chinaSMACK » Tingting http://www.chinasmack.com Hot internet stories, pictures, & videos in China Wed, 23 May 2012 04:13:43 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Chinese Man Seeks Afterworld Wife For Dying Older Brother http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/stories/chinese-man-seeks-afterworld-wife-for-dying-older-brother.html http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/stories/chinese-man-seeks-afterworld-wife-for-dying-older-brother.html#comments Sun, 27 Jun 2010 01:14:33 +0000 Tingting http://www.chinasmack.com/?p=18709

]]> From NetEase:

Because of me and my second brother, because of our family, to this day my eldest brother still hasn’t gotten married. How can I let my brother leave [pass away] like this? As the younger brother he that worried him the most, that he doted upon the most, I can’t let him enter another world alone. Perhaps I’m influenced by tradition, but these days I have been obsessed with an almost ridiculous but unshakable idea to find a companion for my eldest brother, a companion in the underworld, a bride in the netherworld, so she can keep him company there, so he will no longer be alone…

I’m a university graduate, 24 years old, from Henan Sanmengxia. I’m the youngest of three brothers. My father is an ordinary retired worker. My mother has poor health and suffers from a heart condition.

In order to for my second brother and me to go to school, for our mother’s medical expenses, for our poor family, my eldest brother quit school after graduating middle school to work in a restaurant. When we had financial difficulties he also worked other odd jobs.

My oldest brother gave us all of his youth. Because of us, he’s already 31 and still hasn’t married. So that my second brother and I can grow up, our big brother declined many marriage opportunities, saying that the pressure/stress would be even heavier after marrying and having to raise a family, especially if his wife is unreasonable and he can’t do what he wants…After I got into university I decided that when I graduate and start working, I will save money and help my eldest brother get married.

But things didn’t turn out as expected, just when I was about to graduate, on June 9th of this year, I received a call from the hospital, saying that my brother has a terminal illness–severe liver failure, and is dying. When I got to the hospital and saw how sick my brother was, I was shocked, it was as if I was in a nightmare. When my second brother cried on my shoulder, I felt so helpless, what should I do? What can I do?

Chinese man in Chinese hospital bed.

Why? Why did this happen? My brother worked hard for so many years, taken on so much that wasn’t his responsibility. When his two brothers are both graduated and starting to work and the most difficult days are over, why would god do this to us…

At the time the doctor told me and my second brother to be mentally prepared. “The only effective treatment is a liver transplant, the costs are very very high, and your family unfortunately probably can’t afford it, see…” Besides the transplant, the most effective way to keep my brother alive is to artificially manage his liver functions, and every treatment costs around 10,000 RMB. The treatment must be done every two to three days. Because we don’t have money, my second brother and parents have been trying to gather cash. Today we just finished the second treatment, and we’ve already spent everything that we’ve borrowed, it isn’t enough…

A doctor told me, “Don’t cry, be prepared, your brother’s chances of survival aren’t good.” I wanted to tell him, even if it’s only a 1% hope, even if treatment fails, we can’t give up. Please tell me how we could be so cruel as to abandon him!

Man connected to hospital machine.

I didn’t write this to ask for pity, and definitely not to make a fool of myself, but to ask sympathetic people to help me look for, unmarried women that have passed away at around age 30. If her family are willing, I will help my older brother to offer them a certain sum as wedding present, when he passes away, I will hold a wedding styled funeral for them. (Qualifications: deceased at around 30, died within the last 2 years, unmarried, no criminal records, please provide a photo. Nationality and ethnicity are unimportant, other conditions can be worked out in person.)

When my second brother who had gone out to unsuccessfully borrow money came back and heard what the doctor said, he immediately turned around and went out again, saying he was going to try begging people to borrow money again, that if we can persevere a few more days then we’ll persevere a few more days…god, please bless my loving, kind-hearted brother…

Everyone, I earnestly ask that any good-hearted people to please help me realize my wish, thank you!

My contact number: 15993747530

Comments from NetEase:

zydlyjforeve:

Fraud???

qaztyuqw:

What is this?

yanzi8175211:

Just want to win sympathies so people will donate money! There are lots of dying young men in hospitals, why should we donate money to you?

mai_titi:

This really makes me…speechless.

军师:

Ridiculous! A university graduate and he’s so superstitious!

zhhsen11:

Stop lying to everyone, aren’t you just trying to get everyone to donate money?

笑笑2211:

Which family would agree to this?

zhengguobin8:

Too ludicrous, I can’t wrap my finger around it, does the younger brother have a mental disorder? Any family’s daughter that would do such a foolish thing, they would all be idiots and incomprehensible!

cn4620985:

A completely bad joke!

def11:

Good luck to your brother!

龙城≮霸主≯:

Good people will be rewarded! Hope your brother can find a bride in the underworld…

Brides for the current world. chinaSMACK personals.

