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I highly recommend the documentary Last Train Home. It follows a Chinese family - the parents leave their children in their rural village to go off in search of
by nsedlet 8y ago
I highly recommend the documentary Last Train Home. It follows a Chinese family - the parents leave their children in their rural village to go off in search of work. They make the annual trip back to see them for Chinese New Year.
The film captures the awesome scale of the migration and its cultural importance, as well as the social impact of China's urbanization. It's really devastating.
- odajay 8y agoI have seen this documentary a few years ago and still think about it on a monthly basis or whenever someone refers about Chinese workers. Really impactful.
- txdejk 8y agoThere is definitely a lot of misunderstanding between Chinese and American peoples. They are a lot more similar than most understand. And when people say something could "only" be done in one country or the other, they are usually grossly mistaken. The governments are different though. And China's problem of keeping everyone employed and having bright enough futures that they won't revolt is far greater and more urgent than the US's, it doesn't mean the US doesn't have the problem. A lot of the reason for wage stagnation in the US is because profits were diverted and invested in China to help growth there. The profits from those ventures ended up staying in China where it fueled a boom, but even then it was only a fraction of what is needed to get everyone employed in jobs with future growth potential. If it slows enougb to start failing, it has the potential, with so many people, to be pretty nasty. I think China is a pretty fascinating place, with definite problems, but still pretty fascinating.