Should Qin go home? This is a Webquest activity based on Lixin Fan's documentary, Last Train Home.
Introduction
About the Film Maker : Lixin Fan
Lixin Fan is a Chinese-born, Canadian-based documentary film director.
He started off his career as a journalist with the national television broadcaster CCTV,
traveling the country and experiencing first hand the inequality caused by China’s
rapid economic expansion which has deeply influenced his work.
In addition to the documentary, Last Train Home, for which he has won many awards,
he has also worked on the acclaimed documentary Up the Yangtze and To Live is Better Than to Die.
About the Documentary : Last Train Home
Every spring, China’s cities are plunged into chaos, as all at once, a tidal wave of humanity, nearly 130 migrant workers, attempts to return home by train. It is the Chinese New Year. The wave is made up of millions of migrant factory workers. The homes they seek are the rural villages and families they left behind to seek work in the booming coastal cities. It is an epic spectacle that tells us much about China, a country discarding traditional ways as it hurtles towards modernity and global economic dominance.
Last Train Home, draws us into the fractured lives of a single migrant family caught up in this desperate annual migration. Sixteen years ago, the Zhangs abandoned their young children to find work in the city, consoled by the hope that their wages would lift their children into a better life. But in a bitter irony, the Zhangs’ hopes for the future are undone by their very absence. Qin, the child they left behind, has grown into adolescence crippled by a sense of abandonment. In an act of teenage rebellion, she drops out of school. She too will become a migrant worker. The decision is a heartbreaking blow for the parents. Last Train Home follows the Zhangs’ attempts to change their daughter’s course and repair their ruptured family. Intimate and candid, the film paints a human portrait of the dramatic changes sweeping China. (From Eyesteel Film)
What would you do if you were Qin? Put yourself in her shoes. Would you continue to be a migrant worker, living independently of your parents? Or would you go home to life in the village? Through this project, you will develop a deep understanding of the great migration in China, the Chinese family, as well as the traditional Chinese custom of family reunion during the Spring Festival by collecting authentic cultural materials from the Internet.
.
Working in a group of 3-4 people, present a persuasive argument using multi-media tools to either convince Qin to go back home for family reunion with her parents during the Spring Festival or to comfort Qin’s parents and explain to them about Qin’s choice to stay in the city alone.
VoiceThread
Process
*Learn: In your groups, do the following activities:
- Do you think it’s necessary for Qin to go home for family reunion during Chinese New Year? Reflect on your relationship with your parents and how you celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas in the US and make comparisons.
* Research: - Now you are ready to start finding specific details/evidence to support your argument. Do you want to convince Qin to go back home or do you want to comfort Qin’s parents and explain to them why Qin made the decision? You should research to find images, texts, videos and/or graphs to build your own argument, and maybe share with your colleagues via Diigo or other ways. Find pictures that are emotionally impressive and persuasive.
* Create:
- Put together your information and evidences to make a final presentation about your argument either for or against Qin’s decision. You could present by using PowerPoint, Prezi, Voicethread or any other way you are comfortable with. Search for images on Pinterest, google, Chinese Search Engines. You can search video on YouTube, too
Conclusion After doing this Webquest activity, you should be more knowledgeable of rural-to-urban migration, social economic issues in China, and should have a stronger understanding of family values in China. Consider the following questions:
Do you think you have a deeper understanding of the great migration problem in China?
Do you think you have made a sound argument for Qin’s choice based on your research?
What is your prediction about how the migration trend will affect the future generation?
High School
Webquest Link
http://qin-go-home.wikispaces.com/琴，你回不回家？
Should Qin go home? This is a Webquest activity based on Lixin Fan's documentary, Last Train Home.Introduction
Lixin Fan is a Chinese-born, Canadian-based documentary film director.
He started off his career as a journalist with the national television broadcaster CCTV,
traveling the country and experiencing first hand the inequality caused by China’s
rapid economic expansion which has deeply influenced his work.
In addition to the documentary, Last Train Home, for which he has won many awards,
he has also worked on the acclaimed documentary Up the Yangtze and
To Live is Better Than to Die.