]]> http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/stories/chinese-man-seeks-afterworld-wife-for-dying-older-brother.html/feed 29 Police Raid “Prostitution Street”, Netizens Not Impressed http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/stories/police-raid-prostitution-street-netizens-not-impressed.html http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/stories/police-raid-prostitution-street-netizens-not-impressed.html#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:30:06 +0000 Tingting http://www.chinasmack.com/?p=18427

]]> From NetEase:

A prostitution street in Zhejiang Haining has been shut down. Happy.

June 8th, Zhejiang [province] Haining City Public Safety Bureau in collaboration with the City Council coordinated more than 20 officers from the Shu Cun and Guang Chao police departments. With the cooperation of the Nan Fan police department, they used five different routes to bust an entire street of ‘beauty parlors’.

Police bust several "beauty parlors" in Zhejiang, China.

The street is located between the cities of Haining and Lingping. Recently, the large inflow of immigrant workers has made it prosperous. The broad Yandong Street runs from north to south. Most of the shops along the street are two-stories tall and sell construction materials. However, in front of the health centers and massage parlors wedged in between, young girls with heavy makeup and scant clothing show off their bare legs, tempting those passing by with their sultry gaze.

A prostitute in Zhejiang Haining City.

After more than a week of undercover investigation, local police conducted the raid.

A man is handcuffed in Zhejiang by plain clothes police.

As the clients and prostitutes were arrested and escorted into the police vehicles, spectators cheered and applauded.

Police arrest men patronizing prostitutes.

The operation arrested 8 customers. Prostitutes, Mama-sans, and store workers totaled 16.

Chinese prostitutes and johns in jail cell.

According to law enforcement, the “beauty street” has been around for some time, and has been a negative influence in the area. Although the police underwent previous operations, those in the area are very mobile and tend to reestablish themselves quickly.

Haining City prostitutes and customers handcuffed.

The cooperation between the police departments this time hoped to overwhelm them and make the street completely disappear. As of right now this case is under further investigation.

Two Chinese prostitutes handcuffed together.

Comments from NetEase:

福建厦门网友:

Laughable…talking about busting a few small salons as if it were some big success. Probably couldn’t close other cases and picked the easiest targets to raise the rate of closed cases.

浙江杭州网友:

I’m just passing by getting soy sauce.

wangshou119:

Haha, using these small venues to sharpen their knives. How come the JC is so useless when it comes to this? I know no less than 10 streets like this, seems like someone didn’t pay the protection money.

火星网友:

“According to law enforcement, the ‘beauty street’ has been around for some time, and has been a negative influence in the area. Although the police had previous operations, those in the area are very mobile and tend to reestablish themselves quickly.”

neracom2006:

All this fuss for 20 something arrests. 16 people make up a “beauty street”? Many places have ten times the prostitutes and they never get busted.

2010Start:

That’s all they’re capable of, bullying these small hair salons. The patrons there are mostly people of low income. If [the police] went to high-end clubs, then they’d really be affecting “certain” peoples’ incomes!

andy-jun2002:

Making up “achievements”, this too is police work.

23402409:

It’s not good to keep this up. We should legalize the sex industry. Or the government should find other jobs for the prostitutes, and find wives for bachelors while they’re at it. Otherwise it’s not good for the stability of society.

pc19741206:

Lou zhu, they’re selling blood and tears, do you have to write about it this way?

吉林吉林网友:

The prostitutes are too ugly. They were reported by their clients, hoping there’d be better ones next time.

hehui139:

This is the duty of the police. Not only did it take them forever to act, they’re showing off with it!!! Shameless!!!

龍城冰心:

An entire street of prostitution, and only 16 arrests, such a large street…

重庆网友:

We can’t decide what to do with our own bodies?

第三只瞳孔:

Selling sex??? Who would buy it when they look like this??

Don’t get busted. chinaSMACK personals.

]]> http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/stories/police-raid-prostitution-street-netizens-not-impressed.html/feed 95 8-Year-Old Schoolgirl’s Money Making Schemes, Reactions http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/stories/little-chinese-girl-making-money-at-school-reactions.html http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/stories/little-chinese-girl-making-money-at-school-reactions.html#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:41:50 +0000 Tingting http://www.chinasmack.com/?p=14069

]]>

From NetEase:

Gosh! My 8-year-old daughter is making money at school???

Noon today, when my daughter came home from school her mouth was red and swollen. When I asked, she said it was from eating ma la tang[a Chinese type of spicy soup]. This led me to discovering 8 yuan in her pocket, and I asked her where the money came from. She refused to say, so I went to school in the afternoon to investigate. To my astonishment, she’s making money from her classmates! How was she doing it??? Well, many of her classmates bring comics to school and are afraid of teachers’ inspections, so she keeps the comics for them, 5 jiao each time. Also, other students pay to use her pencil sharpener. The first two times are free, she charges 5 jiao from the third time and 5 jiao extra from the 6th time. In addition, I found a little notebook under her pillow tonight, with a list of people that owe her money written inside. Faint…

Had a talk with her tonight, told her that her responsibility right now is to study, and that friendship between classmates is priceless. Most importantly, it’s wrong to help others break school rules for money, because when she becomes a part of society she might break the law for money. (It’s the same thing, a set of rules that must be obeyed). The consequence to breaking the law is to lose life’s most precious freedom.

