Up the Yangtze! - trailer

[legendmove]

@DrMMHMD LOL what did u say? 20+ replies to u but I can't find your original comment.....

[iamprettylolz]

we watched this in geography in today and had to answer questions about it...

[da5families]

@DrMMHMD Then you obviously need to read the news more and keep yourself informed.

obviously not, with a enormous population like China, how would that be possible within the next few decades? Thanks for the obvious statement.

[SteveI72]

@DrMMHMD , your facts are completely wrong. First of all, according to the World Bank, the average income in China (2006) was $2,025, and this has gone up considerably since then. Last year, the average income for a farmer was over $800, and income in rural areas lags far behind those in cities. Also, your claim that the literacy rate in China is 25% is laughable. If you honestly believe most Chinese can't read a newspaper, you are delusional. China's literacy rate is about 95%.

[da5families]

@DrMMHMD with massive corruption in a country of 1.3 billion, yeah, it would help. it takes time for serious change to occur, learn to read; it takes time.

[rusebbb]

@DrMMHMD so maybe you should start teaching them Chinese.... And try asking the govt to help....but they are busy putting ppl like Ai Wei Wei into prisons.... it's not about how much money they have, it's about how greedy the corrupted officers are.

[rusebbb]

@DrMMHMD and the fact that you keep telling others how shitty China is doesn't change the fact of how poor and illiterate some Chinese people are, maybe you actually should go do something about it if you really want to help the people, maybe you should teach them how to read English so poverty and income might be lifted up because they have more knowledge. I know you might already be helping, and I hope your purpose is to get the words out and get others to help this country too.

[rusebbb]

@DrMMHMD OK...So you don't think other countries do that...? And how do you help by making sure everyone knows about the myths that you keep talking about??? Chinese people can't even go onto youtube, they will never know about this deception and lies, and even if they do, that wouldn't help their life to get any better. It just gives me a feeling that you just keep talking shit about China instead of giving a helping hand to the situation while you leave all these messages.

[rusebbb]

@DrMMHMD so...what's the whole point of pointing out who a 3rd world country China is? To make the world a better place, maybe people should start publishing books on how to make a better world for each other... instead of telling how shitty China is to the world, maybe you could actually be part of helping to make it a better place.

[8evilangel]

@DrMMHMD hahaha yeah sure...

[8evilangel]

@DrMMHMD lol wats that?

[8evilangel]

@DrMMHMD loool one word: bullsh*t

[8evilangel]

@DrMMHMD 我写的中文，你一句都没懂， 别装了，你对中国一点都不了解。。。 so i suggest you to stop using google translate since you're obviously a prejudiced outsider, good day to you... or not.

[cannonballkid]

@DrMMHMD whatever I still think its a marvel. Not interested in arguing the nuances of a dam with a random stranger. Agree to disagree, have a nice day.

[8evilangel]

@DrMMHMD 你越扯越远。。。 我不需要知道你的家庭背景，因为和我无关。。。 我出来留学跟我家长有什么关系呢？

[8evilangel]

你家人都是从农村来的吧。。。 为什么我认识的老人都会读书呢？

[8evilangel]

@DrMMHMD okay, you obviously don't know ANYthing about chinese language... you can't just refer to the numbers... take an average english text, it goes from 250 to 400 words. In chinese, 2000- 3000 characters are the equivalent... So it is NOT that hard to learn... and yeah, you can find places with 90% literacy...

[8evilangel]

@DrMMHMD where do u live?? i mean where in china can you find a place with only 1800 inhabitants? YOU're the one bullshitting...

the place where i come from , 90% of the ppl can read and yes, life expectancy is 70 yrs old... and healthy care... two of my family members are doctors... just saying... where did you get your sources from?

[brian8793]

Did anyone else notice that the girl didn't even hug her parents when they came top visit her?

I thought that was sad. China needs Christ, a.s.a.p.

[goodgirlkay]

@brian8793 Not every culture is as touchy-feely as Americans.

[rusebbb]

@brian8793 it's a cultural thing, I don't really hug my parents either and i dont think they went to visit her...

[da5families]

The Chinese government today has been the best towards the peasantry. Why?

Never throughout Chinese history in its many dynasties, have the government provide the Chinese peasantry with old age pension. Things are getting better in China.

HOWEVER, not ALL peasantry have pensions right now. Obviously, China is a huge country with massive poverty and a massive population. It takes time to trickle down to everyone.

[scetchymc]

very moving documentary, makes me appreciate what I have.

[krhprodctionz]

Watched this last night... excellent documentary indeed. The last scenes were particularly moving.

[greenwanders]

Excellent documentary.

It makes a perfect double-feature with Jia Zhang-Ke's 'Still Life.'

[Iceberqe]

the movie was so damn awesome

[otacon451]

for you, was it depressing in any sense? looks good, but i cant take any more depressing right now hah

[Iceberqe]

maybe a bit, but i really recommend the movie :)

[presa1200]

i hate government when they failed to help civilians.

[SteveI72]

In the last 30 years, China has lifted over 300 million people out of poverty. This pace of development is unprecedented in human history. In the last 50 years, life expectancy has gone from well below 50 to well over 70. In 1950, the literacy rate in China was less than 20%, but today it is over 90%. Footbinding and concubinage are gone, and women have more rights than ever. China still has many problems, but right now is THE best time ever to be an average Chinese person living in China.

