Year of The Dog: Inside The World's Largest Human Migration | VICE News Tonight Special (HBO)

Chinese New Year isn’t just a holiday. It's the largest annual human migration on Earth. And to Yang Jianguo and Liu Mingchun, it's the only time they get to reunite with their children 1,000 miles away.
For decades, migrant workers like Yang have been the engine of China’s spectacular economic boom. But while their work is welcome, their children are not. The high cost of living and strict city regulations make essentials like schooling and healthcare difficult to access, and families, like Yang’s, often separate. An estimated 61 million “left-behind children” only see their parents once a year during paid time-off for the Chinese New Year.
“Because we have to spend four days on the road, ” said Liu, “The only time we could get two weeks off is during the Chinese New Year, that’s when we can go home.”
Yang left his rural home in Sichuan at the age of 20 in 1997 and became one of 287 million Chinese migrant workers who moved across country for a better life. After dropping out of high school, he became a farmer, just like his parents. Then one day, his uncle gave him the opportunity to work at an urban clothing factory in Shenzhen.
“If I raise a pig in our home village, I’d have to wait for six months before I can sell it to make money, there’s no immediate income ” Yang said. “In Shenzhen, we get paid every month.”
Today, Yang and his wife Liu are among nearly 8 million migrants living in Shenzhen, a major financial center in China that links Hong Kong to its mainland. There, two thirds of the population lives without residency registration in the city, which prevents them from getting the same level of healthcare, education, and social security as urban residents.
When Yang and Liu’s kids were born, the young couple had full time jobs and lived in a company dormroom too small to raise them. Coupled with the other challenges of city life, Yang and Liu had to leave both children as infants back in their old village with grandparents, thousands of miles away. The two kids are now 9 and 15 years old.
VICE News followed the couple on a 30-hour train ride from Shenzhen to their home in Sichuan for their yearly family reunion.
Subscribe to VICE News here: bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE-News
Check out VICE News for more: vicenews.com
Follow VICE News here:
Facebook: / vicenews
Twitter: / vicenews
Tumblr: / vicenews
Instagram: / vicenews
More videos from the VICE network: www. vicevideo

[@VICENews]

"I miss my parents the most because there's no one to play with me.” WATCH More on migrants here: bit.ly/2FtwUT5

[@chardinayjackson8037]

VICE News j

[@Manish_Kumar_Singh]

story of my life

[@peekaboopeekaboo1165]

Why did you not have Isobel Yeung do this ? Yeung can speak Chinese and has experienced living inside China.

[@alohaflow9409]

Yo i see that u took your 2:17 shot at the Shangri-La right?

[@peekaboopeekaboo1165]

How's Trump, May and Macron are doing with Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, etc. etc !

[@littlevfunplay9873]

Those hard-working people are the main reason for Chinese economic boom, while they are paid so little and are paying such a huge cost. There are hundreds of millions of them, living the same lives as the video shows. Their kids and they deserve better lives. Thank you, Vice. You let the world know there are so many adorable, diligent people in China. Hopefully, their next generation will live a better life, and I believe it is heading that way.

[@danilohorta3900]

You mean slaves, the only reason they have to do that is because free comerce is only allowed inside the cities

[@danilohorta3900]

Yeah not gonna happend

[@Vega.pdf35mm]

yeah theyre economy is gonna crash too soon

[@scottmead854]

What a great kid, he's understanding of his grandpa, and shows sympathy toward the chicken. Don't ever change.

[@isunlloaoll]

The kids look spoiled to be honest. Don't get me wrong, they are great kids by Western standards, but in harsh rural China they are spoiled. The boy looks scared to slaughter an animal, and the girl plays her phone all day.

[@scottmead854]

Yeah, and you're probably a role model of this world spending time bashing on kids.