The child is asleep, but I can’t fall asleep (because in life I always like to help friends. But my daughter…), so here I am on the discussion forum, hoping to hear everyone’s thoughts. Thanks.

Note: The image above is not related to the above BBS post.

Comments from NetEase

永勿:

That’s right, don’t jump to blame her. You must carefully educate her, using the right methods.

追逐夏天:

[She] has such an economic mindset. I’m in awe.

yaolong9809:

Impressive, an 8-year-old kid!!

carzsnews:

I think the first commenter is only half right. If we were in another country, he would be correct. But in this country, peoples’ connections are very complicated, and we have to use Chinese-style education to teach kids. (There’s a popular saying here in Guangdong: Personal favors/relationships are bigger than debt.)

renjun213:

[Her] parents work for China Mobile? [known for monopolistic, excessive pricing policy]

wanwan1121:

I was good at drawing as a kid. When I was young, I drew sketches of Transformers, and other cartoon characters for other kids. 1 jiao per sketch, or trade for candy or toys. 1 jiao 20 years ago. I even gave discounts on large orders. Back then my orders numbered in the dozens. Then my mother found out, got a long talk, and I never dared to do it again.

大米泡饭:

Very good, already studying for MBA at such a young age.

yufeier126:

[in response to 永勿] You’re simply talking nonsense, Chinese entrepreneurs are all like this??? Genius??? You would not only fail to educate the child but also allow her to continue her behavior?! What kind of people are you!!!! Is money your god??? If she keeps on doing this in the long term, she won’t have real friends. One day, when she needs help, other people would use money to do business with her as well. Unfortunately, sometimes even money wouldn’t be able to help her. For example, she falls into a river, or a ditch…even if she is a billionaire it would be in vain!!!!

衣爵士特:

[in response to 永勿] I rather agree with this kind of thinking, it is much better than those kids who only know how to beg their parents for money. As long as she knows to keep within certain limits.
After all, society is practical.

真肥龙:

In China, favors and guanxi [connections] are sometimes much more important than money.

gaolingbo2:

Don’t always talk about society being corrupt. [You guys] don’t know know to start with yourselves to change it? Always blaming society like this is all an excuse. If we can educate the next generation properly, even if society is corrupt right now, wouldn’t the next generation be good? The key problem is adults themselves, who say one thing and do another, all excessively selfish, all wishing everybody else were good-hearted, and only oneself was bad/manipulative. What kind of mentality is that?

齊天大圣:

Faint, you should carefully reflect on yourself. Did the child learn this from you??

szxs1979:

Your daughter is not bad! Really not bad! [She] should be nurtured!
What studying! You should know that’s for fools! What’s a so-called degree for?

Making money in the future! The diploma is just a long-term food stamp.
As for studying, the process is more important! Use the microcosm of school society to feel and understand the relationships between people!

You should educate and nurture your child!

Noon today, when my daughter came home from school her mouth was red and swollen. When I asked, she said it was from eating spicy soup. This led me to discovering 8 yuan in her pocket, and I asked her where the money came from. She refused to say, so I went to school in the afternoon to investigate. To my astonishment, she’s making money from her classmates! How was she doing it??? Well, many of her classmates bring comics to school and are afraid of teachers’ inspections, so she keeps the comics for them, 5 jiao each time. Also, other students pay to use her pencil sharpener. The first two times are free, she charges 5 jiao from the third time and 5 jiao extra from the 6th time. In addition, I found a little notebook under her pillow tonight, with a list of people that owe her money written inside. Faint…

This part? 1. Is the ma la tang clean? Careful she could be contracted with hepatitis! Usually these little food stalls around schools are not very sanitary!
2. Keeping comics for others! Why can she keep them? What will happen if the teacher catches her? Ask her what if others asked for damages [if the comics are confiscated]? Even though it’s not a lot of money, see how she answers! Or what if others are jealous of her business and report to the teacher! Even if it’s a child’s world and there’s no morals and laws, you need to nurture her in this respect! Ask her, see her explanations and problem-solving ideas. If they’re appropriate, let her be. Otherwise correct her!
3. As for the pencil sharpener, I think it’s a great idea! This is a legit business, you can let her continue! I think it helps the child, it’s very good!
4. The notebook issue! There’s nothing wrong with this either! But you need to ask her what she would do if others didn’t refused to pay her. Ask her, how would you hanle this? See her explanations! This too is very important!

Also, you should nurture a saving habit in your child! Take her earnings and open a bank account for her! Always take her to go save her money!
Don’t let her develop a reckless spending habit! Teach her! Then buy some useful stuff for her to use!
Don’t let her spend it all on food and drinks!

You have to discuss! Discuss like friends! Do not scold!

Treating your child this way will help her even more!

