Director's return to the source
Documentary tracing Yangtze River allows Ryo Takeuchi to revisit people and places, revealing the great changes to the regions, Xu Fan reports.
One of the most heartwarming scenes for many viewers is when the director re-connects with Rinchen Tsemo, a girl of Tibetan ethnic group in Yunnan province. When they first met, the young girl was 17, and was shy and introverted, but caught the attention of the Japanese crew as she tended to her job of posing with a lamb for tourists to take photos, for which she charged 5 yuan.
Moved by her curiosity about the wider world, Takeuchi and his crew took Rinchen Tsemo and her family to visit Shanghai. The trip proved to be life changing, and inspired the girl to work on securing a million yuan loan from a local bank to open a hotel a decade later.
In the new documentary, Rinchen Tsemo says that some of the design ideas were inspired by her trip to Shanghai, where she discovered for the first time that a hotel room could have a separate toilet and shower room.
"I feel like I'm the key that has unlocked a whole new world for her. Rinchen Tsemo has achieved her dream all because of her relentless effort and hard work over the last 10 years. I truly admire her dedication and drive," remarks Takeuchi.
