Wang Bing’s Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks is a 2002 documentary that details the wane of the Tiexi district in the Shenyang region of northeast China. The film is broken up into three different parts: Rust, Remnants and Rails.The film is a behemoth of a feature at 9 hours long; however, that does not take away from its impact, storytelling, and beautiful cinematography. The film was shot over the span of two years and details the lives of the factory workers and residents of the district, who face threats of eviction and poverty. Bing’s piece is a unification of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Sustainable Cities and Communities alongside Decent Work and Economic Growth.
Rust:
The documentary opens with a point-of-view shot of a train engine roaring through the snowy rail yard of Tiexi. The snowy atmosphere is a direct opposite to the oppressive burning reds that capture the eye in the copper smelting plant. The thick smog is inescapable as the factory workers labour to complete their quotas in the inhospitable conditions. Throughout the factory, workers can be seen eating, giving each other haircuts, and discussing bribing supervisors for days off. They do all this in barely lit, green-tinted break rooms with the only sources of major light coming from the molten copper.
Stories are shared in these rooms of lost pensions and criticisms of their government, followed by descriptions of the lead poisoning causing many workers to be hospitalized for two months out of the year. Rust depicts these factories as being an ouroboros, a snake eating its own head, as it suffers from bankruptcy but also being the only chance these families have of feeding themselves. These struggles grow as many of the women are laid off and replaced with cheap labour.
As a year passes by, many of the factories sit idle. Forced to go bankrupt or to sell the real estate to other organizations, thousands of workers lose their livelihoods. Those whose jobs remain work reduced hours. After the closure of the final metalworking factory in the city, the men go to the hospital to receive their final treatments. This scene evokes a cold sorrow; these men sing alongside a powerful saxophone, not knowing if they'll ever see each other again or where their next paycheck will come from.
Remnants:
The story following the closure of many of the factories focuses on the youth in “Rainbow Row.” The street was given this name as an attempt to boost its reputation, as its previous name, “Handmaidens Grave,” soured the atmosphere of the neighbourhood. Bing captures the essence of young life in this section very organically. His mentions of unrequited lovers and scuffles between teenagers give greater depth to the characters one can encounter in Shenyang. This all occurs in concurrence with the region's government pressuring the tenants to relocate outside of Tiexi.
The lack of stability combined with the removal of tenants from their homes gives the audience a peek into the lives of residents who fell victim to their government's bad investments and decision-making. The people of Tiexi perform impromptu yard sales to raise funds and have a chance of relocation. The process shows the sadness in many of their stories as they describe aspirations of marriage and living fulfilling lives, all made impossible in their current circumstances. While some citizens refuse to leave, their power and heating are cut off, leaving them to make fires and eat by candlelight. The few that remain in Rainbow Row are surrounded by debris and rubble; the majority of houses are torn down to make space for new landlords. The final scene of the chapter is a send-off to the spirit of a matron who had passed away prior to her relocation into a new home. The remnants of Rainbow Row gather to make offerings and a promise of a better home to her spirit.
Rails:
The final chapter of the documentary centers around a father-son duo; the two work together on a freight train, picking up scraps and selling them back to the new factories. The rest of the residents have been removed, and these two men, alongside a few others, remain in the area. They manage this through the father's police connections, as he isn't legally allowed to work within the tracks. The chapter’s secondary plot focuses on a familial reunion between the aforementioned father and his eldest son, who he hasn't seen for many years. It concludes on a happier note. The family is together despite the harsh reality that their futures are not certain.
Bing’s grand remembrance of the city of Teixi is a lesson in how the failures of a government affect many lives. The poverty inflicted on this once prosperous region in merely a few years is evidence of how failure of infrastructure and the inability to care for your workers can submerge entire populations. The director's choice to show the story of these real-life characters and the deterioration of their situation is an affront to the failures of those who bore responsibility.