As for this hindering her studies, that’s not necessarily true. Look at her grades and performance in school. And don’t think being successful means being first at exams! This kind of mentality is mistaken! It hinders the child!

Getting into university, grad school, getting a doctorate!!! Actually, the final goal is still money!

Of course, going to school itself is a process to understand society and develop maturity!

风动心静:

Guide her appropriately, you should instill in her that friendship cannot be traded for with money.

lidongyu96:

No big deal, I wrote homework for others for money! Parents didn’t give me allowance, so I made it myself, and it felt good spending it!

lidongyu96:

[in response to 风动心静] You’re right, but think about it. Nowadays, is there still real friendship between students? Even the best friends will argue and fight because of money and advantages. Today’s society has created too many problems! But all in all, money can’t buy friendship. It can only buy alliances. This kind of alliance, you can’t depend on!

Alliances. chinaSMACK personals.

]]> http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/stories/little-chinese-girl-making-money-at-school-reactions.html/feed 60 Foot Massage Girls In China: Their Life In Photographs http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/pictures/foot-massage-girls-lives-photographs.html http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/pictures/foot-massage-girls-lives-photographs.html#comments Sat, 16 Jan 2010 09:03:42 +0000 Tingting http://www.chinasmack.com/?p=13663

]]> From NetEase:

Foot Massage Girls in China’s Cities: Washing Feet for Those Luckier

Foot massage is bodily labor, practicing the same movement over and over again makes this girl tired. The students train the strength in their fingers and arms every morning.

Before being able to work, students must be able to correctly identify the pressure points in the feet.

Foot massage school: the students are undergoing ‘entrance training’. The procedure is to knock first, identify yourself, ask if you could enter, and the wait for the customers’ answer by the door. For these rural children, strength isn’t a problem, but etiquette is a big difficulty.

Talking about their plans after receiving their wages, smiles lit up on the two girls’ faces. After they receive the National Professional Masseur Certification, they would receive a monthly salary of 2000 to 3000 RMB.


In a classroom, a girl is holding an old poster. This is the main channel through which students connect with ‘urban’, ‘fashion’, and ‘trendy’.


Class leader Li Tingting is collecting the photos of students going to Tianjin [to work]. Paperwork must be taken care of before they may begin to work.


The night before they leave the school, students can’t fall asleep. Understandingly, the school adjusted the lights out time from the normal 10pm to 11pm.


On the morning express train to Beijing on June 8th, most of the students are lively, but one is in deep thought.


At the exit of Beijing West Station, Han Jiajia and other students blend into the crowd. This is the first time that they’ve left home to work in Tianjin, near the capital.

Comments from NetEase

最后一次@:

Forced by circumstances…

cqbbmm:

It’s just a way of making a living, nothing shocking.

freedomgm:

Life is difficult, but one must persevere!

广东深圳网友:

Haha, this is the fucking difference between people. This is the reality in China. In fact, foot massage girls are like prostitutes. Since they’re seen as prostitutes anyway, it’s better to just do it. Then money comes fast, and you live better. These days, being poor is worse than being a whore.

嘉州铁匠:

[Foot massage] isn’t sexual.

我今年十八岁:

Don’t agree with this kind of luxury. It’s like demeaning a class of people.

h.m.g.081268:

People have needs, therefore the service industry would emerge. There’s nothing high-class or low-class about earning money through work. They’re hundreds of times better than those who steal, swindle, rob, and hurt other people. We can’t use this old mentality to view society’s labor distribution, elevate ourselves and disparage others.

jason-18188:

Professionals only get 2000-3000, that’s still not enough in a big city like Beijing.

洛麒:

There’s a school for this kind of thing? I must be really uninformed.

idengbo:

I went to get a foot massage once, two masseuses were discussing buying houses. Know that the average price for the city I’m at is more than 10,000 RMB [per square meter].

k-boxing_ko:

Looks like you don’t know what effects pressure points on the feet have on health. If you did, perhaps you wouldn’t say all this garbage. This is training for legitimate skills. If it were just a service, why would the requirements be so stringent? We are biased toward this [industry] in China, so it’s hard to find people to work in this field, so they can only find workers in this group [girls from rural areas]. Look at what you said, not long ago I saw foreigners study foot massage on TV with great results. This is traditional Chinese medicine, but look at the attitude in China…

renjinzai:

It doesn’t matter if they’re legitimate or not. People have already reached their own conclusions. Thinking that the professionals only make 2000-3000, I feel that I’m fucking lucky.

t60188:

Very few foot massage places are legit.

Not a foot massage place. chinaSMACK personals.

]]> http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/pictures/foot-massage-girls-lives-photographs.html/feed 111 Unseen 2009 China News In Photographs http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/pictures/unseen-2009-chinese-news-photographs.html http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/pictures/unseen-2009-chinese-news-photographs.html#comments Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:09:13 +0000 Tingting http://www.chinasmack.com/?p=13236

]]> Below are 62 “unseen” news photographs from 2009 and their original captions, translated into English, that were originally featured on NetEase, one of China’s most popular portal websites. We’ve also included links to related chinaSMACK posts from published during the past year. Thank you for your support. We wish everyone a happy new year and good luck in 2010!