[@saltymangoparty]

@@scottmead854 Two years later you cracked me up with that hilarious comment

[@twosix2052]

@@isunlloaoll the girl clearly has some emotional issues and is using her phone to cope, and the boy is a boy, of course hes not just going to go around happy about killing animals

[@julia-pw8fz]

@@twosix2052 i mean the video games the girl is playing look pretty fun. u guys are acting like teenagers aren't supposed to be moody and stuck to their phone??? and little kids obviously like animals, ofc they feel bad seeing an animal being killed but theyll eat it anyway

[@ANIME2020X]

I wish I can like this documentary twice. Great storyline, very touching, beautiful videography and editing. Well done Vice.

[@Kit-lb6tr]

Sakatoki91 I went back up and liked it for you

[@EricTheBroBean]

Thats a brave kid, he even understands the struggle of his grandfather, but nobody to play with, damn.. Makes me think of how much we take our everyday lives for granted. Very few people in this world has both freedom and economic stability..

[@pratikshchauhan555]

Maa your life was very hard....I can't stop crying.

[@vic5015]

Pratiksh Chauhan was starting to wonder what happened to his mother. Should have guessed, it's not like divorce is a viable option for a woman in rural China.

[@imnotgovernorwatts]

Man good to see Vice go back to their roots, just plan ole good journalism with no narratives being pushed or narrator telling me whats happening, just a introspective look into some people half way around the world.

[@EasternAnime]

waswilly wantana what narratives? Examples?

[@pw7225]

There is a narrative. The video cuts are a choice. The music is a choice. Journalism also has a narrative. You have a naive world view.

[@lilmagi]

No he doesn't PW. I am sure he knows what you said. Let me just write something he omitted and what he actually means by just writing "narrative". "Man good to see Vice go back to their roots, just plan ole good journalism with no LEFT POLITICAL narratives being pushed or narrator telling me whats happening, just a introspective look into some people half way around the world."

[@imnotgovernorwatts]

lol yah i more meant agenda, but i was afraid to use that word cause i figured it would trigger people into thinking i was speaking specifically about politics. But good to see that regardless of my word choice someone got triggered

[@imnotgovernorwatts]

and yah id defs agree with what you said lilmagi but id argue they go beyond left wing political narratives and its more how they evolved from a internet news site for the "people" into just another left wing political cable news channel and in doing so changed how they approach even the most basic of stories.

[@Harbour8529]

this is real, exactly what is happening in China from rural area and low income people perspective. Policy is leaning towards this group, but still not enough for them. Hard working deserves good paid. God blesses them. Thanks VICE!

[@mkolars]

i live in China and i am heart broken to see these kids growing up without their parents, poverty is bad but being separated from your kids is punishment nobody deserves

[@EdwardRock1]

Mark Andre Kolars says the white western man who's never lived in poverty. What do you know?

[@matthewmckenna248]

Hats off those parents. Who travel thousands of miles across such a massive country in cramped conditions. And using their hard earned money, with them not even having that much to begin with. just so they can see their kids.

[@TheKaz911]

Sadly this is what capitalism has done, forced people to earn a living through breating toxic air and surviving on poisonous food for only meagre returns to try get their kids out of the same situation. However social mobility in a place like China where vast economic disparities exist between the rich and the poor make it hard for people to recognise capitalisms chokehold on the wellbeing of the modern chinese.

[@supersoyboy]

TheKaz911 what’s their alternative? Pretty sure they’ve tried it

[@TheKaz911]

supersoyboy since Xi-Jingpingism will dominate the current and upcoming grasp of China's general vision for the next 15 or so years, there's little alternative when such cultural shifts take centre stage especially since this pattern of growth has given china the upper hand in terms of being the #1 global power. With time comes economic development and the recognition of liberties if the inequality gap does not shrink then all hope is lost.

[@fordmustang769]

They shouldn’t have had kids in the first place then the dumbass wouldn’t be suffering to much ppl like u just in courage trash

[@tundrellaCat68]

Gipsy Danger why even have them? They are so detatched and cold. Don't even hug your kids. Weird.

[@driveintherain]

Very touching and relatable story. For those who leave their homes for work or study, and for those who stay at home, the family reunion is like the fireworks.. beautiful but too soon to finish.

