LOOKING FOR CHINA GIRL – ANC X811P 71 10:00:00 ‘This World’ - Titles Sequence 10:00:08 A wedding in rural China. 10:00:15 It’s the simple dream of millions of young men. Xinhau: Can you find someone for me too? That would be great! Xinhau: I want to marry a woman, a commoner like me, as tall as me, a good house keeper who would give respect and love to my parents. 10:00:38 But the reality is, there are no longer enough girls to go round. Qing: They kidnapped and sold me just for money. They only cared about their damn money! They never cared about my feelings. 10:01:01 By 2020, the number of bachelors in China will be 40 million. 10:01:07 China’s fast becoming a bachelor society Title: Looking for China Girl 10:01:20 Modern China is booming - but behind the success is a problem… 10:01:29 25 years ago, China’s Communist government decreed that couples should have just one child. 10:01:36 The policy stopped the country’s spiraling birth-rate. 10:01:41 But Chinese tradition means couples want to have a son and not a daughter. 10:01:48 The result - millions more boys are now born each year than girls. 10:01:54 It’s creating an alarming imbalance. 10:02:03 Yaozi is a small farming village, in the centre of China’s vast countryside... 10:02:13 Xinhau Lu is 24. he still lives with his parents. Subtitles: (conversation between - Xinhau and his father) With all these roots in the soil, how will we grow corn here? Just plow like this, make it flat. I’m so tired! Would you like to farm here or go out and find a job in the cities? Going out is a little better. Any job outside is better than digging in the mud at home! 10:02:41 In China, they say to marry is to live; but the truth for Xinhau is that there are no longer enough women in his village to marry. Xinhau: Normally by the time boys are 22 and girls are 20, they would be married, but here a lot of boys are 23 or 24 and some are more than 27 and still don’t have a wife. In my current situation, no girl would be interested in marrying me. I have some dreams but maybe my dreams cannot come true. 10:03:21 His father can’t work in the fields anymore; he injured his back as a laborer in Tibet. Selling the rice from their fields brings in barely enough to feed their family. 10:03:34 Because his parents had just one child - Xinhau has been left with the sole responsibility of providing for them in their old-age. 10:03:45 Both Xinhau and his best friend Hongwei are only- children and bachelors, if the family line is to continue- it’s up to them to find wives. Subtitles: (conversation between Xinhua, Hongwei & Xinhua’s mother) I want to go out to find a job. I have a friend who’s been outside for three years. Friend: Has he found a wife? I mean, is he married? Xinhua: No, not yet. Friend: Busy making money outside? Xinhua - He built a 2-storey house after the first year, and he did the interior decorations the second year. And he is going to get married any day now. Mum: All the heavy burdens of my family are now on my son’s shoulders. If any girls see my house, no-one will respect him. The conditions are just too bad! Friend: Now they all try to go to the cities to work. Mum: Yes, no girls at home any more. Friend: Yes, most people of my generation are an only-child, and there are more men than women. Mum: And those girls that there are, those girls are so picky! Xinhau: I really need to earn more money and find a wife as soon as possible. I have all these dreams in my head but to live them is another story. A man’s dreams are limited by the reality of his life. 10:05:25 To try to fulfill their dreams, many young men like Xinhua will come here to the country’s big cities. 10:05:32 But here, 21st century China has a generation of women who are becoming more financially independent. 10:05:40 Economic growth has brought jobs and money. These women simply don’t need a husband. 10:05:46 Shao Ying enjoys a lifestyle that most people would be envious of. 10:05:50 She’s 32, a travel writer, and owns her own apartment. (pause) She’s also happy to be single. 10:05:59 A new City elite is being formed – a small number of educated young women are rejecting their traditional role. 10:06:08 Shao Ying and her friends have strong ideas about what they want. Shao Ying: If I got married, I’d still have my own interests. Love cannot be all of my life. I’ll write, read, and live my life. These aims will not change. I will never give up my dreams. Friend #1: People are always changing... Fu Ren But in reality, if I met a guy who was, for example, funny and had his own independent life, I'd be really interested in him! But if he ran after me every minute of the day, I’d get bored stiff. Friend #2 - Men are becoming more like women used to be.” They take less responsibility, while women have to take more and more. Some men hope that women not only earn money but will also do the housework. Shao Ying - Yeah, we should keep our independence. Imagine one day if I was dumped by my husband, I’d still have many options open to me. Fu Ren - Don't say “if he dumped you”. Maybe you’d be dumping him! But city women also face social pressure. 