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Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

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Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#201

Post by sersi »

xanthor wrote: post #168
sophrosyne42 wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm still curious what specific narratives you had in mind when you said "dominant Western narratives"

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46410398

To be fair, my father in law who is Chinese and had to exile himself during the cultural revolution would pretty much say the same thing about the Cultural Revolution. Educated people in China who lived through it will certainly criticise the Cultural Revolution (or The Great Leap Forward for that matter) if they are in a situation when they can be honest about it.

So I'm not sure that specific comment would be considered to be a "dominant western narrative" unless you're going to tell me that older (and so who have lived through it) educated people in China who don't speak a word of English have a western mindset because they're educated.

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#203

Post by sgnelson »

Vincent_Yan404 wrote: post #2

Hi HN, OP here. I grew up in "Factory 404," a secret nuclear industrial city in the Gobi Desert that officially didn't exist on public maps. This is a memoir about my childhood there. It was a surreal place: we had elite scientists living next to laborers, a zoo in the middle of the desert, and distinct "communist" welfare, all hidden behind a classified code. This is Part 1 of the story. I'm happy to answer any ques…

Did you interview Yuan Gongpu or was this part from another source?

I'm interested in the laborers who did the work, not just the scientists who designed everything.

Thanks for your story.

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#204

Post by Vincent_Yan404 »

allan_s wrote: post #130
Vincent_Yan404 wrote: post #2

Hi HN, OP here. I grew up in "Factory 404," a secret nuclear industrial city in the Gobi Desert that officially didn't exist on public maps. This is a memoir about my childhood there. It was a surreal place: we had elite scientists living next to laborers, a zoo in the middle of the desert, and distinct "communist" welfare, all hidden behind a classified code. This is Part 1 of the story. I'm happy to answer any ques…

Thanks a lot, I really first thought "404" was just a geek reference and not the actual code name ! I have some very good friends which are Chinese but are not able to read English, do you mind if I do a AI translation, and if you can check it to see if it translate what you're trying to convey ? (I propose that as I think it would be too much to ask to ask to redo the text in Chinese) Edit: haha I see you actually d…

That’s so kind of you!

I did write and publish this story in Chinese first. You don't need an AI translation for them; the original text exists and has been quite popular in the Chinese corner of the internet.You can search for it using the title:《我在404长大》

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#205

Post by Vincent_Yan404 »

oofbey wrote: post #157
allan_s wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks a lot, I really first thought "404" was just a geek reference and not the actual code name ! I have some very good friends which are Chinese but are not able to read English, do you mind if I do a AI translation, and if you can check it to see if it translate what you're trying to convey ? (I propose that as I think it would be too much to ask to ask to redo the text in Chinese) Edit: haha I see you actually d…

Is it just a coincidence that the HTTP code for “not found” became the same as the code name for this city?

Yes，it's just a coincidence.

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#206

Post by Vincent_Yan404 »

sophrosyne42 wrote: post #146
Vincent_Yan404 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s a great question. In the early days, physical travel permits were indeed the norm. But the most effective 'security precaution' was psychological. We had secrecy education (保密教育) starting as early as primary school. We were taught from a very young age that our city didn't exist to the outside world, and we simply didn't talk about it. But when I was a kid ,I didn't know anything about 404.

Given those precautions and your training, was it hard to share about it? Aren't you worried about the Chinese government punishing you for sharing?

I did write and publish this story in Chinese first.So I hope it's fine.

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#207

Post by xanthor »

sersi wrote: post #201
xanthor wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46410398

To be fair, my father in law who is Chinese and had to exile himself during the cultural revolution would pretty much say the same thing about the Cultural Revolution. Educated people in China who lived through it will certainly criticise the Cultural Revolution (or The Great Leap Forward for that matter) if they are in a situation when they can be honest about it. So I'm not sure that specific comment would be consi…

Read Dongping Han

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#208

Post by pixl97 »

quakeguy wrote: post #153
AlotOfReading wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/40%C2%B013'48.0%22N+97%C2%...

Damn, that looks awful, those tailings alone…

And it looks like they have their own dedicated coal powerplant.

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#209

Post by Vincent_Yan404 »

saltwatercowboy wrote: post #166
sophrosyne42 wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given those precautions and your training, was it hard to share about it? Aren't you worried about the Chinese government punishing you for sharing?

He sells a storytelling course... perhaps this is meant to be a 'gotcha' where he reveals the con after the fact? My guess is there are people reading this who know something isn't quite right.

I can personally guarantee that this piece is 100% non-fiction.My course also focuses on narrative writing techniques.Does 'Storytelling' have to imply fiction?In Chinese "story(故事）" just things happened, it can be real or fiction .

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#210

Post by allan_s »

Vincent_Yan404 wrote: post #204
allan_s wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks a lot, I really first thought "404" was just a geek reference and not the actual code name ! I have some very good friends which are Chinese but are not able to read English, do you mind if I do a AI translation, and if you can check it to see if it translate what you're trying to convey ? (I propose that as I think it would be too much to ask to ask to redo the text in Chinese) Edit: haha I see you actually d…

That’s so kind of you! I did write and publish this story in Chinese first. You don't need an AI translation for them; the original text exists and has been quite popular in the Chinese corner of the internet.You can search for it using the title:《我在404长大》

在腾讯新闻找到了，太谢谢你！我准备慢慢看，真有意思！
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