Chinese Entertainment: Starting from 1996

Chapter 561: Earthquake and Hope
After the classic opening credits by Dragon Brand and Golden Harvest, the movie immediately gets to the point because no other film and television companies are involved.

The movie opens with a family portrait. As the camera zooms in, the people in the portrait become vivid and the family members appear one after another.

Parents, the elder brother played by Liu Ye, the younger brother and sister played by Zhang Yi and Liu Yifei, the brother-in-law Dou Xiao, the sister-in-law played by Zhou Gongzi, and a pair of lovely children.

These two simple sentences explained that Liu Yifei had just gotten married and today was the day she returned to her parents' home.

At this time, except for his younger brother Zhang Yi who was still in the army and had not returned, the whole family gathered together, and the scene was very warm and lively.

But the audience couldn't laugh at this time. Everyone pursed their lips and looked at the screen. In the picture, brother Liu Ye went out to buy groceries to entertain his sister and brother-in-law.

The camera follows Liu Ye's perspective and explains the abnormality at this time.

The yellow smoke spewing out of the underground hole, the sudden increase in the number of people selling fresh fish on the street, and the flying dragonflies all indicate that a major earthquake is about to come.

But no one seemed to notice this at all, and everything was still the same as usual, except that the rhythm of the music was faster and the audience was nervous, while the people on the screen were as peaceful as ever, and did not pay any attention to nature's warnings.

Some older audience members had tears in their eyes when they saw this scene, because they were just like the people in the movie.

After dinner, Liu Yifei and Dou Xiao returned to their home. Then Mr. Zhou suddenly received a telegram from his mother's home saying that his mother was critically ill.

Afterwards, Master Zhou also took his daughter Zhang Zifeng and hurriedly boarded the ship to her parents' home in the neighboring city.

Time quickly came to the evening of July 28th, and the big clock on the roof of the train station pointed to three o'clock in the morning.

The whole city was quiet. Under the dim street lights, a few cleaners were sweeping the streets.

In the silence, a dull sound came from deep in the earth. The sound was getting closer and louder, as if a prehistoric beast had awakened from ancient times and was rolling in from the horizon, or like thousands of planes roaring in. The tranquility of the entire city was instantly shattered.

A light appeared in the dark sky, like lightning flashing in the air, except that the light was colorful: red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, purple and blue. All the colors mixed together to form a strange blue that enveloped the entire world.

After a strong blue flash, the ground began to shake violently with a huge roar. The camera zoomed into the air, and the audience in front of the screen saw a shocking scene.

The tranquil earth seemed to come alive, rolling like water waves and surging like waves of the sea. Wherever the earthquake waves went, countless houses swayed and tall buildings collapsed.

This special effects shot took a lot of effort from Liu Zhou and Golden Harvest Special Effects Studio.

It took several months just to make the model of the city of Tangshan, and then to add the earthquake special effects, which took 20 to 30 million yuan and three to four months for the crew and special effects team to create just a few seconds.

However, seeing everyone holding their breath, and even some looking stunned, Liu Zhou felt that it was all worth it and his efforts were not in vain.

What happened next was equally shocking. As the camera zoomed in on where the earthquake wave passed, the railroad sleepers were blown away, the rails were twisted into a knot, and the bridge over the river was broken into several sections like a sugarcane.

The water in the Douhe Reservoir is like a boiling pot, rolling and roaring, constantly hitting the dam.

At this time, the dam was shaking and trembling like a small boat in the huge waves. With a frightening sound, a huge hole was torn in the dam. Like a pitch-black snake, it was wandering on the dam, leaving a huge crack that was terrifying.

People in the entire city also woke up. Liu Ye, who was lying on the bed, was shaken and hit the wall. Then he reacted instantly, shouting "Earthquake, earthquake", and ran out while picking up his son.

But before he opened the door, he heard a loud bang and a piece of floor fell down, breaking the wooden box at the head of the bed into two pieces.

Liu Ye couldn't help but look up, and saw the floor began to fall, and his pupils dilated instantly.

Before the floor fell, Liu Ye pushed hard and pushed his son under the bed.

Then there was a panoramic shot, and the entire building where Liu Ye's family lived collapsed into ruins in an instant.

At this moment, not to mention the audience, even Han Shanping, Ren Zhonglun and others felt a pang in their hearts, as they understood that except for their son, everyone else might be gone.

