Spring Festival in a Chinese village fifty years ago

Can you guess what a Chinese New Year celebration was like for a little girl in a village in Qinghai in the 1970s? In this video my mother-in-law takes us on a trip where she lets us explore the food, the games and the atmosphere of the Spring Festival when she was a little girl. My mother-in-law was born in 1966, one of nine sisters. She has lived her entire life in this village and has experiences many changes during her life time so far - and judging by how fast things are changing in rural China now, there are still many more to come.
See previous Chinese New Year videos from me here: • Chinese New Year Celeb...
See more videos with my mother-in-law here: • My Chinese mother-in-l...
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› ABOUT ME
My name is Miriam Follin. I’m a Swedish woman who has been living in-between Sweden and China since 2015. In 2017 I married my husband Yonghong, and we have since had two baby boys. In my videos I share life, culture and tradition (including food!) from China's countryside.
Thank you for watching!
00:54 Shuttlecock/Jianzi/键子
02:01 How she lived
02:57 A new year approaching
03:39 Clothing during Chinese New Year Celebrations
05:12 badge with Grandpa Mao
05:59 Bantang/Mianhuhu/拌汤/面糊糊
11:13 Nuonuo/熬熬
17:11 Mother-in-law and her sisters
17:41 Game: Tossing coins
20:05 Yangge/秧歌/Rural Performances
22:15 Then vs. now

[@Leo-uh8fu]

I really admire your courage to stay in the rural area in North West China, and thank you so much for presenting so many touching and real documentary. Keep the passion, and stay positive.

[@brendanmorin9935]

Her family lives in Sichuan which is in the Southwest, not Northwest of China

[@MiriamFollin]

Actually we live in Qinghai which is northwest 😊

[@juliegoodwin6850]

Well said!

[@jessiehorne]

Amazing video Miriam always ☺️ Thank You to the both of you Miriam

[@MiriamFollin]

Thanks to you too Jessie! I'll be posting a Patreon link to my next video soon, it is also about my mother-in-law!

[@joannpyne1480]

Say thank you to your Mother-in-Law. She is such a beautiful woman, she radiates love. Thank you for the video.

[@tanyabriggs8969]

Beautiful. Your in-laws remind me so much of my rural grandparents and their life during the depression. I grew up learning so much from them on farming, harvesting, and how to make do without "grocery stores". Their diet was heavily corn and bean based which we grew and had to depend on when the hog market collapsed. The hogs were how they could buy new cloth and shoes. But gov stopped that so family survived picking crops.

[@deborahleclair6173]

Hi from France, Nice to have you and your family back.💯💯Your mother in law is exceptional

[@MiriamFollin]

She sure is!

[@peggyclio1199]

So sweet heating her story, her memories. Everywhere we are loosing the contact with natural life and natural cicles.... You pictures are always delicate and beatyful

[@AkiraYC88]

I love to hear your mother in law's story, she has such a gentle soul. And again this video was shot beautifully it brings me calm and peacefulness. May you and your family be blessed with good food and good health as always.

[@gloriastone3211]

What a beautiful video Miriam. Thank you to your dear mother-in-law for sharing her stories as a young child. Things were maybe more difficult than now but there was still joy and happiness. Sending love to you and Yonghong and the whole family.

[@colonylaser4860]

My god! Listening to your mother-in-law's description, it was a miracle the whole of China didn't completely collapse onto itself during those hard years. There was a time after finding of the CCP when the country was squeezed in from every direction. From the disastrous falling out with the Soviet Union after the death of Stalin, when not only all aid and technical assistance were cut off, but the Kremlin was seriously considering the use of nuclear weapons on a near genocidal degree. At the same time there's the continuous military pressure and total trade sanction by the West, Taiwan, and even India. The escalation in Vietnam with the full might of the American military going all out bombing day and night right outside the border. Then there was the Great Chinese Famine, a result of the failed Great Leap Forward, the seemingly endless cycle of starvation brought on by both man-made as well as natural disasters: the Cultural Revolution, Yellow River flooding in Henan, the Tangshan Earthquake, and the Banqiao Dam failure in the 70s, and so on and on. China and her people were literally hanging on by the fingernail off the last pinkie. Gives me goosepimples to think how far did her people travel to get to the high-tech cities of today from the late 1830s beginning with the First Opium War. 200 years; it almost took nearly 200 years.

[@kingmanL7309]

Very good summary! Poverty that three year duration from late 1959 was also in part the consequences of the great leap campaign

[@k.k.c8670]

Life was very, very tough in China 50+ to 60+ years ago, even more so in the rural areas. These are hardy people.