10:07:23 Shao Ying’s parents may be proud of her success - but they aren’t happy. They feel that at 32 she should already have married. Shao Ying: I love my mom, I don’t want her to worry about me, you know. She is always so proud of me I go to college I have good work, I make my life good here. The only thing she is unsatisfied with me is that I didn’t get married. Once she told me she feels shamed "it’s not only yourself it is also a family thing a marriage because you are one in the family.” And I tell my mom "Who will live with the guy all my life it’s you or me?" 10:08:10 She thinks based on her experience, she often asks me "What do you want indeed? – You see me, I marry a guy and I have a happy life, you can get along with anybody if you want, don’t be so picky!" After the calling, I really, I really cry sometimes you know she really makes me cry. Sometimes I refuse to talk to her about this. 10:08:45 Back in the village, one of Xinhua’s friends is coming home to get married. He’s been away working in the City. Xinhua: When I was invited to the wedding I was really happy. Xinhua: My friend earned a lot of money, and has come back to get married. 10:09:04 Xinhua and his mother set off to buy him a new jacket. His friend’s wedding will be Xinhau’s big chance to impress the few potential partners in his area 10;09:19 Across rural China, 200 million people live on less than fifty pence a day. The economic boom in Shanghai and Beijing hasn’t touched villages like Yaozi. 10:09:30 The average wage here is only 12 pounds a month; so for Xinhua, any purchase is a major investment. Mother: “It looks too expensive.” Xinhau: “We don’t have enough money?” Shop owner: “Pick any one, if you don’t like it, I’ll show you some others.” Shop owner: “I’ve got all the sizes you might need.” Shop owner: “Feel the quality. If you want a discount we can work something out.” Shop owner: “Try it on. If it’s too small, we have larger.” 10:10:10 Xinhua’s found the right jacket. It’s worth what his whole family would earn in two weeks:- but it’s a price worth paying if it gets him a result. Mother: “Are you sure you want this one, son?” Mother: “We really need to get something for you today.” 10:10:39 Weddings are a rare event here. Yaozi is known as a ‘bachelor village’, one of many across China. 10:10:47 The wedding of Xinhua’s friend, Yang, starts at his bride’s house. 10:10:52 From the moment she marries, Chan will be part of her husbands family – and in a country with no benefit system, the groom’s parents will expect the couple to provide for them in their old age. 10:11:04 As they leave the bride’s home for the last time, the groom, gives her uncle the traditional, token compensation for taking the family’s daughter away. Groom: “There you are. Stop that. Uncle: “I told you I don’t want it.” Groom: “Here my friend, take this.” Uncle: “Who are you calling a friend? I only came here for the beer!” 10:11:23 The uncle plays the game of refusing to accept... Groom: “Open your hand my friend.” Uncle: “Friend? Friend? You should call me uncle!” Uncle: “I don’t want it! I don’t want it!” Uncle: “I’ll walk away if you don’t stop this.” Uncle: “No I don’t want it! I don’t want it.” Uncle: “That wouldn’t be enough anyway”. Villager: “Now look, his hand is open now.” Villager: “What a good young man,” Villager: “What a truly good young man”. Uncle: “Thanks! Now be on your way.” Villager: “He likes to see everyone happy”. Bride: “I’m leaving now sister” Bride: “You guys, all of you; thank you very much!” 10:12:05 It’s now time for the couple to take their wedding presents and head to the ceremony. Everyone in the village will be invited. Xinhua: I was classmates with his bride in junior school. Xinhua: How nice it would be if I married such a good woman! Xinhua: Guys who leave the village for work in the city have much better marriage prospects than farmers. 