What does China's west really look like? The short movie "Yongtai Shepherd," directed by Luke Catena and produced by Joey Tsai, brings us to a remote and dilapidated village in Gansu, western China.
Yongtai village was a place to build armies during the Ming Dynasty (AD1368-1644). The major character of the movie, 61-year-old Yu Xizhong, is the 17th generation of his family and has been living there for his entire life. According to him, there were around 2000 people in town when he was a kid, but most of them have already moved out, leaving only 200 to remain in the village.
From the movie, we can see the village is suffering from poverty, the houses are built with yellow mud, the harvest is heavily-dependent on the weather. Yu makes a living by raising and selling goats, though he doesn't make much money, he still wants to stay in his hometown. He said, "I'm in love with this place. I grew up here, and I never want to leave."
The village surrounded with ancient circumvallation offers a very unique beauty. The Shepherd's life is simple and wild. He goes to the mountains and grasslands to work during the day and drinks and plays cards with fellows at night. The movie is beautifully-filmed with grand views of mountains and flocks of sheep.
This is one of the best movies in 2017 "Looking China" series. It successfully depicted the life of a shepherd in western China. If you want to know more about China’s west and its alluring rural culture, this is a movie that you must watch.
PS. The movie contains animal killing content, which may make some people feel uncomfortable.
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