Li und Jiang in China

“Where are you going? Where do you think, to Shanghai!”

 China – Land of new beginnings, land of contrasts. 1.3 billion people live there – many of them dream the dream: the glittering career, making money fast. But not all of China’s inhabitants have arrived in this China yet.
Lao Li (75) and Lao Jiang (83) are friends. They have spent their whole life in a village on a mountain in the South Chinese province of Fujian. Here they cultivate rice and tea. They haven’t seen much of the radical change that is taking hold of the country yet.

Lao Li has been to Shanghai once in his life – a long time ago, with the Party. Back then he swore he’d come back, next time off his own back and with enough time to explore and discover the city. His friend, old Mr Jiang, has never been to the city with the beautiful-sounding name meaning “on the sea”. But he dreams of it. So, they set off together for this other China, the new China. It’s about 700 kilometres from their home village to Shanghai. And the closer they get to the city, the more modern the country becomes. Rice fields make way for industrial zones, ultra-modern trains replace rickety old country buses. Villages give way to modern high-rise complexes and as such this trip becomes a journey from the old China, almost a thing of the past, to a journey into the future. Annette Dittert and her team accompany the two old men on their travels from Fujian to Shanghai.

Annette Dittert (b.1962)
has been working as a TV editor for WDR for many years. She was in charge for and moderated several programs before she became the head of the ARD studio in Warsaw as foreign correspondent for three years. In 2004 she received the well respected Hans-Friedrichs-Award for extraordinary achievements in journalism.