese civilization.

What can I, a foreigner, do for the Yangtze River? In the past six years, I have learned about China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project. I have learned that the construction history of the Jingjiang levee is a magnificent history of human struggle against floods. I have known the 1998 anti-flood spirit and the fish and water tie between the military and civilians. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plan for the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the Chinese government’s determination and actions in ecological restoration and protection of the Yangtze River Basin, which are always full of respect and admire of the power of the Mother Nature and the infinite creativity of the Chinese people.

The boundless Yangtze River and endless longing. I want to tell everyone I met that the best thing is water, which nurtures all things, like the charming and inclusive Yangtze River, and like the beautiful scenery and hard-working people on the banks of the Yangtze River. I believe that, like me, you will be moved by the water of the Yangtze River, and come to protect her and tell her stories, passing on the stories of the Yangtze River, just like the river flows ceaselessly.