Chou Chou lived with his aunt Li Gendi since he was one month old. His parents divorced when he was 5, his father went to jail and his mother could not find a steady job. So it seemed like Aunt Li’s house would become Chou Chou’s home for a long time.
Acting like most 8–year old kids, Chou Chou is rebellious and lazy at school works. Having a grandson of her own, Aunt Li has to support both kids with the help of her daughter. Aunt Li’s son wants to give away Chou Chou because of Aunt Li’s deteriorating health and high rising living expenses. Aunt Li’s daughter will get married and move out soon. That will leave Aunt Li to take care of Chou Chou all by herself. With the city’s reconstruction plan approaching, how long can Chou Chou remain in Aunt Li’s house?
This is a documentary dedicated to the brave soldiers in America and the friendly Chinese citizens in China. During World War II, 115 American pilots led by General Chennault went to Yunnan to transport supplies and to defend several important transportation routes.
In the first engagement with the Japanese air force, the American air force shot down nine planes without suffering any losses. The supreme fighting ability earned them a parade led by the mayor of Kunming and a name that will follow them forever -'The Flying Tigers'.
At that time, American soldiers and Chinese citizens worked closely together. Whenever the airport was damaged, thousands of Chinese villagers would rush to the scene and repair the runway. Yunnanyi Airfield was the best example. It was built by over 200,000 Yunnan people, men and women, old and young. Without any advanced equipment available because of the war, everything was built by hand. All the villagers were trained to aid American soldiers with all means, like hiding them from the Japanese when they got shot down, disguising them and helpin them get back to their military base.
From 1941 to 1945, over 800,000 tons of supplies were transported to China via the Hump Route, one of the most dangerous routes, even with today's planes and technology. 609 planes were crashed or reported missing, over 1500 Chinese and American pilots were killed in mission.
Numerous touching and inspiring stories happened at that time. Like the story about an American pilot, Robert Mooney, who gave up the best chance to bail out from his damaged aircraft in order to prevent crashing down in the middle of a town, and the touching story of Leon Schlafman and his foster son in China.
Through interviews with the veterans and the villagers, we will have a chance to admire the honorable actions by our heroes in war and the deep bond formed between the Chinese villagers and American soldiers.
Located in the southern part of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, with an area of 211,800 square km and a population of 66,280, Hunan is know for"A land of fish and rice". Hunan enjoys rich natural and human resources. Such as: Zhang Jiajie, a World Natural Heritage; with its spectacular natural scenery; Cheng Toushan, the earliest city relics know in China with a history of 6,000 years. The excavation with more than 450 pieces of sophisticated bronze wares being unearthed from the 3,500-year-old tombs of Shang and Zhou Dynasty and a 2,100-year-old yet well-preserved female corpse, together with many funeral objects from Ma Wangdui tombs of Western Han Dynasty and excavation of bamboo carvings of the Wu Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms period from Zou Malou Street of Changsha. Beside Hunan also offers numerous historical and cultural tourist sites of different ages.
Located in the northwest of Yunnan Province, LiJiang is the place for extraordinary scenery and explore the Dongba culture. The First Bend on the Yangzi River, the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Jinsha River formed some of the most beautiful pictures in nature. Yunshanping, a grassland 3230 meters above sea level on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, is called the treasure house of plants. Lugu Lake, located at 2685 meters above sea level, is famous for its crystal clear lake water.
If you want to learn more about Naxi people and their Dongba culture, you need to look at the Baisha Wall paintings. The paintings record the history of Naxi, Bai and Tibet people.
You can also learn how to write Dongbawen. Dongbawen is the only pictography still being used in the world. Hundreds of scholars come to LiJiang just to learn this unique language. Once you learn the language, you can try to read the Dongbai scripture. Dongbai scripture is like an encyclopedia, with over 2,000 volumes, it records knowledge about medicine, history, astronomy, music, dancing, etc., passed down from generation to generation. Naxi folk music is another thing you do not want to miss, some of the songs are over 1,000 years old. In its long history, it kept evolving, blending all the unique features from different music styles played in different dynasties.
To end your LiJiang trip, you can visit the LiJiang old town and admire the architecture of the well preserved buildings. The Chief Ma's Mansion is the landmark of LiJiang old town. It was built in the Yuan Dynasty, passed down from generation to generation in the Ma's family all the way to the Qing Dynasty. Its luxurious decoration can compete with the home of the royal family.
This documentary put you in the middle of some of the most unique people in the world. Around Lugu Lake of Yunnan province there still live a people who retain the'zouhun'system of matrimony, which means they never actually marry legally at all. The Mosuo people are one of the last living societies to follow the matriarchy system and lineage. Besides the Mosuo, only a handful of small matriarchal cultures currently exist, including the Khasi of India, the Machinguenga of Peru, and the Nagovisi of Bougainvillea in the South Pacific.