[@tokenjay]

driveintherain nice analogy at the end

[@let_go429]

Beautifully said

[@hui-an-xin]

Vice, this is one of the most beautiful documentaries I've ever watched. Let me just express my gratitude and appreciation for producing this type of quality content. My college professor showed us this film in our Chinese Anthropology class in 2019, and every year I rewatch it during the Lunar New Year. It's such a tender and human depiction of the Chinese spirit. Not just this family, but the story of so many across that vast country. The struggle and sacrifice of working adults, the friction and innocence of left behind children, the honest and somber grandparents holding things together. How subtle and intimate the cinematography and narrative framing. Little moments, like the parents knowing how their children will react after not having seen each other for so long, the piety of the father in visiting his mother's grave, the son commenting "It's over. That was quick." after the fireworks. Like the fleeting moments of the Spring Festival in which he can be with his family for only so long. A breathtaking and truly admirable depiction of the Chinese experience.

[@shehroz6220]

This is a very sad situation for both the kids and the parents.

[@lucrativelyrics8131]

(@19:00) don't bully/guilt-trip your daughter/make a big scene, or anything (*great parenting there, jeesh..

[@scottsause6149]

What a very tough life, It makes me think of the tough life my parents had & the hard work they put in to get me from Rural Papua New Guinea to now nearly finishing my Bachelor's degree at The University of Auckland in New Zealand. Hats off to all the hard working parents out there who sacrifice so much for us.

[@user_cv8wysmstt]

Wow, these people are inspiring. Here in Malaysia, sometimes the people are reluctant to go back for a family reunion, complaining the traffic jam in highways during Chinese New Year. Imagine 30 hours on road like these people!​

[@captain-fb4rh]

the world needs more of this type of reporting. down to earth real. let us decide what we want to think just show us what's happening.

[@Ben-qh3mt]

Best vice video I’ve seen in awhile, no sensationalist bullshit just good ol insight into a country I know little about.

[@majow]

The people that have little are the kindest. Beautiful documentary!

[@crippletime]

The awkwardness when the parents got home was palatable.

[@MJFallout]

If you're learning Chinese, you might enjoy this because the parents and the children speak their Mandarin rather clearly, nicely accentuated. Not at all like the garbled, shouty, chopped-up mess you often hear from people that presumably are better educated than them.

[@reinhardtog6003]

the grandpa isn't speaking in mandarin though, he’s speaking a local language. Almost all Chinese learn to speak in our own local language first, then we perceive to write and read in mandarin..

[@ornature5324]

MJFallout yeah it’s very nice sounding

[@julioduan7130]

MJFallout woo, you are good at mandrin. Because you can understand him even the granpa spoke in a dilect of sichuan

[@tundrellaCat68]

Yes. I understand now. I see they did warm up. It is a different culture.

[@ravenclawgal3104]

Actually, sometimes, not all the time, i dont understand what she’s saying though im fluent in Chinese. But maybe our accent is slightly different coz i live in Singapore

[@Greenlink01]

19:26 What an incredible moment of cinematography. An evocative photo before we learn of the subtext. Had to screen shot it.

[@sosikedforthis]

The little boy is so sweet and such a sunshine

[@zero6627]

This is the problem when the people from the other state come to Shenzhen. Work hard but didn't have much money to support their family. Feel kinda sad there are still lack of education and less economic development in the rural area. But i guess , my country still have long way to go. It will be a better day in the future

[@smogity]

The hungry cat stole the show.

[@cameronsipka3352]

smogity +

[@lucad6649]

That cat had the most desperate meows but probably gets fed very well lol

[@nildarivera2403]

My heart hurts from seeing these families separated. They have beautiful children and props to the grandparents for raising them

[@tommyrin5969]

Great docu, love the quality of images, the colors are so rich!

[@simoncotter1606]

that kid seems very bright!

[@youyilin6592]

Probably one of the most affecting doc I have seen about great migration of china 's new year. Bring a tear to my eye eveytime I see it

[@nickd6451]

this was so beautiful and I'm so glad this came up on my feed

[@leneay9]

Love this kind of video from Vice; very touching, beautiful, and informative.