10:12:39 The groom’s expensive new house and the preparations for the feast are a clear reminder of the wealth a job in the big city can bring. Man: “Hey, everybody. The wedding is going to start.” Man: “Hey, you over there! Come over here.” Man: “Hey, you over there, come over.” 10:13:05 The couple wear red –the traditional Chinese wedding colour - to signify prosperity for their future life. Man 2: “Welcome Mr. Shin Yang and Miss Ching Chan” Man 2: “A round of applause for the happy couple!” Man 2: “Now everybody lets welcome director Zhung Xing,” Man 2: “of the Municipal Family Planning Commission. Everybody clap” 10:13:36 Even here, government plays its part. A local official is on hand to present a gift – a collection of books on family planning. Zhung: “On behalf of my department, I would like to wish the couple happiness and a full life.” Man 2: “Now it’s time to show respect to your parents. First bow. Man 2: “Second bow.” Man 2: “And the third bow!” 10;14:11 Xinhua looks on, wondering whether this will ever happen to him. Man 2: “Second bow.” Man 2: “This is a good thing!” Man 2: “And the third bow!” Man 2: “Drink the toast! Drink the wedding toast!” 10:14:48 Wearing his new jacket, Xinhua has high hopes for the day too. Hongwei: “Congratulations! Good luck!” Xinhau: “Congratulations.” Xinhau: “Can you find someone for me, too? That would be great!” Woman: “Hey, you two, enjoy yourselves! Have fun!” 10:15:18 But, 25 years on the results of the State’s family planning are clear -in Yaozi there aren’t enough girls to go round. 10:15:27 As the lucky couple drink a toast, Xinhua sits at an all-male table – with no-one to impress. Xinhau: “We congratulate you,” Xinhau: “and wish you a happy honey moon.” Xinhau: I think he was very lucky to marry such a nice woman. They will have a good life. Xinhau: When I earn enough money I will repair the house and buy some furniture. Xinhau: I really feel that I should leave the village, but I feel so uncertain. Xinhau: I know everything will be different, my whole world will change quite suddenly. 10:16:23 But back at his home matters are being taken out of Xinhua’s hands. (pause) The wealth on display at the wedding has prompted his parents to come to a decision: 10:16:36 Many of his friends have made the journey to the cities. They feel it’s time for Xinhau to do the same. 10:16:42 They realise never going to attract a wife in his current circumstances. Dad - "Why not go out to the city and find a job yourself, as everyone else has done?” Xinhua - "Okay. I have a good friend working in Shanghai.” Dad - "You’ve been staying at home year after year, and not making a lot of money.” "You’re more than twenty years old now, not a child any more.” "I’m in a lot of pain, so I can’t do heavy work now.” Mum - "We depend on you to make money for the family." "We are getting old and can’t make much money now.” Xinhua - "Yes Mum, I know.” "I want to go out to make money too." "but if I’m far away from you, I’ll worry about you." Dad - "There is no need to worry about us. Take it easy." Xinhua - "Let me see when I could leave." Mum - "Don't be shy when you leave home." Xinhua – “OK.” Mum - "I know some young men in the village that have brought home girlfriends they met in the cities.” Dad - "Don’t be shy. Why would you be shy about finding a wife?” "Everyone has to do it!” 10:17:58 Though under pressure from his parents, Xinhua wants to find the right partner. But the lack of available women is leading others to more desperate measures …. Police: “Don’t Move! It’s the Police.” Get down. Police: “Stay down!” 10:18:23 There’s a darker side to finding a wife in modern China 10:18:27 This police footage shows a raid to rescue young women who’ve been kidnapped. Police: Don’t move! Police: Everybody out. Girls, hurry up and put on your clothes on. Prisoner: Please ... 10:18:55 The police had broken up one of the biggest wife trafficking rings in the country, freeing 22 abducted women from all over China. 10:19:06 These women were to be sold as brides, satisfying China’s ever- growing bachelor population. 10:19:23 The government has cracked down on the trade – publicizing arrests and death sentences. 10:19:29 Kidnapping is big business. 10:19:34 Over the last 4 years, the government says it has rescued more than 20,000 women. Though that’s believed to be just a tiny proportion of those kidnapped, officials claims the crack down has been successful. But the reality is that in the countryside the trade is thriving. 10:19:56 Qing Yang was kidnapped at sixteen, lured away from home by the false promise of a job... Instead, she’d been sold by a middle man to a desperate bachelor. Qing: I had been kidnapped to be married into another family. Qing: When I heard that I started crying, and knelt down begging them to let me go home. Qing: But they refused to let me go, they dragged me to a small room and locked me up. Qing: I was in the room alone. I cried and shouted all day, begging them 'Please, please let me go!’ Qing: They wouldn't let me go home and didn't unlock the door. 10:20:44 Qing wasn’t rescued by the police, instead her family had to hire a private detective. 