[presa1200]

Thanks for the reply. I respect China people because they're well preserving their culture and language. Unlike Malaysia the place where I'm living right now, the government is slowly immersing English into the school syllabus rather than using Malay as a standard language. Actually we have no problem in possessing more than one language such as English. But the problem is people feel embarrass when speaking Malay. Slowly, the Malay culture will soon vanish.

[kc0793]

Thats not true. India has the world's largest population of non-native English speakers, english is used in every sphere of life. The culture and traditions are as strong as ever.

[presa1200]

did i say indian not preserving their culture? and who are you referring to? me or others?

[kc0793]

all i am saying is introducing english in official/formal/education has nothing to do with eroding your national culture.

[presa1200]

maybe not in your country but it happened in mine. you see, introducing English in most subjects will slowly replacing the national language - Malay. and soon people or the next generation will forget about their mother tongue. we have no problem learning English but not until the extend that our national language only spoken at home or none at all. In order to achieve success, you must teach the children the language that they understand the best, while not neglecting the importance of English.

[presa1200]

A good example just look at Japan, their formal education is in Japanese but still they able to achieve great success in a large scale.

[presa1200]

I am not trying to say English is no good. What i meant is, language is not the barrier for success but the ability and the level of understanding. Introducing English or completely change the language in formal education would not guarantee success if the government not taking the right step. What's the use if we all speak English but government is corrupted?

[presa1200]

In Malaysia we have "Malay Supremacy" policy for the Malay/indigenous people because they dominated the land before Chinese & Indians. Many non-Malays are looking down or even insulting the Malays because of this bias policy. So the government claiming themselves to help the Malays by introducing English so that they will not belittled by the non-Malays anymore. In fact it is not solving the problem. The ultimate solution is government must extinct the bias "Malay Supremacy" policy.

[Eladas334]

@SteveI72

And if you say anything different, get ready for a bullet to the back of the head.

Foot-binding and concubinage are gone... yeah, well, no shit. That doesn't exactly say much.

[Regicide1990]

@Eladas334

Nope, you can still voice your disagreement in China. They just don't want you to stage protests, or do anything that would damage the status quo.

And the eradication of these two traditions says a lot. Because It's not just the two that were eradicated, but the confucious caste system itself, which, by the way, was so ingrained into our culture that it was hard to seperate the two. In mere decades, we eliminated thousands of years of gender discrimination and class slavery.

[Regicide1990]

@Eladas334

I'd say that's a big achivement.

Sure, China is still miles behind when compared to developed western countries. But here's the thing, we are a developing country, and when compared to our peers, we are doing pretty OK. It takes time to build a democracy, and, believe it or not, there are people who are fighting for in China that right now.

Unfortunatly, when western media entice paranoia against China, as they so often love to do,

[Regicide1990]

@Eladas334

@Eladas334

they also inflame xenophobia against western ideas, since the use of nationalism as a controling tool by the communist party makes it hard for Chinese populace to seperate attacks on their government and attacks on themselves. This, of course, include democracy and human rights.

Therefore, Eladas334, even though I am sure you mean the best for us, the fact of the matter is, you are not exactly helping.

[lichenolog]

@SteveI72 Your technocentric love of statistics tells me you missed the point of the film. But I do agree it's THE best times for the average Chinese! THE best time to be forced out of your home in Shanghai to make way for Condominium Monstrosities! THE best time to starve as all the fish in your river die from pollution! THE best time to be forced off your farm to make way for industrial parks! THE best time to take a deep breath of air in Linfen! THE best time to accept your Nobel prize!

[freakallright]

@lichenolog when china wants to play big in the global economy, the human cost is equally as huge. it isn't easy managing a fifth of the world's population, all who come from centuries of extreme poverty and political instability. yes, there needs to be a balance, but it doesn't come with a snap of a finger.

[chirpieguy]

@lichenolog

China's government plays these as averages-what's best for the whole. There's a whole arm of psychology and sociology dedicated to the idea that "If a society is to thrive, it must put its own overall success before the well-being of its individual citizens ."

There's nothing wrong with thinking that grounding 100 people in the dirt to help 10,000 is wrong. Many would agree with you. But Stevel is right. Chinese haven't had it this good in a long time. (Yes, even with corruption.)

[chirpieguy]

@SteveI72

Agree, but it also doesn't mean the pain didn't happen. The doc still has merit even though I consider the dam a necessary evil.

[legendmove]

@SteveI72 So what is your point? Many ppl do agree China is growing rapidly. Just saying before the communist party took over there were no where close to 1B people. I don't know much about foot-binding/concubinage . IMO as long as women are not forced to do so(aka if they choose to), I am cool with it. Best time ever? I guess people in most countries are living a better life than 50 years ago......

[cannonballkid]

I remember watching the building of this dam on the Discovery channel they had mentioned that 2 million ppl would be displaced sad really but what a engineering marvel they did there but again sad

[nero30000]

today at 10:30 p.m. on ARTE

[solarus3]

Don't be ridiculous, laowai.

[YoungZer0]

Hope it's gonna be released in germany, looks so damn interesting. o_o

[Kolbo2006]

i hope, that im in the movie ^^, they took some scenes with me and my friend

[GWTW4EVR]

I just saw it today--what scene are you in??

[luisalina]

loved it!

[ameliabedelia99]

Madness.

[laowai888]

Madness? How exactly do you propose to power a rapidly developing country of over a billion people while controlling pollution? More coal fire power plants?

[andrewg86]

i totally agree with you, some people are just out to cry about every thing.

omg don't pollute the planet

omg dont build a hydro plant/windmill/solar farm there it will destroy the environment

cant have both