[@stantheheadhumongous9402]

The 16 year old girl looks like 10 compared to chinese city girls of her age..The devide between classes in China is more real than ever.

[@lifeisrough8747]

poorer nutrition due to class

[@stantheheadhumongous9402]

have you even read the comment.

[@pizaclatonddd3081]

Or maybe it's just the genes

[@jansenjunaedi4926]

That girl is normal typical teenage Chinese girl without their weird K-pop make up.

[@jansenjunaedi4926]

Razvan J Not really. She is not malnourished but doesn't enjoy the quantity of meal of the middle high class Chinese. The height and weight is normal for average Chinese. You're comparing the body size of Caucassians and Asians which is of course different.

[@0sizhen0]

Deeply touching and beautifully captured. I can’t find the words to describe how moved I feel after watching this, especially being able to understand their dialect and recognize subtle things in their environment. It really took me on a journey.

[@dp7047]

But this story is really sad if you think about it....60 million children only able to see their parents once a year. And God forbid something happened to Grandpa. They should try to figure a way to move their family closer to the city. At least they could visit on the weekends that way

[@anjonesuk]

The kids can basically onlylegally go to school in the area they're registered resident in. If they moved them out of that region the local schools wouldn't admit them or they'd have to pay for admission or pay for private tuition. Google Hukou system.

[@Daniel-ht4wr]

I taught in China, new a girl that literally lived on her own, if she was an Irish teenager she'd probably be having pissups in the house every weekend though lol

[@ricktandron3669]

To your point, it is very lucky that 99% of people don't think. Thank you Trump! #MAGA

[@ShakeMcBlunt]

They should be moving away from the cities not into them.. But support for them i know it's very complex and hard..

[@simon42o]

they can't just "figure a way to move their family closer" they would of done that if they could.

[@StevenHuangCA]

Very touching. This deserves more views.

[@RanochVTX]

What an incredible piece. Thank you Vice! Thank you so much for this.

[@muhammadyousaf8396]

This is such a heart touching story. i just couldnt stop my tears . This girl really wants to spend time with parents. But on the other hand, parents are trying their best to raise their kids in best way. I hope they get more time to spend together in future.

[@Anikraze]

great video, perfect length, quite entertaining and informative

[@woooooooody]

very touching video for someone grown up in a Chinese modern city.Keep on Vice!

[@kaynejones3203]

Should do a series on this Would benefit both vice and the family

[@xherdanrayng1903]

Enjoyed watching this feature, what a sweet and nice family to watch getting back together for Chinese New Year.

[@msoda8516]

As the mother of a 13 year old daughter it’s nice to see moody teenager girls are universal.

[@rayfordcarpathia4015]

I quickly got caught up in the life of this family.

[@snack4458]

One of the best video's I have ever watched.

[@nickd6451]

Snack ur profile picture goes so well with this comment

[@embracemania9322]

This is one of my favorite vice news specials... It really highlights how we are all the same all over the world and share the values of loving and celebrating with our family.. Idk its cool!

[@Lypno]

Thank you that was very touching

[@Hello-mp5vr]

Vice 11/10. I really appreciate these aspects. We're all human in the end, and this is why media will hopefully bring us together in the end.

[@BonjourLuis]

Such insight and respect gained from these video-docs.

[@kevinliu6002]

Thank you for making this video!!!

[@Arthur0ne]

Aww man this made me feel so many emotions..

[@777Awsomeness]

One of the best Vice videos in a long time.

[@citrusy.]

Impressive filming as usual I’ve always wondered how y’all do it

[@chienb]

for a country where most areas are under the poverty line, it's fascinating their mobile payments and adoption is years ahead of the US

[@floisheremuch]

it actually makes quite a bit of sense, if you cant get a bank account because you/the people who you want money from are poor, or the slow, manual banking system has arrived not too early before mobile banking why wouldnt you use it?