10:20:51 After a member of his own family was abducted, Zhu Wenguang has spent the last ten years helping families to trace their kidnapped daughters. 10:21:01 It took months of detective work to locate Qing. He rescued her and bought her back here to her home Zhu: “The man who bought your daughter is called Gong Yaoqiang.” Zhu: “His brother worked in a local courthouse. So the police wouldn't help me.” Zhu: “They said they would rescue her. But I didn't believe them.” Zhu: “In my experience, local corruption can be a serious problem.” Zhu: “When I got there, the police wouldn't let me out of the car, so I said I wanted to go to the toilet.” Zhu: “So once I got out and round the back of the house, I could see them dragging a girl away.” Zhu: “I went over to them and showed the girls picture. This proved to them that this was the girl I was trying to rescue.” Zhu: “It seems Gongs family abused her. She tried suicide, she hurt herself and drank poison.” Qin: I was young at the time, I had never been away from my parents. When he beat me I wouldn't obey. Qin: I tried to cut my wrists to kill myself. Later I tried drinking pesticide, but that didn't work either. Qin: The family smelt the pesticide and broke down the door with an axe Qin: …they rushed into the room and took me to the hospital to get my stomach pumped. Qin: Finally I recovered from the poison. 10:22:42 Before being rescued, Qing was raped ---forced for 6 months to live as the wife of the man who bought her. Mr. Zhu - “She didn't eat anything on the journey here.” Mother - “She’s lost her appetite.” Mr. Zhu - “Has she seemed ok?” Mother - “Yes, fine.” Mr. Zhu - “She’s been through many trials and tribulations.” Mother - “Yes.” Mr. Zhu - “If she has any problems, as her younger brother, you should help her.” Mother - “Actually she really helps us!” Mr. Zhu - “As long as she is well, I can rest my heart.” 10:23:24 Qing was once a valuable commodity as a potential wife and mother but now after her experience, she’s stigmatized - tarnished goods in the market for wives. Zhu: “How have you been since you came back?” Girl: “My life feels terrible. No way out.” Girl: “I feel completely drained.” Zhu: “Life is always going to be hard, little one” 10:23:48 Dub this section: Qing: It’s much better at home, my parents are here and can help me whatever happens. Qing: But I suppose life must go on. 10:24:00 Zhu the detective has suffered too - physically attacked by families and officials for doing his job. 10:24:07 He feels the government’s crackdown on wife trafficking isn’t working in the countryside. Zhu: I have personally rescued more than one hundred women since 1994. Zhu: And that’s excluding all the cases I have worked on in cooperation with other counties! Zhu: Usually the buyer knows little about the law. Zhu: Human beings should not be traded as goods. Zhu: They’re an advanced species, not some form of property. Zhu: The fact that I have had to do this job for a long time shows that the law is unsound and is not respected. Zhu: In the past the buyer wouldn’t even be punished. Zhu: Now the law declares that the buyer will be punished and perhaps even executed! Zhu: It’s very simple that if there’s no buyer, there is no trader, no market for human beings 10:24:59 Qing’s story isn’t unusual. A young woman can easily fetch £600 on the market. 10:25:08 And they’re not just sold as brides- many are simply forced into prostitution. Qing: I don’t think the problem is the number of women. Qing: In the country the girls don’t go to school and know little of life. Qing: Educated girls learn about everything, I was sheltered, ignorant knew nothing of such things. Qing: I can’t understand it, I suppose they kidnapped me for money. Qing: They just wanted money for me, they only ever thought of money. Never cared about my feelings. 10:25:56 Back in his village, Xinhua has come to decision. To find a wife – he must leave home for the first time in his life. 10:26:06 Everyone talks of the construction boom in Beijing and the thousands of jobs available there for young men. 10:26:14 If he can survive for one year and save his wages, he might be able to persuade a girl to marry him and look after his family. Hongwei: “Contact me when you arrive. Good luck!” Villager 1: “Hope you find work soon.” Villager 2: “You should make the most of this opportunity.” 10:26:50 Xinhua’s mother is sending her only son away from the village to a City she’s never even seen. 10:26:58 It’s in rural China where the shortage of girls to marry is most acute. Tradition has always held that sons – who do the farm work – are better than daughters. 