The Chinese Mayor (2015): A Microcosm of China
Under Mayor Geng Yanbo’s administration, some citizens in Datong lauded him as the greatest mayor ever. But a lot more disagreed.
Length: 86 mins | Director: Zhou Hao | Original title: 大同
Mayor Geng Yanbo is undoubtedly a polarizing political figure. On one hand, he worked hard and tried his very best to be a good mayor. When his departure was announced, some even bowed to him just wanting him to stay in Datong city indefinitely. On the other hand, he left behind tens of billions of debts in order to complete a huge vanity project in the city. His obstinacy and dictatorship made him unpopular among a group of residents who were suffered from his missionary zeal for reviving the city wall that once existed in this city during medieval China.
Director Zhou Hao followed the everyday life of Mayor Geng. Through the films, we could have a close look at the daily work of a mayor in China, and more importantly, how Geng did his job. What he had achieved during his terms in Datong was certainly controversial. He envisioned Datong becoming a cultural city, to an extent wherein Datong will one day be compared to Paris or Rome. However, in order to accomplish his grand vision, he had no choice but to demolish more than 3000 houses and relocated more than 500,000 dwellers.
Datong used to be a city heavily relied on the coal industry in the 20th century. In fact, every shot of the documentary has been shrouded by the smog. Mayor Geng aspired to turn this heavily-polluted industrial-centric inner city into a tourists’ paradise. The camera traces how he had been busy overseeing the construction site of the inauthentic old city walls, conferencing with his subordinates and talking to residents in Datong. On one occasion, he even refused to take calls from his wife several times while having an important municipal meeting. In the eyes of some citizens, he has been an ideal mayor for them.
The director also interviewed a few holdout owners (釘子戶) who were forcefully removed from their soon-to-be-demolished home. During those interviews, we learnt that the municipal government did not compensate and relocate them before the demolition. One of the holdout owners pursued her own justice through legal actions and even petitioning the Prime Minister in Beijing but in vain.
The documentary culminates in an unexpected announcement from the central government that he would be transferred to Taiyuan as the mayor there. No matter how much he desired to witness the completion of his project, not even he could fight against the command given by the party. What he had left for Datong was a few drops of tears, a half-done vanity project and billions of debts.
The Chinese Mayor gives us a vivid depiction of what it looks like living under Chinese Communist Party’s rule. The more-than-surreal reality is that a party-appointed mayor brought the horrific nightmares to some of his people. And eventually, Datong had to pay the price for Geng’s fantasy. At the end of the day, what the audience witness is not just the daily routine of Mayor Geng, but also the struggles of people in China. The sense of utter powerlessness is best illustrated by the fact that neither the underprivileged nor a high-ranked official like Mayor Geng could control their own fate.