On the other side, Miss Zhou, who was still sleeping soundly at her mother's house, was also awakened by the earthquake. After being stunned for two or three seconds, she immediately realized what had happened.

In the darkness, she shouted "there is an earthquake", then she picked up her daughter and rushed out of the room, then shouted to her father to run downstairs.

Because Liu Yifei and Dou Xiao's family lived in a newly built building which was more sturdy, many people ran out of the building.

But they stood in the open space in panic, and following their gaze, the surrounding buildings were collapsing, no longer as beautiful as they once were.

At this time, the camera pulled up from above their heads, giving a panoramic shot of the entire city.

The whole city was shrouded in fog, a fog of death mixed with dust and fireworks.

This shot seems very quiet, with no music, no sound, only collapsed buildings, like a wasteland at the end of the world.

Then the camera pulled down again and moved quickly, and sounds began to appear. Some people were shouting beside the ruins, some were crying, and some were wailing heartbreakingly.

The audience were already deeply moved when they saw the city in their memories appear before their eyes, but now they could no longer hold back when seeing this scene. The stronger ones gritted their teeth and kept silent, but their tears were indeed flowing freely.

But some who were more emotional couldn't help crying out loud.

Crying is very contagious, especially when everyone feels the same way, so this also led to thousands of people crying in the sports center, forming a sea of ​​tears.

If the volume of the speakers wasn't loud enough, the crying might have covered up the sound of the movie.

The camera on the screen zoomed in again on the small group of people including Liu Yifei and Dou Xiao, giving a close-up of most of them. At this time, everyone's face was covered in dust, many were injured, and almost everyone was bleeding.

Suddenly someone shouted and broke the silence:

"Everyone, don't just stand there, save people quickly."

After hearing this, everyone seemed to come alive and immediately rushed to the ruins, digging with their hands and carrying on their shoulders, struggling to rescue the injured buried under the rubble.

People were constantly being rescued and found dead. These were all familiar neighbors, but now they had turned into cold corpses.

But at this moment they had no time to mourn or feel pain. Everyone had only one thought: to save people as soon as possible.

Suddenly, crying was heard from a crumbling building with most of it collapsed. Dou Xiao rushed in despite the danger. He dug aside some cement blocks and found a crying child.

In a corner, the child's mother was hit by a prefabricated cement board and had already stopped breathing, but she had created a small space in the corner for her child so that he would not be hurt.

When Dou Xiao saw this scene, his eyes turned red even though he was originally numb. Then he carefully carried the child out and handed her to Liu Yifei.

Liu Yifei squatted down and wiped the little girl's tears, then asked softly:

"What's your name?"

The little girl said timidly with tears in her eyes:
"Xiao Deng!" The leaders in the audience couldn't help but nodded when they saw this. Where there is light, there are people, and where there are people, there is hope. This little girl named Xiao Deng symbolizes hope!

The camera then switched to Mr. Zhou's side. Because it was not the center of the earthquake, the situation was slightly better and not many houses collapsed. However, everyone was still standing in the open space in shock.

Suddenly the radio sounded, broadcasting the news that the epicenter of the earthquake was in Tangshan, which had become a ruin.

After hearing the news, the scene was quiet for a few seconds, and then screams, noise, and even crying filled the air, especially for those who had relatives in Tangshan, who cried even more sadly.

Master Zhou didn't cry, but his eyes were red and his lips were trembling slightly.

Master Zhou didn't care about the danger and rushed into the building with cracked walls. He took out his gifts, said something to his father, and walked out holding Zhang Zifeng's hand.

Zhang Zifeng asked as he walked:
"Mom, where are we going?"

Mr. Zhou only said four words:
"Let's go home!"

The camera switches to the military camp, where a battalion commander is giving a speech to the soldiers:
"Comrades, an earthquake has occurred in Tangshan, and the damage there is severe. Our superiors have ordered us to rush to Tangshan immediately to start disaster relief. All companies should set off now!"

After getting on the bus, a young soldier named Xiao Dongbei who had just joined the army said to his squad leader Zhang Yi with concern:
"Squad leader, my family will definitely be fine."

Zhang Yi said firmly with red eyes:

"They must be alright."

The sun gradually rose and the sky began to brighten, but at this time it began to rain heavily in Tangshan.

