By Pan Yingqiu

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Construction Projects Bring Cambodia， China Closer

By Pan Yingqiu

ASu， a 24-year-old teacher at a Chinese language school adjacent to the Kamchay Hydropower Station in Cambodia's Elephant Mountain Range， is probably the most knowledgeable person in her village.

A Su was born into a family living on the banks of the Kamchay River， a tributary of the Mekong. When she was a child， one of her favorite activities was to follow her grandfather to the riverbank to fish， while also enjoying picturesque local scenery and listening to stories of the past from her grandpa. Another of her significant childhood memories was the once-a-year visit to Angkor Wat together with her grandpa where， among the countless Buddha statues，she found herself obsessed with the enigmatic “Four-Faced Buddha，” whose serenely smiling faces always gave her great hope.

However， none of the enchanting natural landscapes， devout worship or dreams helped improve A Su's living conditions.The Elephant Mountain Range area， where houses， bridges， farmlands， and forests were heavily damaged by wars， remains one of the country's regions most affiicted by landmines.

The Kamchay River has abundant water resources， and news of a plan for building a hydropower station on the river began to circulate many years ago. Experts from Russia and Canada came for exploration and research， but due to natural disasters， wars， and poverty， the plans were deemed unrealistic for years. Like most Cambodian families，with electricity unavailable at home， A Su's family used oil lamps for illumination. Later，together with her parents， A Su relocated to Kampot Province， and then Phnom Penh，the nation's capital.

A Su was born into a family living on the banks of the Kamchay River

Forming Ties

In 2005， China and Cambodia signed an agreement according to which China's Sinohydro Group would help construct a hydropower dam on the Kamchay River，the largest of its kind in Cambodia， based on a Build-Operate-Transfer （BOT） model. Cambodian government troops soon began a large-scale campaign for mine clearance around the site of the dam and reservoir，followed by the settlement of Sinohydro's construction team. A Su was extremely excited， and upon hearing the news that the hydropower project was recruiting translators， she immediately quit her job in the capital and returned to the Elephant Mountain area in hopes of contributing to the project.

A Su's first job at the construction site was translating for a Chinese technician at the nearby woodworking workshop. The position was fairly straightforward， but A Su valued it very much， trying her utmost to accomplish each of her assigned tasks.

In the early days， some Cambodian workers wore slippers to work， annoying the Chinese technician， who attributed the miscommunication to poor translation from A Su. A Su felt wronged， thinking that these farmers-turned-workers had not yet gotten used to wearing proper shoes at work. Later，when she figured out that the Chinese company's requirement of wearing shoes on the construction site was out of consideration for their safety， she decided to help her countrymen manage what they considered an inconvenience.

That evening， A Su went to the nearby town and bought a dozen pairs of sneakers. She put the sneakers in front of the workers' beds and retrieved their slippers. The next morning， the workers were surprised to find that their slippers were gone， replaced by pairs of sneakers. Realizing this was A Su's well-intended trick， they had no choice but to wear sneakers to work.

The Kamchay Hydropower Station has provided a wide range of employment opportunities to locals

With excellent performance at the woodworking workshop， A Su applied to work at the digging， concrete pouring， coarse aggregate， and installation sections which had tougher conditions. Soon， she became highly sought-after throughout the construction site.

“As long as I could learn some new technology and knowledge from Chinese technicians and specialists， I would not have to worry about my future，” A Su explained.

With this goal in mind， she worked hard as a translator during daytime and recorded what she learned in a notebook in the evening.

The Whereabouts of A Su

The following four years saw smooth progress of the Kamchay hydropower project， despite various challenges it faced， such as long rainy seasons， inconvenient transportation， and materials shortages. A Su also achieved significant progress， honored as an exemplary employee on many occasions. Just before the first generating unit began operation， however， she submitted a letter of resignation.

Where did she go？

A Gen， principal of the Chinese-language school near the construction site， is a close friend of A Su's grandfather. Aware of A Su's family's economic difficulties， he provided financial aid to assist with A Su's education from primary school all the way to university. Along with the construction of Kamchay Hydropower Station， an increasing number of China-invested hydropower projects emerged. Hoping their children would eventually gain employment with a Chinese company， many parents sent their kids to the local Chinese-language school.

In view of the school's shortage of teachers with Chinese skills， A Gen decided to invite A Su to teach at his school.

A Su hesitated， reluctant to leave the construction site and her Chinese colleagues，not to mention the unique opportunity to learn what the site offered. But she realized a rejection would disappoint A Gen， as well as her relatives in her hometown.

She accepted the job offer， believing it would be more meaningful for her to join in A Gen's efforts to help more impoverished Cambodian children strive for a brighter future. Even so， she remained concerned about the construction progress. During holidays，she took her students to the construction site，telling them stories about the hydropower project as well as the dramatic changes taking place in the Elephant Mountain Range area. She also encouraged her students to study hard to ready themselves for the construction of the nation.

On February 26， 2010， the Kamchay Hydropower Station was officially launched. Taking along her students， A Su revisited locations of great fondness near the construction site， and around a bonfire they danced together with friends， both Chinese and Cambodian.

By early 2016， the Kamchay Hydropower Station had safely operated for 1，500 days，generating a total of 1.676 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity that benefits a vast area covering Kampot Province， Takeo Province， and even Phnom Penh. The peripheral area of the dam has become a tourist attraction， as various shops， hotels， restaurants， and holiday resorts have sprung up.

A Su has convinced her parents to move back to Kamchay to run a farmers' inn. When night falls， in the silvery glistening light of the moon rising above the Kamchay River， A Su gazes at the silhouettes of the imposing dam and power transmission towers while soaking in the well-illuminated beautiful night views. At moments like these， she feels like she is seeing the smiles of Angkor's Four-Faced Buddha all over again.