[@MiriamFollin]

They sure are, life was definitely not easy, and still isn’t! But it looks different from back then.

[@nosuchpersonexisted]

Still tough in rural areas now.

[@k.k.c8670]

@@nosuchpersonexisted sure but not in the same way. There is no famine. There are services provided. Land you can cultivate for yourself. . And rural life is tough in most countries anyway.

[@nosuchpersonexisted]

@@k.k.c8670 Most countries?Why are you holding China at a low standard? Shouldn't the world's No. 2 economy be able to raise the living standards of its rural people? Especially when China is giving out billions to poor countries, spending billions on internal security, and billions on the military. Chinese rural people should have better lives.

[@k.k.c8670]

@@nosuchpersonexisted what did your own country achieve in the span of a single generation (or at most 1.5)? China has spent far more on poverty alleviation domestically than it has on the military or on foreign aid/investments. As an example, China spends a mere 1.8% of its GDP on the military. Quite a bit less than the 2.3% that the UK spends on that and the almost 4% the US does. The UK was last invaded 800 years ago. China, less than 100 years ago. China has dozens of foreign bases literally surrounding it today. Why do the UK and US need to spend so much on their militaries when their cities are littered with homeless tent people? You are asking the wrong questions, pal. China has done a phenomenal job lifting people out of poverty, providing over 800m of them (about the same number as the entire US and EU combined total population) with modern education, healthcare, electricity, potable water, sanitation system etc etc... All in 30 odd years.

[@cassiezhouzhou]

Beautiful and high quality video ❤ vividly captured story ❤

[@MiriamFollin]

❤❤❤

[@DeliaLee8]

Thank you for another gorgeous video! I learned a lot as always. And thank you to your mother-in-law for sharing her life stories with us.

[@MiriamFollin]

Thank you for watching! ❤

[@banshong3997]

Wow what a great video. Glad you have a chance to interview your mother in law and bring together the food, practices and activities of those olden times when even though they're poor but at least they had families, relationships and shared difficulties and practices to keep them all together. I remember growing up poor when compared to now but we never felt we're poor Anyway a heartfelt thank you to you for showing us what life was like and my admiration of you for loving this life in far away Qunghai and making for yourself a happy close family ❤❤❤👍👍👍🙏🙏🙏

[@yvonnebirch6026]

Hi Miriam, so good to see your Chinese family again. I hope you are well and happy in the city ? You must miss the interaction with your family ? Much love from California ! 🇳🇱💕🌷🙏🇳🇱

[@MiriamFollin]

Hi, thank you! We are happy in the city, the kids love their school! And we still see each other every weekend so far, sometimes even during the week ❤ The village is only a forty minute drive.

[@xujunling]

very impressive and inspired👍

[@mamieguoguo]

上世纪八十年代以前老百姓生活都比较贫穷，平时没什么好吃的，有的家庭甚至吃不饱饭，就盼着过年能吃好吃的，还有新衣服穿，所以大人小孩都盼着过年🧨现在生活好了，想吃啥吃啥，想穿啥穿啥，又不让放鞭炮🧨，年味少了很多

[@Elsa20232]

Miriam's mother in law always makes me think about my aunt, Who's my father's bigger sister, She's a sunshine in my dark childhood, I couldn't stop my tears, I miss her so much

[@MiriamFollin]

I'm so sorry that you lost her, your childhood sunshine. Lots of love to you ❤

[@darthvadeth6290]

Grandma looks so strong and healthy 😂😂

[@MiriamFollin]

She is super strong!

[@injunnfuz6698]

Memories are unforgettable. Yr mother in law is such a wonderful down to earth person

[@MiriamFollin]

She sure is! ❤

[@margm.8644]

Hi Miriam ,Nice to hear & watch your family video , how your mother-in-law cooks & the bond with your in laws & the whole family its lovely. God Bless .

[@AppleXTaku]

Why doesn't youtube recommend this channels videos?

[@suzannes5888]

Hi Miriam and Family! Love from Washington DC❤

[@MiriamFollin]

Thank you 🙏

[@xyyyyx3247]

I remember in the 1980s, when we flew to China to visit our grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We packed our cases with old clothes we had out grown and give it to our counsins. We lived in South Africa.

[@MiriamFollin]

So much has changed since! Today people really look down on used clothes - secondhand hasn't really taken root here yet. My husband sometimes even complains that I hand our youngest the clothes of his older brother! I think now that people can afford new clothes, hand me downs reminds them too much of previous struggles.