The heavy rain washed away the dust and the blood that was everywhere, covering up the wailing in the sky.

Liu Yifei, holding Xiao Deng and Dou Xiao, had come to her parents' side. Seeing that the rain was too heavy, Dou Xiao said to Liu Yifei:
"Take the little lamp and hide from the rain for a while. I'll do the digging."

"No!" Liu Yifei shook her head firmly, "I want to dig them out as soon as possible. I don't want them to lie there."

At this time, the camera switched again. Mr. Zhou came to the train station to buy a ticket, but received bad news. Due to railway damage, the railway to Tangshan was suspended.

She didn't want to just wait, so she took her daughter and rushed to the bus station immediately.

When we arrived at the bus station, we found it was packed with people and heard many people talking about it. Tangshan had become a ruin and many people had died.

This made Master Zhou even more anxious and his desire to go home even stronger.

However, when you arrive at the ticket window, don't tell them that the bus to Tangshan has stopped and the farthest it can go now is Sanhe.

She bought two tickets without any hesitation. She only hoped to be closer to home, even if only by one step.

The camera then cuts to Zhang Yi again, and they have arrived at the outskirts of the city after a bumpy ride.

On the way, more and more houses collapsed. From time to time, people could be seen being carried out, and from time to time someone would stop them hoping that they could help save people.

Zhang Yi and his team had a mission to accomplish, so they had to get out of the car and persuade him:

"My fellow countryman, our mission is to go to the epicenter. There will be other troops coming here. They are already on the way and will arrive soon."

The troops finally entered Tangshan, but the scene before them made everyone look solemn. There were ruins everywhere, and there was not a single intact house to be found.

Zhang Yi's eyes turned redder. He had lived in this city for more than 20 years and was familiar with every street and even every building in the city, but now he couldn't tell where he was.

Looking at the ruins on both sides, he could only pray for his family's safety, and then said:

"Rescue!"

They received the rescue mission at short notice and had to leave in a hurry. They had no experience in earthquake relief, so they didn't bring any large machinery or even a shovel. They could only use their bare hands to dig out cement blocks, lift floor slabs, and pull steel bars.

Soon the soldiers' hands were rubbed and bleeding, and some soldiers even had their fingernails peeled off.

Listening to the cries for help and wails everywhere, they had no time to feel pain or consider their personal safety. They all pursed their lips and used their bloody hands to claw at the steel-like concrete blocks.

Seeing someone being rescued is their greatest comfort.

Suddenly, someone shouted:
"Squad leader, there are still five alive here."

Hearing this, several soldiers rushed over to rescue him. After making a hole, Xiao Dongbei immediately crawled down.

Just as Xiao Dongbei was about to carry the child out first, the ground shook, and the floor of the ruins collapsed, burying Xiao Dongbei in the ruins.

Zhang Yi shouted "Little Northeast", then rushed over and started digging stones like crazy.

But the aftershocks had not yet passed and it was still very dangerous to stand on the ruins, so other soldiers carried him down.

As soon as the aftershocks stopped, several soldiers rushed over, dug through the rubble, and carried Xiao Dongbei out, but he was no longer breathing.

The soldiers couldn't contain their sadness and burst into tears.

Zhang Yi's heart was bleeding. This was the soldier who had followed him since he joined the army, and he was not even twenty years old!
But he knew what to do at this time, and he cried out:

"Why are you crying? Help!"

At this time, aftershocks came again and the ground was shaking, but no one cared and rushed towards the ruins resolutely.

Seeing this scene, not only the audience, but even the leaders and several bosses of film and television companies had tears in their eyes.

Liu Zhou could empathize even more, and tears flowed down his face unconsciously.

In order to make this movie, not only did the screenwriter Liu Heng interview many eyewitnesses, he also consulted a lot of information and asked many people.

It can be said that many of the scenes and plots in the movie are real stories of the time.

In fact, he is also an emotional person. He feels the same way when watching the movie he made. He had been holding back his tears just now, but when he saw this scene, he couldn't hold back his tears.

Liu Zhou wiped his eyes and remembered a sentence on the monument:

More than 100,000 People's Liberation Army rushed overnight and arrived in the city for the first time. They risked their own lives to eliminate dangers and save people, cleared the land and built houses, and their achievements were unparalleled.

(End of this chapter)