– Fauna & chinaSMACK staff contributors

October 1st, Hefei, Anhui Province. A few migrant workers are watching the live National Day Parade in a dilapidated dormitory. They keep adjusting to antenna to reduce the static on the screen, sharing this country’s glory on that day.

On chinaSMACK:

November 11th, Beijing. The Central School of Art encouraged its students to get vaccinated for swine flu in the school auditorium. Compared to the SARS epidemic six years ago, because information was more transparent, the public was much more tolerant toward the influenza.

On chinaSMACK:

February 28th, Hangzhou. The largest career fair in Zhejiang Province. More than 50,000 university graduates are waiting outside in the rain. In 2009, China has more than 7 million university graduates that are looking for work. On September 1st, the rate of employment for graduates was 74% (government statistics). China has already decided to slow the enrollment growth of universities. The rate of growth in 2010 will be only 3%.

On chinaSMACK:

February 22nd, Wuhan. The real estate agents in Panlong town are holding signs saying “90% off” and “80% off” to attract customers. Due to the financial crisis, Wuhan’s average real estate price fell to 2000RMB/square meter. But after the banks entered the housing market with large amounts of loans, Wuhan’s real estate price has recovered, with sales surpassing the same quarter in 2007.

On chinaSMACK:

October 26th 5 am, Xiangya Hospital, Changsha. 31-year-old Yang Yan waited the whole night for registration. When the hospital opened, she was knocked down by the crowd and trampled over, causing a broken shoulder. The difficulty in seeing a doctor pervades the country, the proposition for new healthcare reform is out, but the healthcare problem waits to be solved.

On chinaSMACK:

July 4th, Shanghai. A fan uses a traditional Chinese custom—kowtow, to mourn the icon of Western pop culture, Michael Jackson. Jackson’s death shocked the entire world, including China. More than 500 fans from across the country came to the memorial ceremony held at Shanghai’s Jinmao Tower.

On chinaSMACK:

February 26th, Changchun Street, Beijing. Guo Guo, who just had his 1st birthday, is getting an “Obama” haircut. To attract customers, the owner of this hair salon introduced the “Obama” Style. An American president influences the lives of ordinary Chinese in unprecedented ways.

On chinaSMACK:

March 20th, Kunming. Chengguan are demolishing an illegal building. The workers locked up the gates, and the chengguan decided to enforce the law by climbing over the building. In 2009, the chengguan continued to enforce the law in ways laden with controversy and conflict.

On chinaSMACK:

January 23rd, Xi’an. 63-year-old Luo Guiqing is a roadside vendor. Usually, she is harassed by the chengguan, but that day, her eyes are filled with tears as she unexpected receives a sack of rice, a carton of oil, and 300RMB from them.

On chinaSMACK:

November 29th, Kunming. 28-year-old homosexual Nana and partner Atao lying in their 10-square-meter home. They’ve only been together for a month, but already have a strong bond. Atao is 25 this year. He’s bringing Nana to meet his parents in a few days. Even if their families don’t understand, they will stay with each other.

On chinaSMACK:

June 16th, Beijing. Police are diverting traffic for an injured dog. This dog was hit by a car on a major street and was paralyzed. Two officers waited for hours for a veterinarian’s arrival. Beijing drivers and officers who usually only divert traffic for major government activities show their compassion.

On chinaSMACK:

November 9th, Changchun City is once again hit by cold weather. More than 100 families on Changxing Street whose houses are being demolished lined up in order to pick the best replacement house. Entire families took turns waiting in line; the oldest among them is 75. They got what they wished for after persevering for two days.

February 4th, Yuzhong, Gansu Province. The villagers’ parade is asking the heavens for rain. The local farmers are using this ancient tradition to hope for prosperity. China has the largest artificially induced weather industry in the world, but these farmers in remote and poor areas are still powerless against frequent natural disasters.

February 27th, Kunming. Caregiver Li Jianbao at the First People’s Hospital reads a magazine to recharge himself after he helped the patients to sleep. The 50-year-old has worked as a caregiver for 7 years. As the Chinese population ages and more people leave home to work, more and more elderly cannot be cared for by their children. The demand for caregivers is rising everyday.

On chinaSMACK:

August 30th, Nansan, Yunnan. 4-year-old refugee Lu Xinglan from Myanmar is swinging. Since civil war erupted in Guogan, more than 10,000 refugees have poured into China’s Yunnan Province.

July 17th, Jiaxing, Zhejiang. Mr. and Mrs. Li Fengzhou from Henan Xinyang raise crayfish here for a living. For work, the family moved near the fish farm. In the summer heat, their two children are cooling off in an abandoned bath tub. This is their special game.