[@xyyyyx3247]

@@MiriamFollin , yes... smart clothes seldom worn were save to be used by the next child. We were 3 boys and suits were worn by all three of us. Then pack off to China. For the younger cousins there. 😅🤣

[@MiriamFollin]

@lmtb6349 I can totally see that! It’s the same with toys actually for us, I don’t often buy toys, and if I do usually for something special like birthday. But Yonghong buys a bit more, and does let them drive in those cars in the shopping mall etc. he never did that as a child, and he never had toys, so it makes him so happy that he can provide it finally.

[@Jin-o9u]

Dina söner kommer växa upp och bli ödmjuka unga män, något som saknas i väst ❤

[@Lawel-i7n]

I don’t care used or not, some of my new clothes are never worn because I don’t like to wear them but some I wear again and again.

[@karenavey2183]

Superb documentarian!

[@MiriamFollin]

Thank you so much! ❤

[@MonicaJohansson-o2c]

So very interesting to follow your life in China. So different from the life we have in Sweden. Sometimes the simple life is so much better, to learn from the elderly so it won't be forgotten.

[@看世界-f7m]

动人的故事， 非常棒的拍摄

[@AL-jm7bx]

我也是很喜欢她的拍摄

[@IleanaSutLenaQuilt]

Thank you for sharing your family memories with us. Every time I watch your films, I realize how similar people's lives are in essence, regardless of the country .Kind regards from Romania.

[@yuandeng9152]

拍出了纪录片的感觉质量很高

[@MiriamFollin]

非常谢谢！❤ 我的梦想就是做纪录片

[@gabrielle-uk3nl]

Love from Norway❤

[@MiriamFollin]

🥰🥰🥰

[@yvonnebirch6026]

I watched this again. To see your beautiful boys and also because I love your mother in law. She reminds me of my beloved mother in law. She went through hardships as a young girl from Hungary sent to the Netherlands to regain strength after WW2. She never went back. She was caring and helpful and kind. She listened . Even at my age of 88, I still miss her. She will always be my inspiration. You are a lovely daughter in law Miriam ! 💕🌷🇳🇱

[@openzzf9937]

建国后到60年代，虽然被很多人说的不堪，但那个时代是中国最敢生育，最能生育的时代，这些爷爷奶奶辈现在都60-70谁，普遍都有3-7个兄弟姐妹，而且多数都活下来了。到70年代-90年代，城市很多都是独生子女，农村还有1-3个子女。过了2000年，不婚不生就开始出现，但城市里除了独生子女也有的家庭出现2-3个孩子。

[@engineeress007]

不奇怪啊，生活很困难存活率很低的生活，繁殖率会高，这样才能保障生存率，这是生物本能，是自然规律。

[@openzzf9937]

更大的原因是摆脱几十年的战乱，突然有了土地，文娱还没跟上，节育还没普及，天黑了生孩子变成必然。就算现在沿海很多老人回忆那段日子，都说渔获很便宜，而且很丰富。大带鱼才几分钱，那是自然资源丰富，刚刚开始学会机捕的时代，而且还没有速冻冷库。

[@PSAndPowerBI]

Good, calm and appreciate

[@meganmcdermott7538]

Your mother-in-law is such a lovely woman. Thank you for sharing her memories & experiences with us. Please give her heart-felt greetings & wishes for a happy and prosperous new year from OHIO, USA.

[@seowhongtcheau9727]

The endearing stories and the amazing cinematography!! Your work of love is conveying so much powerful emotions to us viewers. You must have put in a lot of thought and effort into creating and editing this precious documentary. Thank you, Miriam, for sharing this with us ❤❤❤

[@missprettyonabudget]

Thank you for sharing this segment Miri ❤I will call it a documentary in a way because it talks about times and places in the past, and ones life! Your mother in low seems to have had a very tough life, but as she said it was happier time. I feel that way too here in the balkan area so I am very eager to hear what she has to say ❤ I hope you two really make a digital Cook book of som sort, where she talks about spices, medicinal properties, food and culture in general ❤ Sending a big hug to all from us all. Nat, Stan and the cats 😊

[@lisaliu2431]

希望多多看到 力安-- 他很安静，但模仿力强。 三三 --- 语言天赋高，肢体协调性好。个性不同的 2 个孩子 ---- 都很聪明。

[@Marta-di1iu]

So interesting and your mother in law is such an adorable, gentle woman, your boys must be happy to have her as their grandmother! Thanks for bringing the rural China nearer to my mind.

