Home and Family Real Chinese

Family is the cornerstone of Chinese society.

But lifestyles and relationships are changing.

In this programme, young people in Beijing air their views on marriage,

meeting people and getting introduced,

and festivities at a wedding in the countryside.

The city of Beijing has embraced the 21st C.

With its sights set on the 2008 Olympics, and a population of 13m,

Beijing's fashioned itself into one of the world's leading capitals.

Recent years have seen the fabric of the city change out of all recognition.

Until the 1980s, most of Beijing's residents lived in one-storey houses,

along lanes known as hutongs.

Over the years, these hutongs have become so cramped and unsanitary,

that most have been demolished to make way for blocks of flats.

In some areas, people fight to hang onto homes they've lived in for generations.

Once, the majority of Chinese families lived in houses like this one,

the whole extended family gathered around a communal space and sharing their daily activities.

Nowadays though, the Yeo family are unusual.

Three generations of them still live in this courtyard house,

with Grandma Yeo as the head of the family.

The family.

Grandma.

Daughter.

Son.

Grandson.

My name is Meng Chao.

This is my mum.

This is my dad.

This is my grandma.

The Chinese philosopher Confucius taught that families have a duty to share their lives

and care for each other. Courtyard architecture makes this possible.

Nowadays, for a family to have so much room is a luxury.

Mrs Po's situation is more typical.

She's on the neighbourhood committee for the local community earning £50 a month.

She lives in just part of a former courtyard house.

Her husband's taken early retirement, and her 20-year-old son's still at college,

so money is tight.

They live in two rooms. Her son's bedroom doubles up as the living room and dining area.

Her lean-to kitchen's also the shower room.

The toilet's outside.

Despite all this, Mrs Po still prefers it to living in a modern block of flats.

While local people fight for their homes to be improved,

the historic heart of Beijing is gradually being taken over,

by super-rich newcomers from Hong Kong and Taiwan,

happy to spend huge sums on renovation.

In modern Beijing, money talks. Business and professional classes

are among the fastest-growing sectors of the population.

The Chinese are keen to show off their status,

and the various ways they introduce themselves are clear proof, if a touch confusing.

In professional circles, a man will often introduce his wife as "madam".

In Chinese...

This is my wife.

She's called Zhang Han Lu.

Another fashionable term for spouse among educated people...

..literally, loved one.

The formal word for mother.

Father.

Another way for a wife to refer to her spouse is...

..husband.

Thanks to population control, introduced in the late 1970s,

the modern city couple are likely to have just one child.

Many don't want any more for fear of reducing their living standards.

But these days, only children are often over-indulged,

and over-fed. Little emperors, the Chinese call them.

In the past it was considered vital to produce a son to look after you in old age.

Son.

I have.

I have one son.

More leisure time and spending power, along with images and ideas from the West,

are having a huge impact on male/female relationships.

Touching in public was once frowned on, or even punished.

Even holding hands was unacceptable.

Traditionally, couples would have been introduced by their families,

but now, young affluent Chinese are asserting their independence and choosing their own partners.

This man is a successful entrepreneur in his 30s.

He runs a fashion retail business in downtown Beijing.

He was born into a relatively prosperous family, and has one sister.

He's had a lot of pressure from his parents to get married, and start a family.

His friends share the same attitudes.

This man has been living with his girlfriend for three years

but they're not set on marriage or children.

And his family aren't putting any pressure on him.

To say you are married, say...

I'm married.

To ask the question, say...

Are you married?

I'm not married.

This is my girlfriend.

In the countryside near Beijing, population control has been less rigid,

yet few families choose to have more than two children.

Haizi means children.

This village lies in a mountain region 50km north of Beijing.

The area's recently been discovered by affluent city dwellers.

It's become a popular spot for weekend outings.

Nearly every house has turned itself into a restaurant or B&B.

Once the villagers had to make a living from corn and sorghum.

Now they grow a whole variety of crops designed to tempt the palates of city visitors.

Several thousand guests come to sample the rural pleasures of the village every year.

The shift from farming to tourism has made a big difference

to the status of women in the village.

Chairman Mao said that women hold up half the sky.

And in this village, it's never been truer than now.

As the status of women has changed, Western-style romance has become the fashion.

Most brides now dream of a white wedding.

Chinese traditions are still hanging on, though.

The bride's feet must not touch the ground.

Sadly for the groom, sedan chairs have long gone!

This couple live and work in Beijing, but they wanted their wedding celebrations back home.

WEDDING MARCH PLAYS

Four generations of relatives are present here. Great-grandma used to have bound feet,

and she can no longer walk.

The bride...

The groom...

The couple must first show their respects to their elders and all the guests.

Once they would have kowtowed on their knees.

Presenting a ring at the wedding is a new idea.

When public touching was forbidden, games like this were a way of teasing the couple.

Liu Yan and Zhu Haijiang have already had their civil marriage in Beijing.

HE SPEAKS IN CHINESE

Presents of money are the most likely gift to the newlyweds.

The precise ingredients of the wedding feast are important.

There must be six starters. Eight fried dishes, four steamed, and four stewed,

along with many other delicacies.

By the end of the day, 300 relatives will have eaten to their hearts' content.

Subtitles by Heather Middleton Red Bee Media

Email [email protected]