10:27:16 This ritual is a common one in the countryside. A family is praying to Buddha that their grandchild will be a boy. 10:27:24 Each of the phallic carvings mark a son born to a family. The posts serve as a thank you for a blessing given. 10:27:32 It’s been this way for centuries– only now, it’s more complicated. 10:27:38 This traditional desire for sons - combined with the one-child policy – has made people desperate to make sure that their one child will be a boy. 10:27:49 Here in Peng Shui County, for example, the figures are shocking. Just two years ago, twice as many boys were born here - as girls. 10:27:58 One reason is that many female foetuses are being illegally aborted, and some new- born girls are murdered or left to die. 10:28:08 Weiye Yang is head of the government’s family planning team here. It’s their mission to stop this. Worker #1 - "We have to monitor babies throughout all pregnancies.” "Even if they die, we have to know where they’re buried.” Worker #2 - "There is option of abortion.” Worker #1 - "Except where abortion is needed for medical reasons,” "and then certificates must be issued by the major hospitals.” 10:28:34 New ultra-sound technology has helped parents to tell the sex of their unborn child. It’s a problem for Mr. Yang and his team. Mr. Yang - "We haven't received a single report of ultrasound scanning since we established the reporting system.” "Nobody is willing to report.” Worker #1 - "Nobody is willing to report.” Mr. Yang - "It is really hard to track down the illegal scanning.” "The doctors can easily tell the parents their baby’s gender with a wink or a change of their tone." "But now our tracking service from pregnancy to birth is really effective in tackling illegal abortion." 10:29:18 To ensure couples don’t abort their daughters, the government has made it a law that they register any pregnancy. 10:29:25 Downstairs one couple is enrolling for the ‘tracking service’. Yang and his team will monitor the pregnancy to ensure girls aren’t aborted - or neglected after they’re born... Mr. Yang - "We say it's critical to educate the farmers. Chairman Mao repeated this for many years.” "But farmers do have their own particular difficulties. We always work in rural areas, and know that well. " Worker #2 - "Especially in poor mountainous areas like our region.” "People’s views are stuck in the past.” "If the family has only one child, and that child is a girl,” "how will the parents manage when they’re old and on their own?” "Now the government policy is to subsidize them at that time -” "although they don't have a son, they will receive benefits. " 10:30:22 China’s family planners have launched the “care-for-girls” program. Its slogans are everywhere - trying to raise the status of female children. Subtitle “‘Caring For Girls is Caring for The Nation’s Future.” 10:30:36 Part of Mr. Yang’s job is to promote this vision. Today he’s off to visit a family with two daughters. 10:30:46 The urgent need for more girls in Rural China means that here: if your first child is a girl, you are now allowed to have a second. 10:30:55 That’s why this family’s been chosen - as a showcase, for Mr. Yang’s team. "Is the local government giving you two-daughter families some incentives and favours?” Grandma - "Yes, they are. They often visit us and see the girls. They are really considerate.” "These days the government is taking good care of us. Nobody cared about us like this in the past." Mr. Yang - "So, do you think boys and girls are just the same?” Grandma - "Girls are even better!” 10:31:43 As a bonus for having daughters, all the furniture in this room has been paid for by Mr. Yang’s department. Subtitle “Care For Girls Programme” Mr. Yang - By educating the people that it is all the same to have boys or girls, we make the people realize that both boys and girls are the future of our country and that both genders carry the hopes of the Chinese people. This way we break the millennium-old notion of preferring male to female. 10:32:17 Mr. Yang’s next stop is in a much poorer area. 10:32:21 Here, another family with two girls is struggling to survive. The father is blind and can’t work. But now they can look forward to an annual pension, just for having two daughters. 10:32:34 And an appearance by Mr. Yang at their home also raises their status in the community. 