USTDC

Photo of USTDC courtesy of Les Duffin

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Up the Yangtze

Last night my wife and I watched an excellent film on PBS, one of their "P.O.V." series. The film was called "Up the Yangtzee" by filmmaker Yung Chang.

"Up the Yangtze" explores the impact of China's Three Gorges Dam project by following two Chinese teenagers who work on a Yangtze River cruise ship. One is the daughter of an impoverished farmer, the other is a son of China's new middle class.

We thoroughly enjoyed this film and highly recommend it. You can check with your local PBS station to find out when it's being shown again. The website for the film can be found here.

5 comments:

Sarj Bloom said...

I caught a little of the film last night. I went to the site and submitted my email for them to send me a reminder for the next time it will show on my local PBS station.
I love these kind of films. This is the only way I can afford to travel to places like this.
I enjoy seeing Chinese culture and families.

Sarj Bloom said...

The PBS link also has an excellent black and white slide show.

Don said...

Anyone who talks about poverty in America today needs to see little Cindy Yu Shui's family in this film. I think it's also supposed to be out on DVD this week.

Sarj Bloom said...

Do you think that our time in Taiwan made us so curious about Chinese culture and people?
I often wonder about this. I watch a lot of Chinese movies with sub titles also and really get into them.
Is it the mystery of the Orient? I know even as a child I had this wonder. Destiny?

Anonymous said...

Sarj hit on something. I have not seen the film, but I can say that any film on Taiwan or the mainland is sure to have all of the adults in my extended family gathered around the set to watch, Hong Kong included. When I step off the plane and ride into Taipei, I am relaxed, happy and have a feeling of peace about me, I am back home. How can a guy who grew up in Texas call Taiwan home? Home is where the heart is. That’s how. Beautiful Taiwan, great folks and a wonderful country.