On chinaSMACK:

February 8th, Xi’an. Zhao Jun, from Zhouzhi, Shaanxi Province watches as her parents show their “Migrant Marriage and Birth Certification” to register her in the local school. She will be enrolled in a top elementary school—Xi’an Beilin District Friendship School. For the children of migrant workers, supplemental tuition, the various documents that need to be obtained, and adapting to local societies are still obstacles to obtaining an education.

On chinaSMACK:

January 7th, Shanghai. In a kindergarten classroom, the teacher directs the children to play a real estate trading game. Right now, to attend a public kindergarten in Shanghai, parents must own a house or be an invited special worker. Reality has let children realize the importance of owning a house at a very young age.

On chinaSMACK:

March 3rd, Wuhan. Caidian Central Elementary School teacher Guo Bingxian is arranging bricks for the children to cross the river. The bridge to Yaocao River was destroyed by a flood in 2008, and nobody has thought to repair it. More than 300 children must cross the river like this to go to school.

On chinaSMACK:

May 5th, Beijing. Fenhua Hope Elementary School. The children are using self-made watering cans to improve the humidity of the classroom. This run down school for children of migrant workers was built 12 years ago; the conditions are incomparable to the city’s public schools. Many children of migrant workers return to these schools even after they’d transferred to city public schools because they could not adapt.

On chinaSMACK:

September 15th, Changsha, 5 a.m. Five-year-old Mao Tun is sleeping in a tricycle. His mother, who is a city sanitation worker, is sweeping nearby. Like Mao Tun, China has 1.2 million children who come with their parents to cities in search of work.

On chinaSMACK:

August 13th, Huizhou, Guangdong Province. After a pig farm was demolished, a little girl uses a stick to look after her family’s pigs. When the industry was profitable, more than 400 pig farms sprang up in Tonghu Town. But in August of this year, the local government began to crack down on illegal breeding.

November 15th, Wangmuo, Guizhou. 12-year-old Cheng Zhenbo only turns on the light to study before going to sleep. The electricity bill at his family is only 0.1 RMB each month. This child in a poor Guizhou mountain village lost his father when he was 2. His mother remarried when he was 9. He lives alone with his two brothers.

On chinaSMACK:

April 29th, before the visiting Japanese Prime Minister arrives, a guard lets his comrade help him clean his boots. Each member of the guard wears out 7 pairs of boots every year.

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March 2nd, Beijing, the People’s Convention Center. The “Two Meetings” last preparation stages, a security personnel is on duty. The 2009 national “Two Meetings” took place with more than 3000 representatives. At the same time, more than 600,000 workers took on jobs in security and administration.

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August 11th, Anshan, Liaoning. Female worker Dong Weihua took off her mask at a 110-meter-tall mill. For 60 years, as China’s most important industrial base, more than 10 million people in the three northeast provinces have spent their youths at these mills.

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August 29th, morning. Beijing People’s Square. A bus of students from Beijing Industrial University. They, after just finishing the first National Day Parade rehearsal as the audience, slumped into sleep on the bus, being taken away from the square. The entire National Day Parade consisted of 180,000 participants and 60 decorated cars. Students from Beijing Industrial University endured 3 months of difficult training.

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November 7th, morning. Changsha, Human. Provincial Children’s Hospital Swine Flu Emergency Room. The patient is long asleep, nurse Ye Hui naps outside the room. “I’m afraid he’ll dislodge the pipe on the ventilator in his sleep. I have to be here all night.” This year’s pervasion of swine flu gave many health care professionals great pressure and dangerous occupational hazard.

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November 26th, Beijing Tiananmen Square. Sanitation workers congregate before beginning the day’s work. Every Year’s October holiday week, the workers face difficult cleaning tasks. This year, the 60th anniversary, 440,000-square-meter Tiananmen Square and the surrounding areas produce 31 tons of garbage every day.

March 17th, Zhejiang Art School, Chinese opera students nap on the classroom floor after lunch. In recent years, although the Chinese opera class uses free tuition and other benefits to attract talent, the decline of the stage has caused continued low enrollment. Sometimes they can only get rural kids from poor families. Their study lives are plain, and job opportunities few.

April 25th, 9 pm. Beijing’s final Number 4 bus takes off from the central station. Passenger Ms. Shun has been taking Bus 4 since 1979, today she hugs and says goodbye to Ms. Zhao, the ticket operator that she’s known for 30 years. In Beijing’s new bus route reform, Bus 4 will disappear on Changan Street, where it has operated for 30 years. Ms. Zhao will continue her career as a ticket operator.

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September 4th, Wenchuan premiere. The mobile movie theater is showing Jet Li’s “The Forbidden Kingdom”. On December 8th, the country’s first movie to set during the rebuilding of the Sichuan Earthquake started filming. In 2010, they will see their own story on the screen.

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December 16th, Huining, Gansu Province. Huining Second Middle School third year student Zhang Xuliang studies outside the window of a rented house. His grandmother Zhang Ruihua, who came to town to accompany him, works on some sewing. Huining, Gansu is a national level poverty county. Many rural families see supporting children to go to university as the main way to end their destitution. In town, there are a few “accompaniment villages” where thousands of parents live.

