A New Ode to the Frontier

　　Introduction 　　This sculpture is located in the residential area east of Shihexi Leisure Square. It was created according to the overall plan for the new sculpture complex in Shihexi. The group sculpture consists of three women and one baby boy. The entire sculpture stands 4 meters tall, with the main figure measuring 2.8 meters high, 7 meters long, and 1.7 meters wide. The base is 1.2 meters high, 8 meters long, and 2 meters wide.

　　The sculptor conceived the theme carefully, arranging the four figures in a well-balanced composition. The mother in the center, cradling a baby, is the focal point of the group sculpture. She represents the image of Shandong and Hunan women who came to the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in the early 1950s. To her side and slightly ahead stands a young woman with short hair, reminiscent of the educated youth from Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Wuhan, and other places who joined the Corps’ construction in the 1960s. She appears relaxed and carefree, full of hope for a bright future. The Uyghur girl in the group symbolizes the ethnic minorities of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

　　This group sculpture was primarily funded by the Eighth Agricultural Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in Shihexi City and was created by the renowned Chinese female sculptor He E. The artist used a triangular composition, giving the sculpture the appearance of a mountain, firmly rooted on the earth—symbolizing the million-strong Corps army taking root in the frontier and thriving there.

　　 Shihezi, Xinjiang