[@MyCarllee]

I haven’t used paper money for more than a year now

[@ray81915]

Actually, underdeveloped countries are more likely to adopt advanced technology. Take mobile phone in China for example. A lot of money and manpower are needed to build infrastructure in order for the landline to work. But, you only need a single tower for the mobile phone to work. It is cheaper and faster. In some poor area in China, you don't have a landline. But, you can use your mobil phone.

[@ray81915]

Yes, this proves my point. Often, the new technology needs to break down old one in order to be popular. But, underdeveloped countries don't have the old technology in the first place. So, they can skip one step and go directly to the next one. Also, China is a one-party rule country, the CCP gets shit done fast.

[@vic5015]

omanko yeah. Noticed that too. But the stuff about less-developrd countries bypassing older technogies entirely has some truth to it too.

[@skylinez4793]

Incredible journalism!

[@isabelneves1319]

Thanks so much for the support.

[@Leokyriacou14]

Amazing. Thank you Vice.

[@juanastx]

Heartwarming

[@leopoldopetrieska6564]

absolutely stunning docu

[@tonygomez2423]

Only half way through this documentary and it's amazing. Thanks @VICENews for the an insight in the lives of Chinese working class people. It makes me appreciate my current circumstances by tenfold.

[@qiyun8373]

挺真实的，不愧是Vice

[@licaklein]

Well done! Beautiful and needful doc! Amazing

[@jganer]

Excellent documentary!

[@j.1064]

thank you vice for this

[@johal_capital]

god damn this is a tear dropper. I have massive respect to all and any people that sacrifice like this. my opinion this is true love the parents are literally giving there life away to ensure there kids have somewhat of a shot.

[@yssadelara1994]

amazing documentary 👏

[@andrewkiminhwan]

what what a heartbreaking and beautiful video

[@johnsummers9660]

Thank you Vice. Keep it up.

[@007mia7]

Nothing but RESPECT for this family & their work ethic. I hope they are blessed beyond measure in the future. ❤️

[@fantasierjason]

Very nice cinematography. A real story like the other 100 million families

[@incognitomccooldude]

this got to be the best vice doc ive ever seen. making me emotional and shit crying

[@Monkeyabroad]

I live in Shanghai in the same tiny building as a family of migrant workers. Every day they wake up at the crack of 6am to begin their busy lives, and they wake me up every morning without fail, even when I wear earplugs to sleep. No matter how many times I tell them to please wake quietly, they converse loudly right outside my door and window at 6:30am. I respect their 7-days-a-week work ethic, but I loathe their lack of consideration for the neighbors. During the holiday, they all left home for a week and I slept like a BABY! It was great. I honestly wish they had a great time with their families because I know the struggle for them is real.

[@masamunexs]

maybe it's the only time they can have with their family before they spend the next twelve hours doing hard labor. sorry it ruins your nap.

[@Monkeyabroad]

They work together. The husband and wife are from Sichuan and wash pots, pans, bowls and metal dishes in large public sinks located outside my window on the first floor, which supply nearby roadside restaurants. When they aren't washing, which is usually about 3 different shifts of 2 hours a day (breakfast lunch and dinner), I can hear the husband playing the same cell phone game with the same traditional type of Chinese music background. He chain-smokes and has a terrible cough. Sleep isn't a 'nap'; it's essential to our sanity and survival. When it's consistently disrupted despite consistent (and polite) reminders that I'd like their family time to be a little less noisy--they literally yell, Dan--I feel I have the right to voice my opinion. We are neighbors, after all. I don't live in a lavish mansion; I live in similar housing. Cheers, no hard feelings.

[@Monkeyabroad]

Yeah, VPN

[@Monkeyabroad]

Thanks for watching, Joni!

[@ANIME2020X]

I take that your job is to sleep in Shanghai? How much do you get paid, I'm interested in this job.

[@4everu984]

Great video.

[@serrafinapatterson9539]

It's really hard to watch this. Everyone's doing what's best for the family but its clearly not easy for any of them. The kids are resentful because they don't have their parents. The parents left their kids but with out doing that their kids may not have a good life to the point of it truly being horrible. And I think the mom especially just simply does not allow herself to miss her kids because having to leave them to begin with tears her apart. I hope they get to spend more time together now that years have passed.

