Ｓｔａｔｕｅ ｏｆ Ｗ． Ｈ． Ｈｉｎｔｏｎ Ｕｎｖｅｉｌｅｄ ｉｎ Ｚｈａｎｇｚｈｕａｎｇ Ｖｉｌｌａｇｅ ｏｆ Ｃｈａｎｇｚｈｉ Ｃｉｔｙ， Ｓｈａｎｘｉ Ｐｒｏｖｉｎｃｅ

An unveiling ceremony of the statue of international friend William Howard Hinton， was held in Zhangzhuang Village of Changzhi City， Shanxi Province on the morning of July 11.

W. H. Hinton， born in Chicago in 1919， passed away in Concord of Massachusetts， the U. S. at the age of 85. He came to China in 1945 and then in 1947. In 1948 when working as professor of English at the Northern University， he joined， as observer， the land reform team consisting of the university teachers and staff at Zhangzhuang Village where he forged profound friendship with the peasants through living and working together with them. He wrote the book Fanshen， a realistic novel of the land reform in Zhangzhuang Village， which was adapted into a play and staged in many parts of the world. In 1971， he wrote Shenfan， another realistic novel about the changes in Zhangzhuang in the period of collectivization. Zhou Enlai， Li Xiannian， Deng Yingchao and other national leaders had cordial meetings with him. Premier Zhou Enlai called him “an old friend who shares weal and woe with the Chinese people”.

Hinton had served as the first president of the US-China Peoples Friendship Association and an expert of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. He set up the Shanxi Long Bow Malleable Iron Co.， Ltd.， a joint venture with Zhangzhuang Village， which helped Zhangzhuang realize farming mechanization. Through his help， Reading of Massachusetts， the U. S. has established friendship-city relations with Changzhi and carried out fruitful exchanges and cooperation. He was conferred the title of Honorary Citizen of Changzhi City.