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Wu Zhen, 33, originally a nurse at Beijing Huaxiang Hospital. On April 10th, 2003, while interning at Beijing University People’s Hospital, she was infected by a SARS patient. Now she has ten cases of bone death. In Jan 2007, because her bones were severely degenerated, she underwent experimental bone transplant. After six years, SARS seems to have disappeared in the public eye. The overuse of steroids during the SARS epidemic is widely blamed as the real cause of patients’ bone deterioration.

December 2nd, Zhang Na rests outside her husband Zhao Peng’s hospital room so he doesn’t see her tiredness. Zhao, who only has a middle school education, used to be the local barefoot doctor. Nine years ago he alone took on the responsibility of being Guizhou Province Dafong County Youshan Village’s elementary school teacher. November of this year, Zhao was suddenly diagnosed with leukemia, struggling for life. 114 students will once again face not receiving an education.

March 22nd, Kunming. Journalist photographer Gao Yongyong climbed onto a building to shoot pictures of a fire. He accidentally fell and sustained grave injuries. Right before the fall, he reminded his colleague to “be careful, don’t fall down”. After waking up, his first words were “where is my camera?” Every year, countless reporters are violently attacked in different ways, some even lose their lives. Because of this, journalism is considered a high-risk job.

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May 30th, Yunnan Ruiliwanpan Port. Nine Chinese soldiers that have lived in Myanmar for more than 67 years return home. During the Sino-Japanese War, 300,000 KMT soldiers went to battle in Myanmar, more than 100,000 died, and thousands settled down there. Today, finally, falling leaves return to the root.

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August 19th, relocation of residents started at one of the sources for the Southern Water to North project. Xizhou County, Henan Province’s senior resident Wang Jiuqing watches as furniture is loaded onto a truck. In 2014, the Water Project will relocate 440,000 residents. Henan Xizhou County’s highest housing compensation is 450 RMB/square meter.

November 30th, Beijing Yangzha peninsula, a couple that just came from Hebei sits on the bike lane, waiting for friends to pick time up. In a metropolis like Beijing with 20 million people, there are countless youths that come here to chase their dreams every day.

December 5th, Hefei. Feng Lei and Li Peipei are in a house they share with others. They married in 2008, and will be able to move into a new apartment in a few months. For that apartment, they borrowed 800,000 RMB from their parents. Now, half of their income each month is used to pay the mortgage. When he mentions how he hesitated to buy an apartment at the beginning of the year, Feng Lei becomes frustrated. In the second half of this year, the entire country’s real estate prices rose sharply.

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March 31st, Beijing. A man posting ads on the wall jumps high, so that his ad will be safer, and won’t be ripped off. These blemishes in the city are a priority for city appearance law enforcement [chengguan], but these ads are a way to make a living for many with low income, and give many people information on housing for rent.

September 1st, Lanzhou train station, more than 1000 migrant workers going to Xinjiang to pick cotton are asleep on the ground. To harvest all of the cotton before they’re spoiled, more than 200,000 migrant workers rush to Xinjiang. What attracts them is that in the next 40 days, through working more than 10 hours a day, they will make 3000 RMB.

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Novembr 2nd, Guangzhou, 16 workers climb onto Haizhu Bridge, to ask for unpaid wages. Haizhu Bridge, located in the city center and built in 1929, has become the best location for petitioning for unpaid wages. The local traffic is often congested because of this, causing residents’ complaints.

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January 1st, Beijing Pi Village. A young worker is performing a song he wrote about working. In a year, they made three albums about working, and founded a working culture museum, using different temporary living permits to organize China’s migrant policies since 1949. a new generation of migrant workers use brand new ways to blend into the cities.

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September 1st, Beijing. Cui Ying, from Yanan, Shanxi, is with her husband and child, selling cut paper designs in front of a supermarket. Her husband and child are both diagnosed with a bone disorder, and the family came to Beijing in May to see a doctor. Cutting paper is Cui Ying’s skill, and the family’s only income source. One design sells for 10 to 100 RMB, but sometimes, she couldn’t sell a single one.

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December 19th, a garbage dump on the outskirts of Guiyang City. A family from a remote mountain village is tending to a fire. As the recycling industry grows, many realize that garbage is valuable. Therefore many take their families to live in a garbage dump, find the reusable items in the dump, and sell to recycling departments. Each person can make almost 1000 RMB every month.

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March 17th, Wuhan, a man is kneeling to the woman inside the cab, begging her to buy a newspaper. This man lives in Wuhan Danshuichi, his parents are long divorced and he has a mental disorder. He has always supported himself by selling newspapers.

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March 26th, Hangzhou, 42-year-old Qin stands in a building that’s waiting to be demolished. He’s leaving for Xinjiang the next day to be a paint worker. Due to the financial crisis, he lost his job two months ago and has been living in this building since. In 2009, prompted by 4,000,000,000,000 RMB of investment, the economy shows signs of recovery. The pending large-scale unemployment of migrant workers was diverted.

