In the evening, the wind blows from the direction of the Indian Ocean, carrying a damp warmth. When the new exhibition hall of the National Museum of Tanzania was lit up, the crowd had already gathered at the entrance. More than 300 people from all walks of life in China and Tanzania walked into the exhibition hall, and the "Friends on the Same Road - TAZARA Railway Painting Exhibition" recently kicked off here, which will last until the end of January next year. Dozens of works come into view, and the wind that howled past the Tanzan Railway half a century ago seems to have blown back here once again. In the bustling crowd, an old man suddenly stopped in his tracks. His name is Solomon Mwakasanga, 73 years old this year. He participated in the construction of the Tanzania Zambia Railway in 1970 and devoted almost his entire life to this steel artery. On November 26th, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Soromon Mwakasanga, a retired employee of the Tanzania Zambia Railway, recognized himself in the painting at the "Friends on the Same Road - Tanzania Zambia Railway Collection Painting Exhibition". Xinhua News Agency (photo by Hermann Emanuel) I followed in his footsteps, shuttling between different memory images. In the old photo exhibition area, Mwakasanga pointed to photos of Chinese and Tanzanian workers working and living together, and whispered, "Chinese brothers do not require special care. We eat the same clear soup and corn paste, and live in the same construction site." When he said this, there seemed to be a faint sense of pride in his voice - an emotion that belonged to the witnesses and was irreplaceable. In front of another painting depicting the joint efforts of Tanzanian workers in laying tracks, he suddenly smiled and said, "Look at this action - that's the 'railway language' we invented back then." He said that the Chinese and Tanzanian workers didn't speak the same language back then, so for safety reasons, everyone used a mixture of Swahili and Chinese gestures to command the construction, 'shout a word, compare' to increase motivation and reduce risks. The old man raised his hand and pointed to another painting - several Tanzanian workers standing next to the "East Red" locomotive, smiling brightly. Mwakasanga looked at the person in the painting, his eyes slightly reddened. At this moment, several old workers leaned over and exchanged memories that only they understood. This is the opening ceremony of the "Friends on the Same Road - TAZARA Railway Painting Exhibition" filmed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on November 26th. On the other side of the crowd, 50 year old Tanzanian artist Fred Hala stands in front of his artwork, according to Xinhua News Agency (photo by Herman Emmanuel). He grew up by the railway and was familiar with the metallic luster of the tracks and the noise of the stations. The railway in the painting extends in the twilight, with strong lines. He said that every painting is a witness of the times, 'a railway connects the country and also connects people'. Tanzanian female college student Salome paused in front of a painting for a long time. The picture depicts a bus carriage passing through a village, with children chasing the train and laughing brightly. She said softly, 'My father used to run and watch trains like this when he was a child.' She held up her phone and took a picture, then stood there for a while, as if she had put that unforgettable memory deep in her heart. Curator Tan Fei, from the National Museum of China, said that the exhibition hall has been carefully considered from the perspective of lighting, wall colors, and narrative flow: "We hope that the audience will not only see the exhibition, but also step into history." She pointed to the photos of Chinese and Tanzanian workers living and working together on the wall and said, "This is the most authentic part of the spirit of the Tanzania Zambia Railway." Tanzania's Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, Ashatu Kachwamba Kijaji, called the exhibition hall "a living classroom. She said that the Tanzania Zambia Railway not only changed the fate of Tanzania and Zambia, but also recorded the courage of the people of Africa and China to face difficulties together. Chen Mingjian, the Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, said emotionally that in the era when Tanzania was seeking to build railways, although China was not yet wealthy at that time, it resolutely extended a helping hand and sent more than 50000 engineers and technicians. Since its completion 50 years ago, the Tanzania Zambia Railway has always been a monument of China Africa friendship. On November 26th, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, retired employees of the Tanzania Zambia Railway took a group photo at the "Friends on the Same Road - Tanzania Zambia Railway Painting Exhibition". Xinhua News Agency reported (photo by Herman Emmanuel) that many Chinese workers who left their lives on this land, Zambians who took the train back to their hometowns for the first time, and laborers who built bridges in valleys and paved tracks in primitive forests have cast this monument of friendship. They have never stood on the historical stage that attracts attention, but together they have marked the rich and colorful historical imprint. When I walked out of the exhibition hall, night had completely fallen. Outside the museum, tree shadows were stretched long under the lights, extending into the distance like railway tracks. Looking back, the exhibition hall was still brightly lit, with old workers standing in front of the paintings and young people standing behind them. Different eras seemed to overlap under the same beam of light. More than half a century ago, builders from China, Tanzania, and Zambia worked together in valleys and dense forests to build this railway; More than half a century later, new Central African companions lit up and transmitted this memory again in this exhibition hall. When leaving the exhibition hall, Mwakasanga sat on a bench, holding an exhibition brochure in his hand. He told me that these paintings made him believe again that 'the story of the Tanzan Railway is far from over'. (New Society)