The Mosuo are one of the 56 official Chinese ethnic minorities living within the boundaries of China. Their homeland lies on the borders of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, a few mountains away from Tibet. The Mosuo are considered by anthropologists to be matriarchal, because they are still living in accordance with the principle that women hold the most important place in the society. The estimated population of Mosuo is around 50,000 people today.
At about thirteen years of age, after the ceremony of initiation, girls are considered to be full members of the clan and are given the key to their own rooms. This young generation of women does the hard work in the fields and gardens. They are also occupied with love, pregnancy, and motherhood. Their traditional custom was to have mutual marriage between two clans, but this form has ceased to exist. Today, each woman chooses her lovers as she wishes. Love affairs are easily begun and easily broken off without problems for the young woman and her children because they are all at home in their (grand)mother's house. Come with us to the land of the gentle Mosuo, where the women rule.
In this documentary, we will show you the huge change in the life of a laid off worker. From his past business to his new job, from his ex-wife to his new love, it was a rollercoaster ride for Lao Qiu.
Back then, Lao Qiu refused to give up after being laid off. He started to make artistic lamps. He encouraged his son to study hard for the high school entrance exam. He had a caring, hardworking wife. His story was so inspiring that a TV station shot a documentary and broadcast it all over China.
Two years later, Lao Qiu was a divorced man with a job that could barely support him. His son seldom visited him. He had difficulty in finding a steady relationship. All he had was his dog, LuLu.
In the course of this documentary, Lao had three brief relationships with three women. Miss Xiao Zuo, a divorced woman with a little girl. Miss U, a woman introduced by his friend. And Madam Liu, a divorced business woman with a son.
He loved Xiao Zuo the most but had to let her go because she didn't like the idea that he loved the dog more than her little daughter. He broke up with Miss U because the only reason he started dating her was she didn't mind the dog. For Madam Liu, she couldn't stand him inviting women like Miss U and Miss Xiao Zuo home all the time.
Things were tough for Lao. The only comforting thought for him was it's the time for LuLu to mate and have puppies, which he put so much effort into trying to make happen.
CoCo, one of the best jazz singers in Shanghai, was born in the Year of the Snake. Despite his musical talents, he was booed off stage and rejected from record companie—because he's gay. In this documentary, from the interviews with him and his friends, we will know about his struggles, his music, his dream and his love life.
Born in a home of music, some may say CoCo's musical talent is inherited. His mother is a Chinese opera singer and his father knows how to play various musical instruments like piano, cello and other oriental instruments. Heavily influenced by his parents, he left home and studied in Wuhan Music School at age 10 and became the youngest student in the Composing Department of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music at age 16. At 17, he started to perform in night clubs and started to get famous.
Even though he was widely welcome in jazz bars, the mainstream industry was not ready for an openly gay singer yet. Rejected by record companies in Hong Kong, CoCo struggled to find his spot on the main stage. With the help and support from his closest friend Kika, a famous underground song writer, CoCo continued to pursue his dream, to combine Chinese folk songs with western jazz. He formed a jazz band and performed his own jazz from club to club. Slowly, he gained more recognition and was invited to perform in the 1999 Shanghai International Jazz Festival. His amazing performance earned the hearts of his fellow music lovers but not the general audience. He was booed off stage right after his performance, because his sexuality preference.
For CoCo, his love life was not any smoother than his musical life. When he first came out, China was still a very conservative country. Not until 2001, was homosexuality classified as a normal sexual behavior by the Chinese Psychiatric Association. CoCo left to France and found Jelmer, the love of his life. CoCo and Kika will tell us all about that relationship, even the suicide attempt by CoCo after their breakup.
With all those struggles behind him, CoCo is working even harder and hoping for a brighter future for his music and his love life.
Taiyuan Villa, also known as the Residence of Marshall, is one of the most gorgeous garden houses in Shanghai. Completed in 1925, it was located in the French concession of the city. Now it is a branch of Ruijin Hotel.
It was owned by a French lawyer called Dedake. He had a law office in Shanghai and he was very successful in his field. He used his fame and influence to help found the Universal Saving Association, the first professional commercial saving institution in China. With the cash they accumulated, they went into the real estate business and Taiyuan Villa was one of their many properties.
It was built in a luxury style of the French Renaissance and medieval architecture in Europe. As for the interior, it was influenced by the New Art Movement. All the furniture pieces inside were imported from France and were handmade.
In 1941, the Pacific War broke out and Debake disappeared. Cen Deguang bought it and used it as a vacation house and for receiving important guests. In 1946, General Marshall from America came to China as the ambassador. He lived in Tianyuan Villa when he was in Shanghai. To thank his effort in maintaining peace between the two parties in China, the villa was named the Residence of Marshall. Even now, a lot of people still use this name instead of Taiyuan Villa.
Even after all these years and been through wars, Taiyuan Villa is still standing and well preserved. We will bring you in and show you all the original and extravagant decoration.
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