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February 3rd, Wuchang train station. 5-year-old Lou Jingjing and her two-and-a-half brother Lou Zaihua followed their parents onto the train back home. During the 2009 Chinese New Year, more than 192 million people took the train. During this time, in order to go home, millions and millions of migrant workers take their children, traveling between city and rural areas.

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August 2nd, Guangdong Dong Dongwan, Wu Yangshen kisses his daughter. The baby was born a month ago in Shilong People’s Hospital. Because of a medical mistake, she sustained severe brain damage. Facing expensive treatment fees, a complicated medical malpractice lawsuit, and difficult treatments, Wu Yangshen buckled under the pressure and posted on the internet his intention to kill the baby, but under the support of the media and netizens Wu has decided to persevere.

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August 30th, Hunan Changsha. An art major graduate of Changsha University, Yuan Chengxuing is working for a moving company. He’s graduated for 2 years, and this is his 7th job. He gets paid 1500 RMB per month. Two other university graduates hired by the company left after working for half an hour, but Yuan didn’t. He said he’d rather “eat bitterness” [endure hardship] than depend on his parents.

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October 31st, Wuhan. “Walking Mother” Chen Yurong wore out 4 pairs of shoes in 7 months. She walks 10 km everyday to reduce fat tissues in her liver so she can donate part of her liver to save her son, who has a congenital liver disease. November 3rd, her wishes were fulfilled and the operation was carried out.

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May 1st, Sichuan Beichuan. 43-year-old expectant mother Chen Rong is working to rebuild her home. Her son perished in the Sichuan Earthquake. After, she chose to become pregnant again. In places hit by the earthquake, many mothers that lost a child ignored the dangers of becoming pregnant at an advanced age and chose to give birth again.

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November 29th, Hubei Wuhan. 2010 exams to become a government official. That day, almost 1 million people took the exam to fight for 15,000 government positions. In the competitive job market, more and more university graduates chose to try for government positions.

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April 23rd, Beijing. Babaoshang Funeral Home, the only 2 “post-80’s” undertakers Zhang Yang and Zhang Qi work on the deceased. Discrimination used to make the funeral home an unpopular career choice, but the competitive job market and good benefits has made this job attractive in recent years. But for today’s youths, choosing this industry still requires considerable courage.

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June 5th, Sichuan Guangan, Migrant worker Li Jun who’s come back home listens intently in class. Because he lacks skills, Li Jun decided to go back to school after becoming unemployed in the coastal areas, hoping for a better future. Because of his age, he cannot absorb the material as fast, and the teacher often helps him outside of class.

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May 26th, Jiangxi Shangrao, 85-year-old Deng Yidong used 67 years to finish paying off his father’s old debt. In 1942, Deng’s father was killed by the KMT, leaving behind more than 10,000 RMB of debt. Deng worked very hard trying to pay off the debt, but was hindered by the Cultural Revolution and natural disasters. After 67 years, he finally paid back all of the 106 villagers who were his father’s creditors.

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September 22nd, Hunan Jizhuang Village. Yang Yunhua constructed a “breathing machine” from washing machine pipes and a bicycle to keep her severely ill daughter alive. China has already introduced collaborative medical insurance in the rural areas, but it’s not enough to cover a ventilator. Helpless, Yang’s family has decided to find ways of treating her daughter themselves.

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November 13th, Wuhan, Xiao Li waits in front of the market where she was abandoned, hoping to meet her biological parents. 24 years ago, Xiao Li was left by her parents on the street. Now, she has been diagnosed with leukemia, desperately needing blood relatives’ bone marrow donation. Almost in their 60’s, her adoptive parents are helpless as Xiao Li posts on the internet and waits at the market. “You abandoned me, but I’m still grateful that you gave me life,” Xiao Li says of her biological parents.

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May 8th, Chongqing, 43-year-old Li Hong from Hechuan walks into Yunnan Honghezhou Police station to turn himself in. 19 years ago, he fled after killing someone in a drunken rage. Although he missed his mother he didn’t dare contact his family. 19 years later he finally had the courage to turn himself in. Although it was a difficult decision, he could not escape his own conscience.

March 22nd, Beijing, a couple is receiving dialysis in a “self-help” dialysis room. A group of people from Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, and various other places who have kidney conditions, but cannot afford the hospitals’ dialysis fees, organized and built a “self-help” dialysis room, and signed an agreement. They know that this is illegal, but facing the high fees, they choose to break the law. They say, “Our principle is to survive.”

July 19th, Yunnan Shuifu, farmer Li Zhenqing turns on a light bulb in his dark home. Four months ago, he and 80 other migrant workers went to Anhui Fengyang to work in construction. Because of breathing in dust, many of them were diagnosed with lung conditions. They didn’t stay silent, but instead underwent an operation to inspect their lungs, using the law to gain a one-time compensation of 4.5 million RMB from the Fengyang government.

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