[@aaronzhao1052]

我也很喜欢老人们讲述那些年代久远的故事。

[@MiriamFollin]

🥰

[@AL-jm7bx]

哈哈，我就是那个年代的人 虽然没生活在农村，但跟父母回老家的时候都经历过，我也是在西北

[@gonzalos4379]

@@AL-jm7bx 90后东部省份，正好赶在大规模农村征地开发的时代之前，体验过十多年祖父母辈那里的乡村慢生活，他们有自己的农田，童年农村的记忆就是早上听鸡鸣，中午看着柴火生灶做饭，跟着表亲玩着电子网络时代之前各种简陋的农村游戏，河边摸鱼抓虾，没有任何焦虑，时间过得很慢。之后很多年以后，我在古巴感受到了同样甚至更原始的生活节奏

[@w.z.6062]

very interesting topic! China has changed so much in the last few dacades!

[@MiriamFollin]

It has! The life and possibilities of one generation compared to the next... The speed is huge, and hence also difficult to come to terms with sometimes I think. Like, I know my mother-in-law is happy that her kids and grandkids can go to school, get an education, move to the city, work with something else than farming - but these opportunities are also challenging, ebcause that means her way of life ends with her generation, the "new" way of life is something completely different and they are hard to combine.

[@deborahhaynes8361]

I loved your mother in law telling her stories.

[@MiriamFollin]

I might be posting the full interview in the future - she told so many things, but I could not fit it all in here!

[@johnkiel1000]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@christinerobertson]

anything with your mother in law is defo worth a thumbs up.

[@MiriamFollin]

❤

[@qake2021]

👍👍👍 thank you ‼️👏👏👏

[@AL-jm7bx]

永红长胖了

[@michaelyoungshaw4481]

People should not make random comments without seeing the whole picture.China is still a developing country.Tens of millions of farmers were lifted out of absolute poverty.That's by no means an easy accomplishment.Some farmers in my hometown are better off than city dwellers like me.

[@chase846]

Thank you for sharing all of these stories. ❤❤❤

[@hymanhemlock4904]

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@lynj-c9153]

Thank you for the traditional knowledge of New Year in China. Very interesting. I had no idea that potato was so prominent in cooking. Your videos are a good education for the world. 🌏🕊️🙏🏼

[@ykwong230]

Such a blessing to see people living in harmony at this time in our turbulent world where we see so much suffering as if we live in a world without God. Watching your video on this gives me hope and belief again that God still exists and will bless us all. God bless

[@usa-racistwarmachine3631]

@5:43 I had several of those as a kid.

[@raymondlianto9882]

The food that your mother in law made look delicious. It's fortunate that yoyr mother in law still healthy and strong in her age.

[@derek-ct4xj]

這集拍的很棒,可了解傳統的事物.

[@张小七小九]

喜欢看你们家的一张张笑脸👍👍㊗️㊗️

[@MiriamFollin]

❤❤❤㊗️㊗️㊗️

[@tajhau]

It's so interesting to hear what the elderly has to say. You have such a calm and sweet mother in law! I'm a brazilian living in Hainan and it makes me miss my mom in law so much... but at the same time I feel blessed to have such precious relationships in my life, which I bet you do too! Keep up the great work

[@johnkiel1000]

❤❤😊😊🎉🎉❤❤

[@αφροδιτηβεργουλιδου-τ6ξ]

I like your husband family and your mother in law is such a nice person 🙋‍♀😍👏👏👏👏👍👍👍💥💥💥💥🤗🤗🤗🎁🎁🎁🎁

[@beautifuldream108]

Love your mother in law 💞💞💞 💓 truthful, sincere, happiness, faithful, hardworking and understanding. you are lucky.😊😊😊 Hopefully you can take her to Sweden for a holiday..... Or even take her to Shanghai or Beijing.😊 Only a hope. Only for short trip. I know is expensive. Hopefully you can afford it one day.😊

[@清空空]

小孩黑了 头发太长了吧 要多发小孩的视频

[@MiriamFollin]

头发怎么太长了？她们自己选。三三最近说他可能要剪头发。我不想拍太多孩子的视频，但是拍一家人的视频他们也自然的会出来🥰

[@chunhenlim6578]

谢谢分享

[@清空空]

@@MiriamFollin 你们的视频太少了，要多拍都关註你们的呢，哈哈

[@AAAAAAaaaaaa889]

❤❤❤❤❤❤👍👍👍👍👍👍🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@MiriamFollin]

❤❤❤

[@CheryleeWilcox]

Thank you. This was truly extra special. ❤

[@petercua6158]

Good old days when life is simple, but difficult.

