I Returned to the Village Where I Grew Up — Rural China

bus is a rule that everyone follows I was surprised to see that someone still lives in this old house an elderly man was sitting alone in the courtyard for many older people an old house is more than just a building it holds a lifetime of memories the Chinese slogan on the wall encourages villagers to give up certain traditional customs some customs are now considered outdated for example holding overly expensive funerals for the deceased the children who just got off school don't seem to be in a hurry to go home for them the walk home may be just as

enjoyable as being home itself over here a group of villagers are playing cards I noticed a small amount of cash on the table adding a little money can make the game more interesting but the amounts are usually very small if too much money is involved the game can easily become gambling that rarely happens here many older villagers have a traditional belief money won at the card table isn't considered real money real money should come from honest work so if someone wins they will often use part of the winnings to buy food or drinks for everyone else my

understanding is that traditional Chinese society places a strong emphasis on maintaining harmony within the community practices like this help people accept both winning and losing more easily behind me are some outdoor exercise facilities people often come here to work out in the early morning this is the village administrative center at this hour there is usually nobody around places like this handle many local affairs including mediating disputes between neighbors this is the village clinic it also serves as the parking spot for the school bus each

street in the village has someone responsible for keeping it clean the sign lists the name and contact information of the person in charge this is a typical red brick house from the 1980s and now I'm feeling a little excited because I'm about to show you my grandfather's old house unfortunately I don't have the key my uncle has it and he isn't here today so I can only film it from outside maybe that's not a bad thing because if I walked inside and saw the drawings I scratched into the bricks as a child I might miss my grandfather even more please forgive

me for mentioning him so often he was one of the most important people in my childhood the village was built along a Hillside the farther north you go the higher the elevation becomes Chinese people have long admired bamboo in Chinese culture bamboo symbolizes integrity resilience and a life free from the pursuit of fame and wealth now we're heading toward the western side of the village the slogan on the wall roughly says every family and every individual to take responsibility for keeping the village clean I greeted this elderly woman a moment ago she

thought I was a distant relative whose name she had forgotten it took me a little while to explain who I was as people grow older their memories often begin to fade tea fields blankets drying in the sun blankets drying in the sun figs growing on a tree these are onion seeds saved by local villagers fewer and fewer farmers do this nowadays most simply buy commercial seeds but some still prefer to save seeds from their own harvest even if it's only a small patch of land people here usually find something to grow if we continue north we'll soon leave the

village take a look at this white powder on the ground it's actually crushed oyster shells in traditional Chinese medicine oyster shells are believed to have medicinal uses villagers spread them on the road and let passing vehicles grind them into powder whenever there is an empty space someone will usually find a way to use it this is an abandoned ramdurd house and these are its simple wooden windows some cheerful children are waving and saying hello the slogan on the wall roughly means cherish our living environment and protect it together danger

please keep away this is probably one of the wealthiest families in the village a BMW is parked outside judging from the house and the car they appear to be doing quite well the flowers along the roadside are being trimmed the cut branches haven't been cleared away yet well that's all for today's video after walking through this village I realized that many things are no longer the same as when I was a child some old houses now stand empty many young people have moved toward the cities and people I once knew have grown old but many things remain

unchanged the evening breeze still moves across the hills children still walk home slowly slowly after school villagers still gather under the trees to chat and play cards and the tea fields still produce fresh leaves year after year my grandfather's old house still stands quietly where it always has sometimes I feel that what we miss is not only a person what we truly miss is the time when that person was still part of our lives thank you for walking through this village with me this is just an ordinary village in China there are no spectacular

landmarks no extraordinary stories only ordinary people living ordinary lives and perhaps it is these ordinary lives that tell the story of most people in China I'm Zhong see you in the next video