10:32:40 He doesn’t come empty-handed. Blind Dad - "Would you like a cigarette?” Mr. Yang - "How many children do you have?” Blind Dad - "I have two daughters.” "The older one went out to work when she was only 15.” "I was disabled and couldn't make money.” "So she had to leave home." "and she found some work and she supported us." Mr. Yang - "Is she back home now?” "No, she’s not.” Mum - "This is the youngest one, here... " "No, over there! " Blind Dad - "She’s studying at a school in the town.” Mr. Yang - "Are all the fees waived?” Blind Dad - "Yes, that is the case.” 10:33:35 The “Care-for Girls” program has also begun to pay for the younger daughter’s schooling. It’s hoped that education will improve her prospects. Dad: "Make sure you study hard!” Dad: Daughter, you have to know that the government’s policies bring us a lot of new hopes and happiness.” Dad: “Bring us warmth. Make sure you learn from those good students at school.” 10:34:06 Back in the village at Yaozi, the efforts of the care – for- girls program have come too late for Xinhua’s mother. 10;34:14 She’s now left childless while her only son travels to the city. She was part of the first generation of parents to be forced to have just one child. 10:34:34 In the provincial capital, Chongqing, hundreds of thousands of workers are heading back after Chinese New Year. 10;34:44 Xinhua has got this far - but he still has an 800-mile train journey to reach Beijing. He’s part of the largest flow of people in the world - 80 million Chinese crossing the country to work... Xinhua v/o: I need to get to Beijing to find a job, but I worry about my parents. 10:35:21 His parents have saved up enough money for his ticket but little else. 10:35:27 When he arrives Xinhau will have no friends or family in Beijing. He’ll be alone in a city of over 14 million people. Xinhau: I feel Beijing is a strange city to me. Xinhau: I just arrived and I don’t know anybody. Xinhau: The environment is very noisy and dirty compared to my home town. Xinhau: There are a lot of cars and a lot of people, Xinhau: …but I have no friends here. Xinhau: I feel a little tense in my heart, a bit jittery. Xinhua: but the city is ok, there is money. 10:36:55 In the cities, the gender imbalance is less obvious than in the country - the sheer number of people here helps to disguise it. But it still exists. And for city women like Shao Ying, with money to buy the goods they want, it provides even more freedom to choose the right partner. Shao Ying: “May I try this on?” I enjoy dating and (laughs) it’s very interesting to see different guys and they help me to find out about myself, I know what really like and what I don’t like much. There are many girls like me you know, they try to spend more good time, that’s more important than just marriage. Whatever you know, marriage is a long term goal and you don’t have to propose that at the beginning, the most important is to try to spend more good time together. My trouble, sometimes I feel: it is not because I have no choice – but I have too many choice. 10:38:07 Though Shao Ying’s happy just to keep dating - her parents are still anxious for her to find a husband. Tonight, she’s going out with an American, who’s she met through her work. I worked as a business journalist before and er, I response for multinational companies, their business in China so, by my work I met a lot of Western people and also I am interested in different cultures. Tonight I am going to see a nice guy, erm yeah it’s a date. 10:38:50 This is the new face of modern China. The nightlife and entertainment scene is undergoing something of a revolution. Educated, city women suddenly find themselves with money to spend. 10:39:03 With attitudes more liberal than in the past, they’re able to go out and have fun – with Western men as well as Chinese... Shine: Fine, I’m sorry for being late. Lance: Did you have trouble finding the place? Shine: No, no, it was very easy I got here. 10:39:20 As a travel writer, with experience of life abroad - Shao Ying and her date quickly find common ground... She’s already had a European boyfriend. 10:39:30 Only ten years ago, dating was for the sole purpose of finding a husband, if a woman saw different men it would not be seen as decent. Shine: Thank you very much. Oh I think I like this guy, err, I like the humour he has, I enjoy the conversation very much. He told me that he hasn’t met such girls like me. But I told him there are a lot of such girls, I am just one of them. 10:40:23 Shao Ying told her date about the book she’s planning to write on Vietnam. I told him that I am going to Vietnam for this work. He told me, he told me maybe I should go with him and he can help me to carry my luggage or something. Yeah maybe, someday… 10:40:51 But Xinhua and millions of men like him still face a hard task of trying to impress an ever smaller field of possible future wives. 10:41:07 He’s finally found a job on a construction site - living in a dormitory with 3 other country boys. 10:41:15 The work is seven days a week, 11 hours a day – all for 2 just pounds a day. If he can last out here till next Spring, then perhaps he can head home with enough cash to impress a potential wife. 10:41:35 In Beijing alone there are 850 000 migrant workers like Xinhua, - an army of single, young men channeling their energies into the construction industry as the trillion dollar Chinese economy continues to boom skyward. 