[@Lawel-i7n]

MY GRANDFATHER SAID BACK IN THE DAY HE COULD GO IN THE GROCERY STORE WITH 2 DOLLARS IN YOUR POCKET COME OUT WITH A LOAF OF BREAD, A DOZEN EGGS AND EVEN BUTTER HE SAID "NOW THEY HAVE CAMERAS EVERYWHERE"😂😂😢😢 我祖父说那天他可以带着 2 美元去杂货店 口袋里拿出一条面包、一打鸡蛋，甚至还有黄油，他说“现在他们到处都有摄像头”

[@dagmaryork4940]

❤❤❤

[@clochettestarz]

Beautifully captured, thank you so much for sharing this with us.

[@elysepoh6402]

A great video, filmed with different angles, good sound effect and mix use of different scenes. The content is great! it will be good memories for your children and their future generations.

[@susanwong9592]

A very loving mother and father inlaw you have Miriam. God bless you always. ❤

[@MiriamFollin]

Thank you, I’m very lucky ❤️

[@qake2021]

👏👏👏👏👏✌️👍

[@jiwonmoon]

This is so inspiring! I recently visited my grandparents and asked about their younger days too and this motivates me to have our conversation recorded next time. Always rooting for you, Miriam. Thank you for sharing this beautiful moment with your family!

[@MiriamFollin]

Oh, I'm so happy if I motivate you to record your conversations! I recorded a conversation with my grandmother last summer, but somehow managed to loose the footage, it breaks my heart. I plan to do it next time I see her too. Imagine what a treasure to have later on when they are not with us anymore! I also thought about recording my parents and their siblings, simply to have for personal use and for my children. I think doing it now is good, since they both have their memory intact!

[@memary4887]

Your Mother in Laws Smile is a Gift, it is Magic.....and Grandpa is a Gift!

[@MiriamFollin]

They sure are! ❤

[@callunya]

Your mother in law is so lovely. Thank you for sharing!

[@jerryliu3320]

谢谢！

[@MiriamFollin]

谢谢你❤️

[@christianecoward3298]

Miriam thank you for a wonderful video!

[@MiriamFollin]

Thank you! ❤️

[@ShijinJu]

有纪录片的感觉，你的镜头会说话，区别于一般的自媒体。也善于讲生活的故事，镜头刻画细腻。加油！

[@renyyantono1847]

A very touching story from the past. Your mother-in-law is a very kind and sincere person. May your mother-in-law always be given health and happiness.

[@MiriamFollin]

❤️❤️❤️

[@sienwu794]

雖然沒妳公婆那麼年紀大，但小時候也有類似的記憶！

[@nivzfrabx3718]

What an amazing video!

[@MiriamFollin]

Thank you!❤️

[@injunnfuz6698]

Great truth info

[@juliegoodwin6850]

Thank-you so much for sharing! Please let your mother in law know how interesting her life is and that she looks like an amazing cook!

[@felixliu4510]

Miriam, i am immensely touch by this video. it brings back memories of my childhood...

[@christinap43]

Just amazing storytelling from a legend. Thank you for this!

[@dm7487]

I love the way you capture the images. Also it is so nice to see how others live. Your mother in-law seems lovely. Thank you for sharing.

[@7590548]

Thanks for such an enlightening video. There is so much humanity in it. Whilst I cannot even imagine the kind of hardship that your mother-in-law lived through in her younger days; she appears to show very little sense of unhappiness but fondness in her recollection of the events in her childhood.

[@terantruitt66]

I love your Mom!!

[@halnicholas3791]

Beautifully done mini documentary! Hope to see more like this.

[@mikekok]

Imagine in one generation, almost everything has changed for the better. It's time to cherish a better beginning and not forget about the past. It gives meaning to this new generation like yr husband or yr children

[@christineb8148]

I have one of those knives your MIL is using on the potatoes, a gift from a sister when she was living in China :-)

[@michaelyoungshaw4481]

Miriam posted this video in order to make people cherish the current happy life.

[@ttfilmpro]

Love this Interview documentary.

[@lotta_love]

Så fint fångat. 🥰

[@MiriamFollin]

Tack Lotta!!! ❤️

[@Tdochi79]

Greetings from Hanoi, Vietnam😊

[@carrom]

看哭了，婆婆采访那一段，虽然很平实。

[@carrom]

可能源于老人家朴实的笑容，或不容易的过去

[@FourSeasonFarming]

It’s Persian new year too

[@zhuzhu4026]

青海是什麼民族？也是漢族嗎

[@MiriamFollin]

青海的民族很多，但是我的老公，公公，婆婆，都是汉族的， 但是村里也有回族

[@Orchidee503]

Greetings from Germany ❤ 🇩🇪

[@MiriamFollin]

❤❤❤

[@hongqingxiang3374]

🙂🙏🙏🙂