[@Quarter324]

This was so well shot; hats off to the production team. 19:26 was my favorite.

[@yuyurtrtrt2160]

Jesus christ, what a beautiful video. The most powerful moment was definitely the poster with the Xi Jinping poster in the background of the farmhouse. Some of the dichotomy between city and farm life in china was captured in that single shot. My deceased grandfather grew up in the farms of Sichuan province. He worked his ass off and became a doctor, moved to Shanghai. I never really internalized his struggle until watching this video (didn't really know him all that well unfortunately). Simply stunning video vice.

[@baotutubenbenxiong]

The maker overturned the color-tune and make it looks like nostalgic, In the section of Train coach, coz I often ride trains, High-speed and regular- 100-160kph trains, the interior light of the coach is quite brighter than it appears to be in the video clip. More or less, the stuff you watch had been modified.

[@guitarmansam2661]

This is well made

[@DJAUDIO1]

That was depressing but it's a story that repeats itself across all cultures and minority groups across the world.

[@yoban360]

Beautiful documentary! The little girl is in a phase, but one day she will realize her parents had left to give them a better future.

[@blakdfje]

Great documentary

[@jayfang2089]

Great job Vice! Thank you for documenting the Chinese society for us.

[@harrykhan9672]

the village is so pretty and scenic ❤

[@BlackFlashDrive]

Great slice of life from a place that is millions of miles away.

[@advancedmonkey7702]

millions of miles away? do you live on the sun?

[@OAS15]

victor SUN haha

[@cesiumbob7278]

Victor Sun What are you an alien who lives on the dark side of Mercury?

[@diego42297]

Chinese food always looks so good lol

[@EdwardRock1]

Diego go eat some tacos instead, Jose

[@Andyhaucqog1]

Eduardo Gutiérrez Why not both?

[@brouwjon]

This is really, really great

[@lzhang8324]

true stories are always the most plain, and yet, touching, stories

[@chancelor]

The son seems a lot more grateful and understanding then the daughter

[@mikelin2549]

I just noticed the grand father is left handed. That’s almost unheard of in China. I say this as a fellow lefty whose parents tried to change his leftiness as a kid.

[@iamagrizzlybear]

hope vice paid them well for sharing their story. very inspiring makes me grateful for the life I have as a chinese american

[@colinyuan5404]

01:04, the woman said they met on 26th of 12th month in Lunar Calendar, i checked, it was 20th of Jan in 2001, not 26th of Jan in Gregorian calendar.

[@harryji3356]

this is a good video account

[@Oussama0302]

Sad and happy for them at the same time I can't explain it

[@jamesconley5255]

I cried a lot

[@tomyanxin]

very authentic!

[@czeslawjankruger6231]

Every year I'm comming back home form abrod. The same feeling...

[@winnieh834]

The little boy is so well spoken

[@winnieh834]

But I feel bad for the girl, she seems desolate

[@winnieh834]

Sitting watch the tv show, reminds me of memories

[@winnieh834]

True to reality

[@boxertest]

Wonderful story :-)

[@sirkeg1]

There's a longer documentary called "Last Train Home" with a very similar story. Highly recommended.

[@user-yp1os2yl8n]

hard life especially at last those guys watch tv ，that moment different life and economy. so sad they growing old but cant do nothing to make life better

[@zhuolife5011]

I live in Europe and am from exactly the same area as in this Documentary, i got a really complicated feeling. I know a lot of people here also from that area and everyone seems to be having a really good life, expensive houses and fancy cars,but nobody is thinking about people from their area are having a difficult life, i forget about it without watching it, i really hope things would work out for them and their lives would get easier one day ..

[@lydobermann6268]

That girl's depression is so deep... she needs help. Money is indeed not the key to happiness...

[@nutlover3609]

Dober Mann It’s obvious she has none of those 2. Money does buy happiness