About the Documentary : Last Train Home
Every spring, China’s cities are plunged into chaos, as all at once, a tidal wave of humanity, nearly 130 migrant workers, attempts to return home by train. It is the Chinese New Year. The wave is made up of millions of migrant factory workers. The homes they seek are the rural villages and families they left behind to seek work in the booming coastal cities. It is an epic spectacle that tells us much about China, a country discarding traditional ways as it hurtles towards modernity and global economic dominance.
Last Train Home, draws us into the fractured lives of a single migrant family caught up in this desperate annual migration. Sixteen years ago, the Zhangs abandoned their young children to find work in the city, consoled by the hope that their wages would lift their children into a better life. But in a bitter irony, the Zhangs’ hopes for the future are undone by their very absence. Qin, the child they left behind, has grown into adolescence crippled by a sense of abandonment. In an act of teenage rebellion, she drops out of school. She too will become a migrant worker. The decision is a heartbreaking blow for the parents. Last Train Home follows the Zhangs’ attempts to change their daughter’s course and repair their ruptured family. Intimate and candid, the film paints a human portrait of the dramatic changes sweeping China. (From Eyesteel Film)
What would you do if you were Qin? Put yourself in her shoes. Would you continue to be a migrant worker, living independently of your parents? Or would you go home to life in the village? Through this project, you will develop a deep understanding of the great migration in China, the Chinese family, as well as the traditional Chinese custom of family reunion during the Spring Festival by collecting authentic cultural materials from the Internet.
.
Working in a group of 3-4 people, present a persuasive argument using multi-media tools to either convince Qin to go back home for family reunion with her parents during the Spring Festival or to comfort Qin’s parents and explain to them about Qin’s choice to stay in the city alone.
VoiceThread
Process
*Learn:In your groups, do the following activities:
1. Watch the documentary Last Train Home in class and read about the story. Here are some trailers to refresh your memory:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1512201/?licb=0.4252810222509431
http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/lasttrainhome/
2. Read about the migration from different perspectives
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chunyun
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9507E1DB1230F931A2575AC0A9629C8B63
http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/world/the-great-chinese-new-year-migration-20120122-1qcfe.html (pictures)
http://www.danwei.com/northern-girls-interview-with-author-sheng-keyi/
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2011/01/19/chinas-annual-migration/index.html
3. Create a chart to compare and contrast the city (Shenzhen, Guangzhou) and the country (Huilong Village, Sichuan) mentioned in the documentary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenzhen
http://baike.baidu.com/view/1632898.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan
* Explore:
Think over these questions and discuss them in your groups. (Use the sources provided to inform your discussions):
-What can parents provide by leaving rural areas to find work in cities?
- Why are some people unwilling to go back to their hometown? Why is there a conflict?
http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/chinese_new_year.htm
http://qingdao.chinadaily.com.cn/2012-01/31/content_14509014.htm
- The history of economic development in China. What is a Special Economic Zone? How do migrant workers contribute to China’s economy? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_economic_zone
http://www.globalpost.com/china-economy-migrant-workers
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2012/05/04/Young-Workers-in-China-Were-Human-Not-Machines.aspx#page1
- What relevance does the economic development of places like Shenzhen have for Americans and American consumers? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2415241.stm
- Do you think it’s necessary for Qin to go home for family reunion during Chinese New Year? Reflect on your relationship with your parents and how you celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas in the US and make comparisons.
* Research:
- Now you are ready to start finding specific details/evidence to support your argument. Do you want to convince Qin to go back home or do you want to comfort Qin’s parents and explain to them why Qin made the decision? You should research to find images, texts, videos and/or graphs to build your own argument, and maybe share with your colleagues via Diigo or other ways. Find pictures that are emotionally impressive and persuasive.
* Create:
- Put together your information and evidences to make a final presentation about your argument either for or against Qin’s decision. You could present by using PowerPoint, Prezi, Voicethread or any other way you are comfortable with. Search for images on Pinterest, google, Chinese Search Engines. You can search video on YouTube, too
ConclusionAfter doing this Webquest activity, you should be more knowledgeable of rural-to-urban migration, social economic issues in China, and should have a stronger understanding of family values in China. Consider the following questions:
Additional Resources
Here are a few links you might find informative:http://cerdi.org/uploads/sfCmsContent/html/317/Zhu_Batisse.pdf
http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?paperID=7876
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