10:41:52 With the Olympic Games coming to China in 2008, construction of new hotels and housing has exploded. 10:42:00 It’s a completely different world from the village at Yaozi he left behind. Xinhua: It was very hard to find a job, especially since I knew no one here. Xinhua: I had to ask about job opportunities at all the building sites by myself. Xinhua: Its ok that I didn’t know anyone when I first came here. It will take some time to make close friends. Xinhua: My workmates are from all over the country. Xinhua: We are getting along well with each other now. Xinhua: I missed my family a lot when I first arrived, but not so much now. Xinhua: It will be better over time I’m sure. 10:42:57 Xinhua’s been in Beijing a week and is slowly adjusting to life away from his home and his family. But at least he can still text a few friends in the village. Xinhua knows that, in the next twelve months, the money he saves could be crucial. 10:43:17 But at this time of year, the temperature at night on the building site can drop to -10. There’s different food, long hours and the punishing work ---it’s all a culture shock. Xinhua: “Its my first time in Beijing.” Boy#1: “Your first time?” Xinhua: “The first time.” Boy#1: “Beijing is a good place.” “All those beautiful girls everywhere on the streets.” Xinhua: “How many years have you been here? " Boy #1: “This year is my second year. " Xinhua: “Your second year?” Boy#1: “Yes Xinhua: “Its just too windy here!” Boy #1: “Yes.” Boy#1: “It’s a suburb, what a bloody place!” Boy#2: “Do you feel cold at night?” Xinhua: “Yes, a little bit.” Boy#2: “Then buy another quilt” Boy#1: “Are you married yet? " Xinhua: “No, not yet.” Boy #1: “No girlfriend either? " Xinhua: “No,I haven't found a suitable one. " Boy #1: “May I introduce one to you? " Boy#1: “I’ll introduce you to one next time.” Boy#1: “What type of girl do you like?” Xinhua: “I just want her to be sincere. An ordinary girl is just fine.” Boy#1: “I see, you want her heart right?” Xinhua: “Yes.” Xinhua: “Now all the girls want to move to the cities.” Boy#1: “Yes that’s true.” Xinhua: “Their mindsets have changed. There’s not much to do in the countryside. They don’t know how to farm now.” 10:44:53 Across town, Shao Ying’s decided that for the moment she would rather head to Vietnam and continue working than settle down. I enjoy my single life actually, I can do anything I want, I can go travel and meet different friends in my trips. I will go to Vietnam first, I plan to write a book about this country. 10:45:21 As a writer, Shao Ying at least has the freedom to travel – to escape the demands of a society that still sees marriage as the best thing she could ever achieve. I can keep away from the pressure and enjoy my lifestyle. 10:45:37 For Xinhua the issues are more basic. He just doesn’t want to become what the Chinese call “a bare branch” – a man without children. 10:45:49 But without his family and familiar life – he’s finding the city very difficult. Fade to black 10:45:58 Two months have passed…Xinhua’s given up his dreams in the capital and returned home. 10:46:07 He’s come back to find the house empty. His parents have left for Tibet to find work - in the hope of improving their son’s situation. 10:46:16 But Xinhau won’t be going back to Beijing. Xinhua: From the moment I got there, I never felt I belonged. Xinhua: By the time I left, the weather was far colder than anything I’m used to. Xinhua: It was snowing and I was freezing. Xinhua: It can’t be good for people’s health to work there for a long time. Xinhua: I don’t have a girlfriend yet. Xinhua: Girls nowadays have very high expectations. Xinhua: You have to have own a house and it’s got to be nicely-decorated Xinhua: It has to be good enough for them to be satisfied. Xinhua: What girl would ever fancy me? Xinhua: I can’t provide her with anything. She wouldn’t have a comfortable life with me. Xinhua: I can’t get a job that will let me make enough money, Xinhua: I feel pain in my heart. Xinhua: But I will keep on trying. 10:47:45 Across the country, millions of men like Xinhau are in the same situation, competing for fewer and fewer available women. 10:47:55 The Chinese government admits that if trends continue, by the time these boys are ready to marry – there’ll be over 40 million more men than women. 10:48:10 The construction boom will keep the single men of China occupied for now- but even those who persevere… may never find a girl to marry.. END CREDITS 1