Big Tree County
Da Shu Xian, or Big Tree Country, in remote Sichuan Province is the site of a large sulfur mine, which produces up to 12,000 tons of sulfur a month. In the 14 years since the mine became operational up until this film was produced in 1992, pollution from the sulfur mine wiped out the area’s trees that had given the county its name.
Fallout from the mine has affected the villagers’ health, their fields, homes, families, and the lives of their children.
Da Shu Xian, like so many small counties in rural China, faced a choice between capitalizing on their natural resources and protecting a way of life that had endured for generations. This film explores the potentially devastating consequences of putting development ahead of environment, community and family.
“Da Shu Xian” is a feature-length film (60 min.) originally produced by Hao Zhiqiang in 1992. The trailer, available here, was edited and retitled by Asia Society’s Andrew Smeall. You can get in touch with Mr. Hao Zhiqiang by email.
Originally produced by Hao Zhiqiang.
Originally published on July 9, 2009
2 Responses to “Big Tree County”
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August 4th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
I like this docu in a way but I think it’s a little bit old. It was produced in 1992. How about shooting a new ducumentary about the current big tree county? I would like to see what happened there right now. Is there any change or perhaps the county dissapeared?
July 30th, 2009 at 9:20 am
[...] Society released an old documentary about pollution problems caused by sulfur mining in Da Shu Xian, or Big Tree County, in Sichuan province. The documentary was produced in 1992. Cancel this [...]