When we were working on the topic of Caoyang New Village, the characters scattered among the pieces of paper slowly emerged. Xinmin Evening News, May 5, 1952, front page Meng Huipu Bi Xinyuan.

The Paper reporter Liang Yanjia intern Feng Rui audio Jicheng

[Editor's note]

Old news and new reading - Old news refers to the media's selection of parties and events back then. When we were working on the topic of Caoyang New Village , the characters scattered among the pieces of paper slowly emerged. Usually, their image is mixed with passionate words, rigid policies and regulations, or deafening slogans. As individuals, they were squeezed and engulfed by the dense words, and occasionally, they suddenly jumped out of the paper - a new socialist was thrown into the forefront of the times, widely reported and circulated for a while.

They/they are ups and downs in the torrent of the times, some become lucky, and some are silent. Today, we "lift" them/them out from between the lines, and let them/them read the voice of the times themselves. There is youth, passion, ideals, dedication, love and hate, and the entanglement of glory and dilemma.

Xinmin Evening News, May 5, 1952, front page Meng Huipu Bi Xinyuan (remake)

[Shanghai workers’ new residence Caoyang New Village has good scenery]

Close-up) Our production is developing year by year, and the lives of our workers are getting better year by year. Under the policy of "municipal construction serves the working people, first and foremost, the working class", the people's government must Build a large number of workers' houses for our Shanghai workers. The first batch of 21,000 households was built. If each household is calculated as five people, it can accommodate more than 100,000 people. Among them, 1,002 houses have been completed before the May Day International Labor Day. These new workers' houses are located in Caoyang New Village near Caoyang Road in the western suburbs of Shanghai.

The foundation area of ​​Caoyang New Village is 200 acres. The public buildings in the village include: cooperatives, clinics, cooked water shops, public toilets and public bathrooms. In the future, small markets, schools, clubs, etc. will be built.

These new workers' houses are all two-story buildings, a total of 167 buildings. Flowers, grass and small trees are planted around the house. There is also a small river in the village, which is being dredged and widened. Green willow trees are planted on both sides of the cement road, and the scenery is very good.

1951 style new worker new village . Image source: "Research on the Construction of New Workers' Village in Shanghai"

Each house can accommodate about six families. Those with a large population can live in one or a small room, and those with a small population can live in one room. Three families can share a kitchen; In addition, each home has sanitary facilities, flush toilets, and laundry facilities in the patio. In the room, everything is painted snow-white, with plenty of sunlight and good air circulation.

The Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions The elderly male and female workers, workers’ families, and trade union cadres who visited the new workers’ residences felt indescribably sweet and happy when they saw such a good new house; an old female worker at the No. 9 National Cotton Factory said : "Think about the house I used to live in. It rained heavily outside and light rain fell inside, making it look like a pigeon coop. Now the people's government has built a bungalow to house me. It's very well built inside and out. It's really OK, I will definitely help you work hard to repay the Communist Party and Chairman Mao when I get back!"

In the new village, not only are the houses and equipment on the ground well built, but the underground construction equipment is also better than anywhere else in Shanghai. In some places in the city, sewage pipes and rainwater pipes are not separated, so that toilet and laundry water and rainwater all flow into Suzhou River and other waterways. The riverside is dirty and the hygiene of residents on both sides is affected; but in the new village, underground sewage, Rainwater is separated; sewage goes into sewage tanks; rainwater goes into rivers, which can maintain environmental hygiene.

The health center attached to Caoyang New Village. Image source: "Research on the Construction of New Workers' Village in Shanghai"

This workers' residential area will be expanded in the future, and public vehicle lines will be opened around the new village to make it convenient for workers to go to and from work.

Building a large number of workers' housing and solving the workers' housing problem are only part of the work of the people's government to serve the working class; in addition, the government also has to do many things for the working people.Because improving the lives of working people will play a great role in improving and developing production.

Yang Mingli: Caoyang New Village is lively and you can get there in 10 minutes. It is a home I can’t live without.

The first residents of Caoyang Village, former Caoyang Street Finance

Before moving to Caoyang New Village, the family of Yang Mingli (who was not yet born at the time) I once lived in Hartung Garden in Jing'an Temple . In the late 1940s and early 1950s, this "famous" building did not make them feel nostalgic. It was dirty and crowded, and the toilets had to be emptied up and down. It was quite inconvenient for a family of six.

In 1952, Yang Mingli's second sister was only 20 years old and was a turner at the Second National Cotton Factory. After layers of screening and recommendations, she moved her family into Caoyang Village on June 30 as an advanced worker. The family was assigned to a 13.9-square-meter room at No. 74, Caoyang Village. It has a red roof and white walls, bright and clean windows, and a flush toilet. Although it is shared by several households, and there are two beds in the house that need to be laid on the floor to sleep, the inside and outside of the house are clean and sanitary. At that time, it was even synonymous with "advanced", which made their family happy. Very satisfied. In 1954, Yang Mingli was born.

Yang Mingli. Zhang Hongbin picture

She was born and grew up here. The village lives like a large collective. Not only does it have "small classes" for day care for infants and young children, neighbors help each other, especially the neighboring units are all acquaintances from the same factory. The older one raised the younger one, and although they were kept "free-range", they never worried about safety issues. "Even in summer when it was hot, they didn't close the door at night," Yang Mingli recalled. "Early in the morning, the neighbors next door would come and go. It’s still pretty strong.” She has a sense of satisfaction. In 1962, a village was renovated and the third floor was renovated; in 1963, gas was supplied and it became the first place to use gas in the city; in 2003, an additional bathroom was added to the third floor, and this year's "complete renovation" He completely turned over. Because she is the youngest member of the family and has never experienced “ going to the mountains and countryside,” Yang Mingli has been living and working in Caoyang. In 1979, she worked as a labor dispatcher at the Putuo District Labor Service Company and then worked as a financial officer in Caoyang Street. “I don’t have any backstage background or business background. Giving money means working diligently, being a down-to-earth person, and getting into the street. "Yang Mingli is famous for her seriousness and strictness in the street. "I am a Sagittarius and I am very loyal, and of course I am very loyal at work. Be principled." In retrospect, Yang Mingli had the impression that her parents and sister were busy in and out, and there was no special education. It was just their serious attitude that always influenced her.

Caoyang Xincun No. 1 Kindergarten. Image source: "Research on the Construction of New Workers' Villages in Shanghai"

As the era moves forward, everyone is moving along the trajectory of their own lives. The surrounding low-rise buildings have been demolished, rebuilt, or repaired, and there are skyscrapers in the distance. Yang Mingli is not jealous of the increase in height. She does not feel that the life here is monotonous. "It is lively and convenient. You can get anywhere in 10 minutes." She is talking about the resources around Caoyang New Village, including commerce, education, and medical care. Within reach. In the 1990s, in order to solve the housing shortage problem in a village, she bought the Orchid Building opposite the village, "just for convenience." Now life is getting better and better, and her children are working nearby. "Where Is there such a place?" Yang Mingli doesn't care what others think about the renovation and transformation of Yicun. For her, Caoyang Xincun is a home she can't live without and doesn't want to leave.

Caoyang Park is an area nearby where people of all ages love to come and enjoy activities. The Paper reporter Zhou Pinglang Picture

Editor in charge: Gao Jianping

Proofreading: Zhang Liangliang